The 5th International Conference on Smart Villages and Rural Development (COSVARD 2022) which was organised on December 12 and 13 at the Assam Engineering College in Guwahati successfully concluded on Wednesday.

The conference was organized in collaboration with the University of Melbourne in Australia.

COSVARD 2022 aims at the development of smart villages by empowering the rural communities of Assam residing across 26,000 villages in the state.

There were many eminent speakers and scholars from over nine countries who presented various research-based ideas and discussed numerous sustainable development models for developing villages in Assam.

The conference was organised under the joint chairmanship of Prof Atul Bora, Principal of Assam Engineering College and Prof Hemanta Doloi, Director of Smart Villages Lab at the University of Melbourne.

COSVARD is a by-product of the collaborative project between the University of Melbourne and Assam Engineering College.

The project was carried out at the Smart Villages Lab (SVL) which is a trans-disciplinary research center at the University of Melbourne.

This conference is organized with a vision for up-gradation of skills in the construction-sector of the state and to disseminate the information to all stakeholders involved in construction sector for creation of smart and sustainable villages and cities.

The inaugural session was attended by Sri Kuladhar Sikia, President of Asam Sahitya Sabha; Dr Samir Baruah, Prof PK Sikdar, Prof Mark Burry in addition to Dr Hemanta Doloi and Dr Atul Bora.