An endowment agreement was signed between Kathmandu University and Dr. Bikash Adhikari for the establishment of the “Dr. Bikash Adhikari Endowment Fund” on 13 August 2023. The fund was established from the amount unused, and revenue generated by the EVENT II JMT project, which was led by Dr. Bikash Adhikari. Out of the revenue generated and unused fund from the project, an Endowment fund of Rs. 2,00,00,000 (NPR. Twenty Million) was established.
The EVENT project, funded by the World Bank, aimed to provide assistance to result-based funding, which finances outcomes in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector. According to the agreement, KU collaborated with the project by carrying out the EVENT Project's joint monitoring tasks, which included providing the necessary field-based monitoring, data, and reports to verify the results and effectiveness of the short-term technical and vocational training programs and professional training with on-the-job training (level 2) based on the findings of the field-based monitoring.
The endowment fund so established has been named Dr. Bikash Adhikari Endowment Fund. The annual proceeds from the endowment fund would be used for the establishment of the Center for Environmental Safeguards and Occupational Safety (CESOS) at Kathmandu University and for the Enhancement and upgradation of human resources in Technical and Vocational Education/Training to university-level skill-based education. CESOS would focus on the study of occupational safety and health and empower professionals and organizations to create safe and healthy workplaces while also providing coursework and training to students at the university, professionals, and workers going for foreign employment on occupational safety and health.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Bikash Adhikari shed light on the activities conducted as a part of the EVENT II JMT Project and the rationale behind the establishment of the endowment fund and thanked all the staffs and students who put in tireless efforts to successfully commence the project. The Vice Chancellor of KU, Prof. Dr. Bhola Thapa, in his closing remarks emphasized the importance of endowment funds in the university and how the funds could provide buffers against external economic shocks to the university. He urged the faculties and staffs to contribute their efforts to further mobilization of the endowment fund. Additionally, he commended the recently established endowment fund, drawing parallels between its purpose and Kathmandu University's original mission of advancing technical education and cultivating a technical workforce in the nation. Expressing optimism, he envisioned CESOS evolving into a hub that imparts occupational safety awareness to migrant workers, thereby reducing fatalities and accidents among them.
The agreement was signed at Senate Hall, CV Raman Auditorium in the presence of the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Bhola Thapa, Deans of the School of Science and School of Engineering and other senior university officials.
