Skip to content Skip to navigation

Assamese academics wins highest teaching award at Flinders University, Australia


Dr. Udoy Sankar Saikia, who is currently working as the Associate Director of Applied Population Studies Programme at Flinders University, South Australia has been recently selected for “Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching” for the year 2011. This award is highest award category in teaching in an Australian University and normally awarded to only one every year. Dr. Saikia has been awarded for his sustained commitment to effective and policy relevant teaching through constructivist curriculum design to foster independent learning and empower students to achieve their goals in life. Udoy Saikia’s achievement as a teacher in an overseas university is quite inspiring to Assamese community with the fact that he completed his school and college education in Assamese medium. Among various achievements during his student career, Udoy Saikia received the Indian Friends of “London School of Economics Award” (year 1994) and “Australian Geographical Society’s Best Student Presentation Award” (year 2000).


An economist/demographer by profession (MSc from London School of Economics and PhD from Flinders University), Dr Saikia’s achievements in academic research have been demonstrated through many peer reviewed research publications and two commissioned reports, several conference presentations and two international awards (one from Germany and one from New Zealand). As an international consultant to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Dr Saikia co-authored the first Human Development Report for Autonomous Region of Bougainville- an island in Papua New Guinea. His area of research broadly covers population and sustainable development issues in Asia and the Pacific regions. Dr Saikia is currently the Vice President of the Executive Council, Australian Population Association- the peak research and advisory body on Australian population.


Dr. Saikia who has been residing in Australia for last 13 years, has a strong connection with grassroots developmental work in Assam. He is the founder member of South Australians Supporting Children and Women in Assam, (SASCWA), and successfully initiated ongoing community based project on early childhood development in Assam. With Dr. Saikia’s initiative SASCWA has developed a strong partnership with a local community organisation (Parijat) in Assam. SASCWA currently provides funding for primary schools in a number of remote communities in Assam to buy infrastructure and books for the students. SASCWA has also been providing salaries for three teachers in three different schools in these communities on an ongoing basis. With the collaboration and support from local members from Guwahati – SASCWA is currently in the process assisting a village community based in Village Maghupara near Guwahati to transform their village into a model village in near future. Detail about SASCWA can be found at www.sascwa.org


Dr. Saikia originally comes from Tarjana Kakoti Gaon, Jorhat and son of late Dr. Padma Dhar Saikia and Mrs. Santi Prova Saikia.


Add new comment

Random Stories

Black Widow kills one more in Haflong

16 May 2008 - 7:01pm | editor
Suspected Block Widow militants have killed one more person near Haflong on Friday morning to make the sutuation more volatile. According to information, one ZP Roia was killed near Haflong at around...

File Photo: Badruddin Ajmal

Ajmal mires in new controversy

8 Jun 2015 - 11:39am | Sunil Khabacha
AIUDF president Badruddin Ajmal mires in yet another controversy for his alleged misuse of power in Manipur. The Dhubri MP is believed to have been pressurizing Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi...

Golaghat book fair underway

19 Oct 2008 - 4:44am | Ritupallab Saikia
The long wait of book lovers of Golaghat is over as Golaghat Book Fair has opened its doors today. The Book Fair has been organized by the joint efforts of National Book Trust in association with...

Nethralaya to conduct free OPD

19 Jan 2017 - 10:15am | AT News
The city based Sri Sankaradeva Nethralaya will conduct the next Saturday evening OPD at at Guwahati Press Club (GPC) on 21 January. Experienced ophthalmologists namely Dr SS Tomar and Dr Krati Gupta...

