Lumami: Nagaland University marked its 33rd Foundation Day on Monday, highlighting its growing research, innovation and start-up ecosystem and recognising contributions from teachers, researchers, students and non-teaching staff.
Vice-Chancellor Prof. Jagadish Kumar Patnaik, who was the chief guest, said the university had the intellectual and institutional resources to achieve greater heights, with research, innovation and start-ups emerging as key areas of growth.
“Governance is the key to development,” Patnaik said, highlighting efforts over the past four years to strengthen policy-oriented governance, mobilise resources and create incentives for research and innovation.
Established in 1994 by an Act of Parliament, Nagaland University now has six schools, 43 departments and five Centres of Studies, with campuses at Lumami, Kohima and Medziphema and 70 affiliated colleges across Nagaland.
The university has 242 teaching and 618 non-teaching staff. During 2025-26, it awarded 100 PhD, 791 postgraduate and 6,452 bachelor’s degrees, besides degrees in B.Ed., M.Ed., nursing and LLB programmes.
Research with regional focus
The university said its research over the past year has focused on areas including climate and environment, biodiversity, indigenous knowledge, healthcare, agriculture, rural livelihoods, new materials, energy storage and emerging technologies.
Among its recent work are the development of the high-yielding ginger variety SAS-KEVÜ, research on biochar and sustainable agriculture, and a backyard poultry initiative through which women’s self-help groups generated more than Rs 30 lakh.
Research has also covered soil and environmental degradation, river health, land-use change, glacier retreat and high-altitude lake stability across the Northeast, alongside studies on traditional medicinal plants and biodiversity resources.
The university said research in biodegradable electrolytes, flexible supercapacitors, wastewater resource recovery, artificial intelligence and quantum technologies has further expanded its multidisciplinary research portfolio.
Patents and innovation
Nagaland University has also emerged as a leading government university in patent generation. It was reported as the top government university in India for patents granted over the preceding three years in 2025, with 97 patents.
In the India Today India’s Best Universities 2026 rankings, the university was ranked second among government universities for patents granted and fifth for patents published, based on the three-year period cited.
The university’s Intellectual Property Rights Cell, established in October 2023, supports faculty, researchers and students in patent and utility-model applications.
Its Multidisciplinary Research Centre is also promoting interdisciplinary research, product development and the application of science and technology, including multidisciplinary undergraduate and doctoral research.
The Foundation Day programme also saw the presentation of the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards 2026 to recognise outstanding contributions by teachers, non-teaching employees, research scholars and students across the university.
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