Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni in Solan district, and Bayer Crop Science signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for setting up a Bayer Learning Centre on its campus.
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of healthcare and agriculture. It aims to support experiential learning in agriculture through the establishment of Bayer Learning Centres. Under this collaboration, both institutions will jointly demonstrate innovative agricultural technologies at the learning centre at the university.
The MoU was signed between Vice-Chancellor HS Baweja and Mohan Babu Rajaram, Cluster Commercial Lead, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Bayer Crop Science. The collaboration aims to establish a learning centre for the demonstration and dissemination of advanced agricultural technologies, enhancement of skill development and experiential learning among students, promotion of sustainable agricultural practices and strengthening of industry-academia linkages.
Under the agreement, the university will facilitate learning centre activities on its farms and provide academic guidance and monitoring support to the participating students. Bayer Crop Science will provide all necessary inputs required for demonstration activities, including seeds, crop protection products, fertilisers, micronutrients and related materials. The company will also bear the cost of skilled and unskilled labour required for operational and maintenance activities at the learning centre.
Besides, Bayer in consultation with the university will offer incentives and a stipend to students actively involved in the management and monitoring of the centre. The company will further provide technical know-how, literature and expert visits for effective technology demonstrations and facilitate exposure visits, field days and training programmes at the site of the learning centre in collaboration with the university. The partnership will also help facilitate internship opportunities and career exposure for students under the guidance of experienced professionals.
Rajaram said that through the establishment of a learning centre, Bayer looks forward to nurturing skilled students and professionals who can meaningfully contribute to the agricultural sector. The Vice-Chancellor said that the partnership marked the beginning of a structured and funded research collaboration with one of the world’s leading crop science companies. He added that Bayer’s scientific expertise and product portfolio, combined with the university’s strengths in horticulture and forestry, would greatly benefit the farming community of the region.
He said that the initiative would strengthen students’ practical skills, enhance their employability opportunities and help position the university as a regional hub for the dissemination of horticultural knowledge.
