Skip to content Skip to navigation

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

By Bg 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.).




  • 7027 reads

Add new comment

Other Contents by Author

CAB likely to strike down BJP’s prospect

BJP and its ruling coalition partners would have to pay heavy price in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls if what the experts dealing with the north eastern affairs say are any indication. Veteran journalist Sanjoy Hazarika said the escalating anger might adversely impact the BJP's voter base in the region. Excerpts from the interview with Sanjoy Hazarika, journalist author, and currently Director of Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. AT: How would you justify the seismic wave of protests in the entire north east against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016? Sanjoy Hazarika: What is there to justify: this is public anger at the Centre for not listening to the concerns of people in the...

Here comes Rongdwip Troupe to hit the land of Bohag

GUWAHATI: Jadu Deka can’t waste even an hour these days. Same it is in the cases of Jitu, Lakheswar, Pranab, Bitupan et al since Rongali Bihu is on the threshold. Only a couple of hours is left. With traditional Assamese Dhul on their shoulders they are busy with the preparation of huchori performance to mark the most vaunted spring festival commencing from Saturday. Achyut, the holder of the buffalo horn pipe is all set to mesmerize the onlookers in the nook and corner of the state in the Bihu Huchori performance in the house yards, shopping mall yards. Munna is well prepared with his flute like Dulu with his traditional cymbals to add huge value in the performance. Christened as...

Assam immigration echoes in UN

The vexed illegal migrants issue in Assam has reached the United Nations when the Prabajan Virodhi Manch has screened an eye opening documentary at the ongoing UNHRC summit in Geneva on Thursday. Produced by the organization entitled Assam: The Silent Genocide, the documentary has highlighted the impact of the unabeted influx of the Bangladeshi nationals from across the border. The border influx, according to the documentary, has upset the delicate demography of state and if these are allowed to go unchecked, the indigenous lot would be alien in their own home.For the last couple of months, the organization led by noted lawyer Upamanyu Hazarika has been demanding immediate deportation of...

UN attention on NE farmers

The brimful worries of north eastern region’s farming community seem to have struck UN attention when B Thomas from Liberation, a London-based human rights organization addressed the 34th session of UN Human Rights Council for the princely north eastern state on the issue of Right to Food in Geneva on Thursday.He said the enforcement of the Armed Forces Special Power Act 1958 has been affecting the farmers who keep producing food the feed the millions of the people in the state and abroad. But, he said, 97 farmers were killed during army’s counter insurgency operation against ULFA rebels under the draconian law.He said farmers were killed after ruthless torture and hectors of cropland were...

Food poisoning strikes UN attention

Geneva March 10: Food poisoning is now a global phenomenon. But India has reasons to be worried where the country has been witnessing a series of incidents at regular intervals. Foods in the country is far from being fresh and healthy where pesticides and chemical fertilizers are used to boost the production. These are more or less of what a representative from India said at the ongoing UN Human Rights Conference in Geneva on Thursday. In his speech, Pankaj Jyoti Hazarika, who represented Prahar, a non governmental organization said Assam is one of the state where these incidents have been hitting media headlines. “In the promotion of health and prevention of disease the role of...

What goes wrong with Fase Pardhi?

Geneva, March 9: A lesser known tribe and their pathetic plights in the Indian sub continent knocked at the doors of the United Nations which is holding its 34th session of Human Rights Council in Geneva.  The Fase Pardhi community is scattered in Maharashtra, Karnataka. In his speech at a side event "Women and Child RIghts" dalit rights activist Vishal Kamble precisely threw some lights on the sub human condition of the tribe who are still living outside the village areas without any access to education, healthcare and potable. According Kamble, the governments have no dearth of schemes. But all of these schemes' have failed to percolate any benefit for them. As a result, these...

The Balajan mystery

The entire incident of bloodbath in Balajan, in fact, is shrouded in mystery. The ground situation seems to have suggested utter cluelessness. The picture is still hazy. The statement issued by NDFB-S has further made the state of affairs more confusing. Security forces smartly claimed to have killed one of the perpetrators minutes after he along with his fellow militants unleashed terror with firing and bombing in the weekly market. Then how his fellows have managed to vanished from the spot? Why an intensive combing operation has been failing to trace down the remaining perpetrators? These things need to be clear. Talking to a section of media, some eye witnesses maintained that police...

Who is behind Balajan bludgeon

Who is behind the gory bloodbath in Balajan where 14 people died and several others sustained injury? Initially, the needle of suspicion pointed towards NDFB-S who out rightly rejected the claim. The inputs are now contradictory making the scene more confusing.Some circles tried to call it the handiwork of the fundamentalist forces. Some of them talked of a suicide squad attack. But dearth of concrete evidence makes it difficult to confirm it. Then who is behind the deadly attack?Police claimed to have killed one of the attackers minutes after the incident at a stone’s throw distance from the incident site. But how police killed the striker who managed to come to the market with arms and...

Oil field auction fuels massive protest

Assam is on the threshold of a massive agitation for exercising the rights over its own resources if somebody goes by the howls of startewide protest against the move to auction marginal oil fields.Many political parties and organizations are up in arms against the Narendra Modi Government at the Centre alleging a set of policies which is believed to have hurt the sentiment of the people who are proud of the state’s oil and tea.These agitating parties and organizations have not spared three month old BJP-led coalition government as they pledged massive agitation to stop the move.The massive agitation started erupting as soon as the Centre cleared the decks for auctioning a dozen of oil...

Secret killings: The real Story

Only two words ‘secret killings’ struck no less storm across Assam 15 years back where the relatives and friends of a section of ULFA leaders went missing. The bodies were recovered later without any clue to follow the perpetrators. But strangely, protests refused to surface not to speak of police investigation.  Even nobody from the government was with the bereaved family members. One after another such incidents kept Assam’s socio political scene on the boil during the erstwhile Mahanta regime. Congress, in 2001, was quick to make it a poll issue blaming it all on the AGP-led four party alliance government for it. The anger and resentment among the people helped Congress regain...