Skip to content Skip to navigation

Seminar on Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) in Higher Education and Research

By Babul Gogoi |


A seminar on “Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) in Higher Education and Research” will be held in Guwahati University, on December 3. The seminar will be organised jointly between Guwahati University and NRCFOSS (National Resoirce Centre for Free/Open Source Software) Chennai is mainly meant to create awareness of FOSS and its value and relevance to the Indian acacdemic and research community. The occasion would also be used to see how NRCFOSS can support the participating universities and colleges in introducing FOSS into their curricula for the benefit of the students.


The event is meant prmarily for the faculty and students of the BE(CSE)/BTech(IT)/ MSc(CS)/MSc(IT)/MCA programs from institutions located in and around Guwahati – such as Guwahati University, Assam Engineering College, IIT Guwahati, etc. Beyond the CS/IT areas, the Seminar would also discuss the role and scope of FOSS in Science Education and Research so that the event would also be of interest to the faculty and students of the Science Stream.


The event could be a full-day one consisting of the following components, depending on the interests of the participants:


i) One 90 minutes introductory session meant for Teachers, HODs, Deans, Members of Boards of Studies, etc. touching on the following: What is FOSS, and what is its relevance to India?



  • FOSS in CS/IT Education

  • FOSS in Science Education and Research

  • FOSS in Management and Administration

  • NRCFOSS and its Program with Universities


ii) One 90 mnts introductory talk to students of CS/CSE/IT streams on FOSS Technologies and how it can help their careers.


iii) One 45 mnts Meeting with the VC, Deans, HODs of CS/CSE/IT streams to decide on the modes of introducing FOSS into their curricula, with the support of NRCFOSS.


Including Q&A, sessions (i) and (ii) would end up taking 2 hrs each. One scenario could be to have (i) and (iii) in the morning (10.0AM to 1.0 PM), and (iii) in the afternoon (2.30 – 4.30PM). It could also be the other way around if found more convenient.


Presentations would be made by the following:



  • Prof. C N Krishnan, NRCFOSS, Anna University Chennai.

  • Prof. Savithri Singh, Principal, AND College, Delhi University

  • Scientist from C-DAC Kolkkata

  • Faculty from Guwahati University



For event information, please contact:


Dr. Shikhar Kr. Sarma
Associate Professor
Department of Computer Science,
Gauhati University
Guwahati, Assam-781014, India
Phone: +91-361-2571138 (0ff.).




Author info

Babul Gogoi's picture

Journalist, Coder, Traveler. Facebook: https://facebook.com/gogoi

Add new comment

Assamese Translator

Assam Times seeks English to Assamese translators!
Join our volunteer team.
Email editor@assamtimes.org.

Random Stories

Life of beggars

2 Dec 2012 - 4:09am | editor
In ancient times the Hindu Society begging for mendicants and their students . The students were allowed to beg for their teacher. But they were never called beggars. They were received with highest...

Meet on rhino-poaching, illegal trade, rhino horn verification process

30 Aug 2016 - 2:49pm | AT News
Nature’s Beckon and Journalists Forum Assam have organized a Citizen’s Meet on relentless rhino-poaching, illegal rhino horn trade and also the ongoing rhino horn verification process in Assam on 1...

Convention of Sivasagar district AIYF

16 Dec 2012 - 4:09am | SK Hasan
The 15th annual convention of All India Youth Federation's Sivasagar district committee was held at Nazira MC Club on December 15. In this connection a public meeting was held under the presidentship...

Mild tremor strikes panic

16 May 2015 - 10:24pm | AT News
 Yet another mild tremor struck no less panic among the people on Saturday evening. Measuring 5.6 in the Rickhter scale, the tremor took place at 5.9 in the evening forcing the people in...

Other Contents by Author

Assam Leopards: Habitat Loss Fuels Conflict, Community Program Pushes Coexistence

Assam, one of India’s seven biodiversity rich northeastern states, presents a landscape of lush evergreen forests and grasslands that is home to a great diversity of species including many of the rare cat species. Of the magnificent felines--while the tiger enjoys the lion share of all conservation efforts--the leopard however, continues to remain neglected. A Scheduled I species under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, the survival of the leopard (Panthera pardus) in Assam is under threat due to an expanding human population and accompanying development and habitat fragmentation.  “...

