The Highland Institute, an independent research institute in Kohima, celebrated it ten years anniversary on 10 June. Dr Michael Heneise, an American anthropologist, and Dr Kekhrie Yhome, Advisor for School Education and SCERT, founded the institute in 2013. Dr Yhome was then a PhD candidate at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
The Highland Institute Board member Dr Vizovol Mekro, former Principal of Phek Government College, on the 10th Anniversary, said, “I first extend my congratulations to the two co-founders, Dr Michael Heneise and Dr. Kekhrie Yhome. For a place like Nagaland, in the far remote corner of India where facilities for research are minimal, it requires much courage, experience and good leadership to make such an institute functional and successful. The remarkable growth of the Institute is mostly due to the excellent leadership, net-working ability and relentless hard work of Dr Michael who served as Director till the early part of this year.”
From its Nagaland base, the Institute reaches out to a global network of collaborating scholars and academic institutions. The research centre focuses on socio-political, cultural, historical, environmental and developmental issues affecting communities in highland Asia.
Its research partners have included Oxford Policy Management, UK universities in Leeds, Edinburgh, and Cambridge, RV University Bangalore, Centre for Karbi Studies, India-wide Doctors for You, the International Development Research Centre of Canada, the Danish Institute for International Studies, and the Nagaland Government. The Highland Institute also has a vibrant community of associated research Fellows from distinguished universities around the world.
Catriona Child, Acting Director, drawing attention to the establishment’s community role, said “Our Institute exemplifies how global and local can work together. We have an active internship programme and, supported by our international Fellows, we train local scholars to become world-class researchers. Moreover, we regularly reach out to Kohima schools with events like our ethnographic film club and themed activity days.”
Previous projects include work on an important Karbi epic “Kecharhe Alun”, investigating surgical care in four states, documenting youth-related problems in post-conflict situations, studying nutrition determinants and strategies in North-East India, and holding exhibitions, such as the recent “Ancestral Voices” showcasing Nagaland’s changing soundscapes. Current projects include two multi-year studies on indigenous environmental knowledge and climate change, a review of Kohima’s tourist facilities, and Ekologos, a global environmental humanities initiative led by UiT the Arctic University of Norway.
The Highland Institute Fellowship seeks to attract world-class scholars actively engaged in both research and teaching in conjunction with partner institutions and granting agencies. Often based in staff positions in other universities around the world they engage in both short- and long-term research projects in South and Southeast Asia, and often work closely with postgraduate and early career researchers at the Institute in collecting, processing and publishing data and findings. Fellows may spend several weeks to several months engaged in fieldwork, and organise as well as present their ongoing work in the regular calendar of seminars, meetings and activities organised by the Highland Institute. Time permitting, they engage in intensive or term-length modular teaching at primarily the postgraduate and early career research levels, and occasionally conduct research training workshops in local partner colleges and universities.
Commenting on The Highland Institute’s first decade, co-founder Dr Michael Heneise said: “Research collaboration is a scarce commodity today. Yet, the radical transformation of Asia is impossible without good data, disinterested analysis, a stubborn radical uncertainty, a genuine desire for openness and sharing, and an unwavering commitment to independence. Ten years is a good milestone, but the next 10 will determine whether our philosophy has staying power. Even the most ethically fortified learning centres, non-profits, and learned societies are not immune to the sweet lullabies of profit or the anti-intellectualism hollowing out higher education everywhere. A healthy commitment to self-examination is critical. There‘s no better time for self-examination and future planning than a key milestone!”