Srinagar: The University of Kashmir has been selected for the ‘GATI Achievers’ award by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, securing the top position in the ‘Academic Institutions’ category for its contributions in upholding its commitment towards gender equity and promotion of women in all spheres of sciences, especially in the STEMM disciplines.
The DST, which announced the results on June 10, 2023, has been piloting the prestigious Gender Advancement in Transforming Institutions (GATI) programme in partnership with the British Council for 30 top research institutions, institutions of national importance and academic institutions of the country.
All these institutions were selected for the programme in August 2021 through a rigorous screening process for which around 190 institutions were invited to submit the Expression of Interest (EoI) applications.
Under the programme, the University of Kashmir is committed to the key charter principles of the programme which draws inspiration from the Athena SWAN (Scientific Women’s Academic Network) framework of the UK Advance Higher Education, which has been successfully engaging in gender equity programmes in research and academia in several countries including UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Notably, Vice-Chancellor University of Kashmir Prof Nilofer Khan—the first woman Vice-Chancellor of the University—has been keenly monitoring the programme and has approved several key action plans to be implemented during the current phase of the programme.
