Govt engineering college students in Bihar to get free access to national research platforms

Patna: A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on Friday between Bihar Engineering University (BEU), Patna, and the Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET) Centre, Gandhinagar, to provide students and faculty members of govt engineering colleges in the state with free institutional access to national-level digital academic and research resources.Under the agreement, students, research scholars and faculty members of all govt engineering colleges affiliated to BEU will gain access to a wide range of digital platforms and research databases. The collaboration with INFLIBNET is expected to streamline academic resource management in technical institutions, promote the integration of research data and encourage the effective use of digital platforms.The MoU was signed by Dr Pradip Kumar, registrar of BEU, and Prof Devika P Madalli, director of the INFLIBNET Centre.The signing ceremony was attended by department of science, technology and technical education (DoSTTE) minister Sunil Kumar, departmental secretary Dr Pratima, director Ahmad Mahmood, and BEU vice-chancellor Suresh Kant Verma, along with other senior officials.“Under the MoU, BEU and all its affiliated govt engineering colleges will gain access to services such as ShodhGanga, ShodhShuddhi (plagiarism detection system), One Nation One Subscription (ONOS), IRINS, SOUL library automation system, IndCat, ShodhChakra, INFED, ILMS, ShodhPrabha and INFYMEET. Through these platforms, integrated and authenticated access to e-journals, e-books, theses, patents, conference information and other digital research resources will be ensured,” a DoSTTE official said on Friday.Addressing the gathering, the minister said the Bihar govt was continuously working to link technical education with knowledge, research and innovation. He said digital platforms such as INFLIBNET provide students and researchers with high-quality academic content on a single platform, enabling students of govt engineering colleges in Bihar to access learning and research resources on a par with leading institutions in the country.This initiative aligns with the state govt’s vision of making technical education more accessible, transparent and quality-driven, he added.Providing further details, departmental secretary Pratima said the new arrangement would enable students to access reliable and updated academic and research material through a single platform. “This will enhance the quality of project work, seminars, theses and research activities, while reducing dependence on multiple sources,” she said, adding that services such as ShodhShuddhi would help ensure quality and academic discipline in research writing.BEU vice-chancellor Suresh Kant Verma described the partnership with INFLIBNET as a significant milestone for the university, saying it would strengthen the teaching and research ecosystem of BEU and its affiliated colleges by integrating them with the national digital academic network.