GADVASU Conducts Training in Advanced Technologies for Seafood Processing & Value Addition

Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) flagged of its first batch of 20 undergraduate (B.F.Sc.) students at the College of Fisheries (COF) for a 2-week international training session at the Prince of Songkla University (PSU), Hat Yai, Thailand's International Centre of Excellence in Seafood Science and Innovation (ICE-SSI).

The program was funded by the National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) of ICAR's Institutional Development Plan (IDP), which aims to enhance UG students' professional competence by developing their institutions' capabilities.

The B.F.Sc. students' excellent overseas training opportunity was made possible thanks in large part to Dr. Prabjeet Singh, Assistant Professor (Fisheries). Additionally, he received a 2-week fully funded capacity-building exposure visit to ICE-SSI, PSU-Thailand, and is accompanying the students as ‘Tour Coordinator'.

According to Dr. Meera D. Ansal, Dean, COF, eligible B.F.Sc. students from COF competed for this opportunity to receive practical training in advanced technologies for seafood processing and value addition to increase the shelf life and safety of fisheries products at ICE-SSI, PSU, Thailand. At this stage of their professional lives, working in the lab of Professor Dr. Soottawat Benjakul, Director, ICE-SSI, PSU (Thailand), who has more than 38,000 citation and an h-index of 96, is an invaluable learning experience for the student, she noted.

According to Dr. S.P.S. Ghuman, dean of the College of Veterinary Science and principal investigator for IDP-NAHEP, ICAR support for developing the professional skills of UG students participating in NAHEP is changing the perspectives of young veterinary, dairy, and fisheries professionals, and this will have a significant impact on the nation's livestock and fisheries sectors' ability to develop sustainably.

The vice chancellor of GADVASU, Dr. Inderjeet Singh, stated that it is important to give our young professionals improved knowledge and skills so they may gain confidence and more effectively handle the upcoming issues in relation to food security and safety. According to him, the development of global academic and research links under ICAR's IDP-NAHEP would eventually act as a catalyst for successful global collaborations that will benefit the livestock and fisheries sectors.