Principal scientific adviser to the government of India, Prof A.K. Sood, has urged KIIT-TBI (Technology Business Incubator) to launch a “tribal knowledge digital library” to disseminate the rich tribal knowledge that is passed from generation to generation but is not widely known outside.

Addressing the KIIT’s R&D conclave on Thursday, Sood said KIIT-TBI’s “tribal knowledge digital library” should work like the “traditional knowledge digital library” recently launched under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

“Make it specific to your case. There is so much of tribal knowledge that has been passed from generation to generation but is not really known outside,” he said.

He made a strong pitch for greater synergies between KIIT and KISS (Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences), saying a strong social connection between these two institutes is of utmost importance to impact lives across societies through need-based research work.

The R&D conclave is being organised to commemorate the ongoing silver jubilee celebrations of KIIT.

Chairman and managing director of the National Research Development Corporation (N RDC), Commodore Amit Rastogi (Retd), complimented the research infrastructure at the KIIT campus, a documented policy on R&D, strong industry-academia connect and a congenial ecosystem for developing ideas. He also hailed KIIT-TBI for beating the NRDC recently to win the National Intellectual Property Awards.

“There is a complete value chain established at the KIIT where papers get published and there is protection through IP,” he said.