H.E. Mr. Raj Kumar Srivastava, Ambassador of India to the Republic of Croatia, visited the University of Rijeka on Thursday, March 30, 2023, accompanied by Mr. Ivan Delić, Information and Cultural Assistant at the Embassy. This is the Ambassador’s third visit to the University, and this time, he visited Rijeka to open the Rijeka part of the initiative related to the International Year of Millet (IYM).
The Ambassador was welcomed by the Rector, Prof. Snježana Prijić-Samaržija, Ph.D., along with Prof. Lado Kranjčević, Ph.D., Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Assoc. Prof. Marina Ivašić Kos, Ph.D., Dean of the Faculty of Informatics and Digital Technologies, and Assoc. Prof. Marin Karuza, Ph.D., former Dean of the Faculty of Physics. Also present at the meeting were the members of the Croatian-Indian Friendship Society, i.e. Mr. Mladen Zlamalik (President) and Mr. Neven Tomašić.
After signing the Memorandum of Understanding with the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in October 2021, the meeting served as a perfect opportunity to discuss concrete forms of cooperation with the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Informatics and Digital Technologies. Prompted by a common desire to connect young talents from India and Croatia, the participants agreed that it is necessary to develop new skills-based programs that will enable young researchers to exchange ideas and knowledge. This is conceived through new initiatives between universities in India and Croatia aimed at establishing staff and student exchange (doctoral and postdoctoral level), thus ensuring fruitful future relations between the two countries.
With a civil engineering degree from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and further studies in structural engineering and earthquake sciences, Ambassador Srivastava touched upon the problem of the increasing use of technology. As technology is slowly replacing humans in all spheres of life, he emphasized the importance of responsible usage of AI.
The Ambassador emphasized the necessity of strengthening bilateral cooperation with universities in India, primarily in the form of student and staff exchange. In addition to possible forms of cooperation in the field of digital technologies, AI, electrical engineering, and computing, he mentioned the possibility of cooperation in the field of medicine and pharmaceutical studies, and as a possible Indian partner, he proposed the King George’s Medical University, a public university that holds an extremely prominent position on the world stage thanks to its approach in combining world-class biomedical research with outstanding patient care.
Before his arrival in Croatia, Mr. Srivastava served in Indian Embassies in Madrid (Spain), Yangon (Myanmar), Vienna (Austria), Brasilia (Brazil), and Tokyo (Japan). While at Headquarters in Delhi, he has worked in Foreign Service Institute, Americas (U.S. & Canada) Division, and Gulf (Persian Gulf) Division.
