If education is the key to bring social and economic transformation, then transformative and innovative approaches in the field of higher education are considered as the precursor to this process. Keeping this objective in mind, the UGC took the initiative to set up Academic Staff Colleges in some selected universities in the country. In 2015, the ambit of Academic Staff College had further been extended and became the Human Resource Development Centre. The UGC-Human Resource Development Centre, University of North Bengal (UGC-HRDC, NBU), began its journey in November 2009, then known as UGC-Academic Staff College.

The UGC-HRDC, NBU since its inception has conducted as many as 102 Refresher Courses, 41 Orientation Programmes and 24 Workshops (ranging from 2-7 days) with paramount success.

The UGC-HRDC, NBU is located in Siliguri, at the foothills of the Himalayas, the gateway to the North East. It attracts participants of diverse cultural backgrounds from all over the country and strives to create a conducive environment for their development. The Centre has been highly applauded and revered to by the participants. The Bagdogra International Airport Is conveniently located at a distance of only 4 km from the Institute, and The New Jalpaiguri Railway Station lies 15 km away. The National Highway (NH-34) connects the Institute to the rest of the country by road. The pleasant weather and absolute greenery of the campus of the University of North Bengal make the entire experience very enjoyable. Adding to that, the Centre has an independent guest house where the participants, while taking part in various courses, can stay comfortably.

UGC-HRDC, NBU promotes transparency about the selection of participants in the programs/courses.  It also implements the reservation criteria for selection of participants in the programmes/courses organised as part of the broader principle of social inclusion. Of late, the UGC-HRDC, NBU, has started online /digitised processing of all the activities organised by it. It is also intended to promote efficiency in the functioning of the HRDC and enable it to move towards paperless administration and contribute to the reduction of environmental degradation.

The facilities at UGC-HRDC, NBU, include a three air-conditioned smart lecture room to supplement the hybrid-mode of the teaching-learning process. A state-of-the-art seminar hall cum computer laboratory equipped with 30 computers and microphones facilitates to carry on hands-on training programmes. The participants can access around 2500 books at HRDC, and they get the opportunity to use the books, e-books, journals and virtual resources available at the Central Library of the

University of North Bengal. In a situation of COVID-19 pandemic, UGC-HRDC, NBU has initiated online training programmes as prescribed by the UGC and has received an enormous response from the teaching fraternity of across the country. HRDC- NBU has also initiated inter-University research collaboration and outreach programmes with a vision to transform it as a multi-disciplinary centre for training, research and extension activities.