While working on green hydrogen research at one of China’s leading universities, Dr Bongliba Sangtam is thinking about sunflower fields in Eastern Nagaland.
The Chungtor native, currently a Fellow Research Scientist at Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) Shenzhen, a member of China’s prestigious C9 League, spends his days researching hydrogen production through water electrolysis, a technology many believe could help power the future.
Yet when asked about his own future, Sangtam said, “There is a future in Nagaland. I would love to take up farming in the near future.”
The statement may seem unusual coming from a scientist whose academic journey took him from Chungtor, Longkhim to Mokokchung to Anna University, IIT Guwahati, South Korea and eventually one of China’s elite universities. But for Sangtam, the two worlds are not as different as they appear.
The lessons he learned from China’s rise in research and innovation have convinced him that Nagaland’s challenge is not a lack of talent. Rather, it is the absence of systems that allow talent, ideas and innovation to thrive.
Sangtam completed Class 10 from Hill View School and Class 12 from Edith Douglas Higher Secondary School in Mokokchung before pursuing a B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from Anna University. He later earned his M.Tech and PhD from IIT Guwahati and completed postdoctoral research at Soonchunhyang University in South Korea before joining HIT Shenzhen.
At the Chinese university, he is involved in research aimed at reducing the cost of green hydrogen production.
“Because of the war, oil prices are so high and every country is trying for hydrogen fuel,” he said. “Scientists are working on bringing down the cost of hydrogen fuel. We are doing it through water electrolysis.”
Having studied and worked across India, South Korea and China, Sangtam has observed significant differences in how countries approach education, research and innovation.
One of the first things that struck him in China was the intensity of the work culture.
“Chinese young people work a lot,” he said. “Here in the university they work really hard. They will keep their bed in the lab. They will sleep in the afternoon for a short nap and continue working.”
The pressure, however, is accompanied by clear expectations and accountability.
“In China, they will evaluate your performance. You are not permanent even if you are in a government institution,” he said. “Some are productive and some are not, but in India once you join, you are there.”
Sangtam believes this emphasis on performance is supported by substantial investments in research and development.
“There are lots of funding. Government invests a lot in education. Many private companies are also willing to invest,” he said.
According to him, the scale of investment extends beyond universities and into national development priorities. He was particularly surprised by the close relationship between universities and major technological projects.
“Harbin is among the universities that contribute to Chinese military and defence projects,” he said. “In China, universities are directly involved in many areas of technological development.”
He also noted the collaborative environment among some of China’s top institutions.
“I was surprised that universities such as Harbin, Peking and Tsinghua share resources in Shenzhen,” he said.
For Sangtam, perhaps the most important difference lies in how success is measured.
“India counts success in placement while China focuses on innovation,” he said.
The observation reflects a broader concern he has about the direction of education and employment in Nagaland.
Asked what lessons policymakers and educational institutions in Nagaland could learn from China’s experience, Sangtam pointed first to discipline and practicality.
“We should be more practical,” he said. “For many graduates, a job is our last destination.”
He believes an overdependence on government employment continues to limit opportunities for young people.
“We see engineers and many educated people ending up in jobs unrelated to their training,” he said.
At the same time, he argues that Nagaland lacks the research ecosystem necessary to generate new ideas, industries and opportunities.
“I believe we need research investments. The Nagaland government has to bring in some research institutes,” he said.
His concerns extend beyond institutions to the broader question of how the state retains and utilises talent.
Asked whether Nagaland faces a brain drain problem, Sangtam suggested the issue is more complex.
“Educated people in Nagaland get trapped in a system,” he said.
While acknowledging the lack of opportunities available to many young people, he also stressed the need for flexibility and leadership.
“Young people should sacrifice and be flexible in their dreams,” he said. “Not having enough opportunity is a problem, but it also comes down to political leaders, NGOs, church leaders and public leaders.”
“We need well-learned, educated people to lead because Nagaland is a structured community and good leaders can be the solution.”
Yet despite these concerns, Sangtam remains optimistic about the state’s future.
Part of that optimism stems from an initiative much closer to home.
In recent years, he has been coordinating efforts to promote large-scale sunflower cultivation in Chungtor village under Longkhim town in Tuensang district.
The initiative, undertaken through AgriNova Organic Farmers, currently involves around 30 households, with each household cultivating at least one acre of sunflower.
The project began unexpectedly.
Sangtam said he was on a break following his postdoctoral research when he attended a conference on oilseed farming. There, he met officials from the Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research (IIOR), Hyderabad, and discussions soon turned to the possibility of introducing sunflower cultivation in Nagaland.
“We discussed how sunflower had never been tried on a large scale in Nagaland,” he recalled.
Seeds were subsequently provided through ICAR, and participating farmers received them free of cost.
The response was initially cautious.
“People were actually reluctant at first because there were no funds,” Sangtam said. “The seeds were offered free.”
Early cultivation attempts also faced setbacks.
“We first cultivated in November in an old field and the results were not that good,” he said.
Rather than abandoning the experiment, the team continued testing different sowing periods and cultivation conditions.
Because many farmers practise shifting cultivation, the initiative compared sunflower growth in both older and newly cultivated fields.
“We are now experimenting on different fields and months,” Sangtam said.
One batch planted in January is currently being harvested, while another planted in March has entered the flowering stage.
The goal is to determine whether multiple harvest cycles can be achieved each year.
“Our objective is to have harvest three times in a year because economically, farmers lose interest if it is just one season,” he explained.
The project has already produced encouraging signs.
Apart from the sunflower crop itself, the fields have attracted large numbers of honeybees, creating potential opportunities for honey production and other related activities.
Organisers are also exploring plans for an oil extraction unit that would allow farmers to process sunflower seeds locally.
“We have now proposed an oil expeller,” Sangtam said. “Farmers should be able to earn. They can also roast it, pack it and sell it.”
The vision extends beyond cultivation.
For Sangtam, value addition, local processing and market access are just as important as production.
He said interest has already emerged from potential buyers, while discussions connected to the project have reached national-level institutions and agencies.
Challenges remain. Birds, parrots and rodents continue to affect some fields, while questions surrounding pricing and market development are still being studied.
Yet Sangtam sees the sunflower initiative as evidence that new opportunities can emerge when people are willing to experiment.
Looking ahead, he expects artificial intelligence to transform economies and labor markets over the next decade.
“Many jobs will be replaced,” he said. “Young people have to be flexible to do any work and not just focus on government jobs.”
He also believes breakthroughs in medicine and scientific research will accelerate as artificial intelligence helps researchers process vast amounts of information more efficiently.
For Nagaland, however, the challenge remains fundamentally human: creating conditions where knowledge, innovation and talent can flourish.
After years spent studying and working in some of Asia’s most competitive academic environments, Sangtam remains convinced that the state’s future depends on creating opportunities.