Anjali's Book: A Guwahati Tale

Anjali is my friend. She lived in Guwahati for nearly three years. I didn't know she was researching this book! I love to read books. Recently, I read her book, "Keeping in Touch." It's a love story set in today's world. The story is about Keteki, a designer, and Ved, a businessperson. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop. The story begins with Keteki and Ved meeting at an airport. Ved is going to Assam to see a special lightbulb factory. Keteki is coming back home to Guwahati after an art show in London. Their chance meeting leads to a love story that goes beyond borders and takes them on adventures in Assam and other places. What I liked about "Keeping in Touch" is how Anjali...

Aspiration of Assamese students on the rise

During the Covid-19, a few brave Assamese boys and girls sailed offshore in search of their destiny, braving heavy odds like the lack of flights, lack of appointments for visas and uncertainty in foreign land. In the most unprecedented times in the history of mankind, now when the world goes through spells of complete lockdown, the youth were clueless about how to deal with this situation. Nevertheless, some brave-hearts embraced challenges with the right spirit and converted them to opportunities. Dewang Rajkakati is one of them. He left India during the height of the Corona Pandemic in December 2020 after completing B Tech from SRM University. He studied MS from the State...

Encounter claims life in Kokrajhar

KOKRAJHAR: An encounter incident took place in the Ultapani forest area along the Indo-Bhutan border area of Kokrajhar district on Thursday night that reportedly killed a person who was allegedly involved with extremist activities recently in Chirang district. The deceased was identified as Sanjula Wary, 26, of the Sapkata area of the Gossaigaon subdivision. Police arrested Sanjula Wary(26) of Kashiabari Dulagaon under Gossaigaon police station on Thursday. as per police, he was earlier a member of the NLFB Udalguri camp and had formed an extremist gang of about 10-15 members who were personally involved in the recent dacoity and firing incident at Bithani village under Amteka in...

Govt downplays allegations of encounter-raj

Guwahati: An orgy of "encounters" triggered no less uproar in the state assembly on Monday, where the government denied any such case of an encounter by police. According to the government, there is nothing new in a few incidents of deaths of criminals in police firing in the state. Opposition legislators alleged a mysterious rise in the number of deaths in police firings since the new government was installed in Dispur. Senior minister Piyush Hazarika tried to pacify the legislators by saying that there is no such word as "encounter" in the Assam police manual. He said that police can’t remain idle if a criminal tries to flee from custody.  “It was during the erstwhile...

APCC demands CBI investigation into Kokrajhar encounter killing

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has demands CBI to investigate the recent encounter where two Bodo youths lost their lives in Kokrajhar district at the Lungsung area. Speaking to the media at Kokrajhar, APCC senior spokesperson Gorjon Mushahary charged the state government with creating a chaotic environment in Bodoland Territorial Region districts by misguiding the administration. The congress party demands CBI investigation into the encounter in Ultapani forest area and punishment of the responsible parties, as...

Lovlina Borgohain confirms an Olympic medal

Lovlina Borgohain, the Women's boxer from Assam, defeated Chen of Chinese Taipei 4-1 to assure a second Tokyo Olympic medal for India on Friday. She will play against Turkish boxer Busenaz SURMENELI in the Semifinals August 4. Watch video of winning moments: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=813783922615822

Lovlina enters quarter finals in Tokyo 2020

Lovlina BORGOHAIN advances to quarters in the Women's Welter (64-69kg) beating Germany's Nadine APETZ in the Tokyo 2020 on Tuesday. She will play Nien-Chin CHEN of Taipei on July 30.

Tigers population increases in the Manas Tiger Reserve

The increase in tiger population in the Manas National Park is a milestone in country-wide tiger conservation efforts. Since peace returned to Manas after a prolonged insurgency, dedicated conservation intervention to secure the population of tigers was in place. The annual monitoring of tigers, co-predators, and prey animals is a prime mandate set by the Government of India to all tiger reserves designated as tigers‟ source population sites. With each passing year, Manas is adorning new feathers to its cap. This time „Manas Tiger Reserve‟ has been successful in a three-fold increase in tiger number in the last ten years (2011-2021). It is worth mentioning that this is an outcome of the...

Rights violation cases going up

Guwahati: Violation is human rights has become the order of the day in Assam if the statistics available with the state human rights commission is any indication. During the last one year alone, the commission has registered 81 cases in the state.   Till December 1,2020 the number of cases has gone up to 273 in addition to the pending 108 cases. The commission, however, claimed to have settled 178 cases till October 31, 2020.  In 2019, 317 cases were registered and the total cases with the Commission stand at 491. These include 174 pending cases. According to the commission, they have registered highest 69 cases in Kamrup Metro during this period. Kamrup metro is...