Open Letter to Mr. Anil Agarwal regarding Vedanta University
June 23rd, 2010
Dear Mr. Anil Agarwal:
I am not sure if this message will reach you or not. I hope somebody forwards it to you.
I am very concerned with the lack of progress with respect to Vedanta University and I am sure you are too. I am not sure who is advising you, but with the Vedanta University Bill passed by the Odisha assembly, there is really no excuse, especially for Vedanta (I will explain why), to not commence the university.
The Vedanta University MOU was signed in 2006. That same year the Govt. of India announced an Indian Institute of Science type institute in Bhubaneswar and that institute NISER http://niser.ac.in/ started classes in 2007 and its 4th batch of students will be starting this August (2010). An IIT for Odisha was announced in 2008, and that same year classes started and this August (2010) the third batch will be joining IIT Bhubaneswar http://www.iitbbs.ac.in/ .
In Saudi Arabia KAUST http://www.kaust.edu.sa/ was also announced in 2006 and classes commenced there in 2009.
I realize the grand plans for Vedanta University and I have seen the masterplan document; it is really a masterpiece and there is nothing like that in India and for that matter in the world. But with the delays happening in land acquisition, getting environmental clearance and construction, please consider starting some individual units immediately while the matters are sorted out by the environment ministry (not Odisha govt. fault) and the Odisha high court.
Let me give a particular suggestion.
India is in dire need of good Mathematics Ph.Ds.
The new IITs, IISERs and NISER are having difficulty in finding good Mathematics Ph.Ds to hire as faculty. You can verify this by talking to their directors. I have. There are only few institutions in India which have good graduate programs in Mathematics. They are Chennai Mathematical Institute http://www.cmi.ac.in/ , Institute of Mathematical Sciences (Chennai) http://www.imsc.res.in/, TIFR, Indian Statsitical Institute and some of the IITs. But their output is not able to match the demand.
So what Vedanta University could do is to immediately open a "Vedanta Institute of Mathematics" in a temporary rented accommodation in Puri or Bhubaneswar.
It can then hire young mathematics Ph.Ds from top institutions in US and western countries. Note that, while it is hard to find good Math Ph.Ds in India, in the US, even Math PhDs from top universities like Stanford, MIT, Princeton and Berkeley have difficulty finding good academic job. Many end up teaching in community colleges. Many Ph.Ds from these top institutions will jump at the chance to have a good academic job in a university like the one Vedanta University aims to be. Vedanta Univ can take advantage of this and within TWO months can easily hire 20-25 such faculty and become the best Mathematics Institute in India or perhaps Asia. Within 4 years after that this "Vedanta Institute of Mathematics" would graduate Ph.Ds who will then join top institutions across India.
Imagine if you had done this in 2006. Vedanta graduates would now be faculty in all IITs.
The above is just an example. Vedanta University could identify 2-3 such areas that do not need huge infrastructure and that have the kind of mismatch mentioned above and start graduate programs in them within THREE months.
This will bring the much needed credibility and everyone will take notice. It will also silence many of your critics who make all kinds of allegations. Most of these allegations are baseless, but they did push the Environment minister Mr. Jairam Ramesh to stop progress.
The way to counter that is to show them that you are really serious. You can do that by immediately opening a few graduate institutes of Vedanta University.
You have done this in other context. The Lanjigarh factory is an example.
Please consider a similar approach here. Please do not wait any longer in commencing the Vedanta University.
sincerely,
Chitta Baral
Professor
Arizona State University
http://www.public.asu.edu/~
Entry Filed under: Appeal to Anil Agarwal,Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri- Khurda area (1),Vedanta University, Puri
8 Writeup
1. Jaban Meher | June 24th, 2010 at 2:24 am
Dear Sir,
You have excluded the name of HARISH CHANDRA RESEARCH INSTITUTE,Allahabad which is also a DAE institute and from which several students have completed PHD and they are now faculties in different leading institutes in India.
2. Prasanna Mishra | June 24th, 2010 at 4:10 am
Thanks Prof Baral for the nice & logical proposal.
Mr Agarwal, being sincere and committed, for staring the world’s best academic institution in Puri,will surely soon make this excellent suggestion a reality.
3. Debi P. Sarangi | June 24th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
Thanks Prof. Baral,
commendable effort. But will this message reach at the dumb ears of Vedanta people.
4. R.K. Ghosh | June 24th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
Except for CMI, none of the institutes in India have a good maths undergraduate programme. Unless undergraduate programme in maths is strengthened I think Ph.D programme is not expected to take off. I hear from unreliable sources that TIFR-Hyderabad Univ and IISc are mulling 4 year undergraduate programmes leading to BS degree in near future. ISI’s stat programme is good, but not maths. There is a dire need for good maths Ph. Ds across various institutions in India. Unfortunately,, the funding for research in maths is very limited and no one realizes the problem.
I have no idea how far is Vedanta’s grand plan for a real world class university though I have been hearing about it for more than 3-4 years now. Every university starts with a small programme and gradually builds over hears. Vedanta seems to be a departure.
5. stingidea | June 24th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
Like Mr. Ghosh above I have no idea how serious Vedanta is about setting up a world class university given the delays and the false starts. Like a lot of people I do know that the way to start big things is to make a start. A big bang approach is perhaps not the best idea for an educational institution. In any case, I am not a billionaire, I don’t think like one. Billionaires do know something that I don’t. I’ll take the liberty of putting an e-mail id online. I got it by googling. Bibek C – GM Corp. Comm, might be able to get the word across – bibek.c@vedanta.co.in.
6. Chitta Baral | June 24th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
The IISERs and NISER have math program. I guess the students coming out of those programs would be decent.
7. Prof.Biswajit Mishra | July 3rd, 2010 at 8:10 am
The concept of providing DST-INSPIRE fellowships to students pursuing science was to encouage the students. However, in at least two IISERS (K and P), the students spend money lavishly (going to malls etc) and do not even attend classes. Possibly, DST may have to rethink about changing the scholarship to waiving tution fee. Afterall, money in the hands of teens disappear in lightening speed.
8. Mrs S.Banerjee | July 7th, 2010 at 11:12 am
We are planning to open a B.Ed College in Jalpaiguri district. Can you suggest me how to proceed and can any consultant be available to help us out in the procedural matters.