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Education and science do not have geo-political boundaries to share knowledge with the rest of the world, said Sekar Viswanathan, vice-president, VIT. In his presidential address at M.Sc biotechnology twinning degree award ceremony and specialization in medicinal plants and phytotherapy, which was organised by VIT at its campus here, he said that due to the geopolitical changes, many countries are becoming protectionists by tightening their borders in recent years. “Despite such a development, educationists and scientists go beyond political boundaries to serve humanity. In that sense, educationists are true global citizens,” he said. Highlighting strong ties on the Indo-French collaborations, he said that both countries have many things to share and enrich each other. India has a vast biodiversity, skilled human resources and growing innovation ecosystem whereas the excellence of France lies in areas like life science research, pharmaceutical technology and Research and Development (R&D) in the industrial sector. Both countries can benefit from each other, he said. In his address, Etienne Rolland-Piegue, Consul General, French Consulate (Pondicherry) said that Indo-French relations are more than three centuries old. French architecture heritage and its presence in Pondicherry exemplifies the long and sustained relations between the two countries. “The future Indo-French partnership will focus on artificial intelligence (AI), sustainable development and people-to-people exchange,” he said. On the occasion, Professor T. Ramasami, former Secretary General, Department of Science and Technology, faculty members and students of VIT were present.
