Think Tank Meeting

The ‘Think Tank – 2023’ meeting emphasized the importance of collaborative research, academic rigour, and structured engagement among member institutions. A shared format for research collaboration was recommended, along with an action plan for academic activities over the next 3–5 years, subject to periodic review. Each think tank is to be designated a specific area to lead, encouraging inter-institutional cooperation and complementarity. A collective forum would help utilize members’ expertise to produce clear outputs, policy recommendations, and knowledge relevant to students, scholars, and governments. There was also a call to strengthen connections with state governments, enhance support for college curriculums, identify research gaps for young scholars, expand internship programs, and improve government responsiveness, especially in southern India. Other recommendations included fostering international collaborations, boosting crowdfunding efforts, incorporating student panels in conferences, promoting policy advocacy through research, and leveraging online platforms for broader outreach.

Younger scholars at the meeting emphasized public access to published research and its dissemination to policymakers. They recommended using the forum to help students grasp the foundations of policy-making, creating skill-building internship programs, organizing more conferences with government collaboration, and utilizing social media for outreach. Suggestions also included providing fellowships, language courses, and increasing the production of books and papers for conceptual clarity. As part of the meeting’s decisions, the emerging collective will be temporarily known as the "Consortium of Academic Institutions" (CAI) until a final name is agreed upon. Approval from current members will be required before inducting new ones. A social media handle will be established following consensus, and CAI will adopt a rotational coordinator system—starting with the Centre for East Asian Studies for 2024, followed by the Centre for National Security Studies in 2025. Quarterly meetings will be held, with the next scheduled for February or March 2024 in hybrid mode, and a common calendar will be developed to track member events.