Srinagar: Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir Sunday commenced a webinar series of industry-academia interface for boosting innovation and entrepreneurship among the fisheries students and professionals of the varsity.
The series, ‘Success stories of Fisheries Entrepreneurs to boost young Fisheries Professionals: A step towards Blue Revolution’ was organised by the university’s Faculty of Fisheries under the World Bank-ICAR funded National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) for the institutional development of SKUAST-K.
SKUAST-K Vice Chancellor, Prof Nazir Ahmad Ganai, who was the chief guest at the inaugural function, talked about the university’s focus towards creating an ecosystem for innovation and startups. He said to inculcate entrepreneurial spirit among the students and teachers, the university, besides providing the mentoring and incubation facilities, is also helping the students with the relevant skills and training from the industry-best national and international experts.
Talking about various entrepreneurial opportunities in the fisheries sector of J&K, Prof Ganai said given the abundance of water resources, Kashmir has tremendous potential for cultivation and processing of fish and its byproducts.
Director, Fish Seed Farm Karnal Haryana, Sultan Singh, who delivered the first expert talk, shared his experiences, how he started his fisheries venture. From a single pond he started his business and today he has advanced technologies in his fish farm. He discussed with students about fish Culture, fish seed production and also discussed with them about recirculatory aquaculture system (RAS) and Aquaponics. The second expert talk was given by Vishal Durge CEO Fish Fanatics Pvt. Ltd. Mumbai. He informed the participants how to start the startups/ business in the fisheries sector. His talk focused on marketing of fish and fish products. He also shared his experiences on how to tackle risk factors in fisheries business and explained what are the basic requirements for startups in fisheries.
The program was also attended by Prof Massarat Khan, Dean Faculty of Fisheries SKUAST-K, Prof. Shiv Kumar Magda, Dean College of Fisheries Mangalore, Prof. Ketan Chaudhari, Head FRESE College of Fisheries Maharashtra, Manzoor Butt, Director, Team 24 Foods and Beverages Pvt. Ltd. Goa, Heads of Divisions, Faculty of Fisheries, Scientists and students.
Prof Massarat Khan, Dr. Gohar Bilal Wani, Head Division of Fishery Engg./ Coordinator NAHEP SKUAST-K explained the importance of academia-industry interface for development of entrepreneurship in fisheries and explained the future course of action of this programme. Dr. Kawkabul Saba (Organising Scientist) gave a brief about the programme. The program ended with a vote of thanks proposed by Dr. Ashwani Kumar, Head Div. of FNB, FoFy, SKAUST-K.

KR Desk