Bhubaneswar, Dec. 26 -- India's first-ever academic cluster has been launched in Sambalpur, marking a significant milestone in the country's higher education landscape. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT) on Friday, Burla, formally initiating the cluster during the university's 17th convocation ceremony. The cluster has been named SEARCH, which stands for Sambalpur Educational and Research Cluster Harbour.

The academic cluster brings together seven major higher educational institutions of the region, VSSUT Burla, VIMSAR Burla, Sambalpur University, Gangadhar Meher University, Odisha State Open University, IIM Sambalpur, and OUAT Chiplima. Together, these institutions will f...