Other Contents by Author

The Assam Directorate of Horticulture & Food Processing, Assam has decided to celebrate the World Honey Bee Day , in collaboration with Salt Range Private Limited, Guwahati on Saturday at Momai Tamuli Barbarua Training Hall, Khanapara, Guwahati.  The event is being organized under  Horticulture Mission for North East and Himalayan States(HMNEH). Atul Bora, Minister of Agriculture, Assam will inaugurate the programme in the morning.  Several bee keepers will attend in the programme. There will be Technical Session and Interaction Session for the benefit of bee keepers.   In this connection, a Training of Bee Keeper will also organised at...
Doordarshan Kendra, Guwahati will telecast a live Phone - in - Programme about present agricultural practices in context with recent flood affected fields in Assamese, on 2nd August , 2017 from 5.30pm to 6.00pm in the 'Krishi Darshan' Programme . Dr.Kishore Kr. Sharma, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Assam Agricultural University and Mowsam Hazarika Assistant Director of Agriculture, Directorate of Agriculture, Assam will take part in the discussion and interact with the farmers.
In an effort to supply quality seeds to the farmers, the Assam State Seed Certification Agency (ASSCA) mooted a Seed Village Programme across 19 districts. According to reports, the agency is also looking to increase by more than double and reach a figure of Rs one crore during this financial year which will boost seed production, certification as well as procurement through joint efforts by the ASSCA and the Assam Seed Corporation (ASC). “For 2017-18, we have taken up winter paddy seed production through Seed Village Programme in 19 districts. A total of 2,420 hectares of agricultural land and 7,260 farmers have been brought under the programme,” Ananda Karmakar, Managing Director of...
Good news on Assam’s agriculture front. Dozens of varieties of winter paddy ( Sali Paddy ) seeds produced by registered Seed Growers,certified by Assam State Seed Certification Agency (ASSCA) are set to yield encouraging results. Procured by authorised Seed Dealers distributed or sold among farmers giving multifolds benefit to: Producers, Buyers, Farmers, State's Income and ASSCA's revenue earning too. ASSCA's revenue earning is at increasing trend: 2015-16 =Rs.25,84,067, 2016-17=Rs.44,38,192.  Strategies have been formulated in order to boost up more Seed production, Certification and Procurement through joint efforts of ASSCA and Assam Seed Corporation (ASC).  "There is no...
The Centre has launched a centrally sponsored Scheme in the north eastern region to boost the wild crop harvesting in thr country where Assam will reap rich harvest. Named as Mission Organic Value Chain Development, the scheme is expected to develop crop commodity specific organic value chain and address gaps in organic crop production. Apart from it, the mission aims at giving a boost to the organic livestock management, processing handling and marketing of organic agricultural products through the developing crop specific organic production clusters with necessary infrastructural. Technical and financial support by facilitating partnerships between farmers and organic businesses is...
Shillong-based Zizira, which is engaged in the area of natural food products, is looking to open markets in a way that will benefit the farmers of north-eastern region. “Agencies and the Government institutions help farmers with schemes, research and improved technological models, but they do not typically open markets. The farmers simply want to sell and make money. This is where Zizira comes in. Zizira is striving towards a successful business to sell products to the metro cities across India,” Ibansara Shullai, Coordinator of Zizira, told . She added, “Farmers sell the crops in the local markets or to middlemen at lower prices. We are working towards changing this concept.” “Currently...
The Centre has launched a centrally sponsored Scheme named as Mission Organic Value Chain Development for the North Eastern states during to develop crop commodity specific organic value chain and address gaps in organic crop production. It further aims at wild crop harvesting, organic livestock management and processing handling and marketing of organic agricultural products through the developing crop specific organic production clusters with necessary infrastructural, technical and financial support by facilitating partnerships between farmers and organic businesses. This includes Local enterprises and / or Farmer Producer Companies based on back-to-back long-term trade relations with...
The Union Cabinet has approved the Interest Subvention Scheme (ISS) for farmers for the year 2017-18 to help farmers get short term crop loan up to Rs. 3 lakh payable within one year at only 4% per annum. The Government has earmarked a sum of Rs. 20,339 crore for this purpose. The interest subvention will be given to Public Sector Banks (PSBs), Private Sector Banks, Cooperative Banks and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) on use of own funds and to NABARD for refinance to RRBs and Cooperative Banks. The Interest Subvention Scheme will continue for one year and it will be implemented by NABARD and RBI. The objective of the scheme is to make available at ground level, agricultural credit for...
Crijaf Sona, a microbial formulation powder used for retting jute fibres, was launched in Guwahati on Monday. The microbial formulation, developed by the Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibres (CRIJAF), under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, is expected to increase the income of farmers. Nearly 80,000 farmers are engaged in jute cultivation in Assam and the annual production of jute fibre is 1.3 lakh tonnes.Retting is the process of extracting fibre from a plant's stem and one way of doing so is the use of micro-organisms and moisture. Water or microbial retting is an old but the most popular process in extracting fine bast fibres. Jute stalks, after harvesting,...
Guwahati Doordarshan Kendra will telecast a live Phone-in-Programme, namely 'Hello Krishi Darshan' on Commercial Floriculture in Assamese , on 7th June (Wednesday) next from 5.30pm to 6pm in the 'Krishi Darshan' programme. Dr Sunil Kumar Borah , Principal Scientist, Horticultural Research Station, Assam Agricultural University and Mowsam Hazarika, Assistant Director ( Horticulture) , Directorate of Horticulture and Food Processing, Assam will take part in the programme . It may be mentioned that, the said programme will be helpful for the farmers of Assam, who are interested in floriculture . It is hope that, floriculture may initiate new era in Assam Horticulture . Interested farmers may...