Laksmisree Banerjee in Jamshedpur on Sunday. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, July 24: Kolhan University pro-vice chancellor Laksmisree Banerjee wants to build a global platform for studies on tribal groups and women.

Banerjee, who returned to the city after a three-week trip to Canada on an international conference titled “Trans-national new literatures and cultures in the era of globalisation”, told the media today that these two subjects had great potential beyond borders.

Sharing her experience, Banerjee, who chaired several panel discussions on literature and culture during her Canada visit, told the media today that she tried to evolve new strategies to develop a worldwide network of studies on indigenous/tribal population and women.

“I feel that these are the two marginalised groups which can benefit from academic push. Therefore, during my stay in Canada, I held several meetings with top university administrators from different countries in the hope of forming an international consortium through collaborative efforts and also develop a centre for indigenous studies,” said Banerjee.

She said her visits to the universities of Toronto, Concordia and McGill were significant, as she was the only scholar-cum-administrator from Jharkhand among a host of intellectual representatives — writers, scholars and academics — from across the globe.

Apart from academic presentations, Banerjee, who is also a poet and Hindustani classical vocalist, said she found a discerning audience for her creativity.

Since her appointment as pro V-C of Kolhan University, she has been placing priority on quality of research.

Notably, Banerjee, a specialist in literature and culture studies, has taught and performed in China, Ireland, Rome, USA and Canada. She also presented a paper on eco-feminism at the World Conference of Fulbright Scholars, Washington, US.