Siliguri, Sept. 8: Keeping in mind the unique geo-strategic location of the region, North Bengal University is going to introduce a course in strategic and area studies from the next academic season.

The two-year post-graduate degree (MA) course is going to be funded by the University Grants Commission and will be the first of its kind in eastern India. In fact, the subject is presently taught in only two or three Indian universities.

Concurrently, NBU also plans to introduce three self-financed courses to its curriculum. These include one-year post-graduate diploma courses in Museum Studies and Cultural Tourism and Mass Communication and Video Production. A one-year MA course in Library and Information Science will also be introduced.

On the strategic and area studies course, NBU registrar T.K. Chatterjee said: ?The reason why we chose to start the course here, and the reason why the UGC came forward to fund it, is the region's unique location. Sharing international borders with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, the place is of extreme importance as far as the nation's security is concerned.?

Chatterjee added that once the Nathu-la opens for trade, the region would assume greater importance.

According to Chatterjee, the course will cover all aspects of the region ? be it social, economic, political and security-related.

The course, open to honours graduates from any stream, will commence from November 14. It will be conducted at NBU?s Centre for Himalayan Studies and students will be required to pay a subsidised course fee of Rs 4,800 per year.

Among the self-financed courses, the museum and tourism course is specially relevant to the region, said Chatterjee. The university boasts of its own museum (Akshay Kumar Maitreya Museum) ? one of the few university museums in the country.

Set up in 1965 and housing rare collections, the museum, the authorities believe, will go a long way in supporting the course.