Works of the extension campus of the Ravenshaw Unitary University would be started soon and the university would also be made one of the best study destinations in the country, said senior BJD leader and Rajya Sabha member Pyari Mohan Mohapatra .
He was addressing the concluding day of the annual function of the University Students’ Union on Tuesday.
Recollecting the past glory of the historic educational institution of the State, he further added that funds would not be a major problem for growth of the Ravenshaw University. The institution has produced so many scholars in various fields and it would continue its magic in the future too, he hoped.
There is an urgent need to upgrade the forestry department to a college like the College of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Science and the postgraduate and Ph.D curricula could support the academics, research and extension programmes of various new disciplines in forestry.
‘‘There is a competent faculty with over 20 years of experience here with the department and many alumni members are serving at national and international levels as faculty and subject experts and are willing to collaborate with their parent department at OUAT for high-end projects,’’ says HoD Prof RK Pattnaik.
‘‘The department was established in 1987 at this second oldest agriculture varsity of the country following the recommendations of National Commission on Agriculture, 1976, under the direct support of Indian Council of Agricultural Research and later Indian Council of Forest Research and Education to look after education, research and extension in forestry science,’’ he adds.
‘‘But with the upgradation to a college the students can have special fields to do PG and Ph.D programmes in silviculture and agro-forestry, bio-technology and tree improvement and forest ecology and environment. Also utilisation of forest products which directly cater to the needs of the State as well as many international research projects can also be taken up through such an institution,’’ says Prof Ashok Kumar Sahoo.
Assistant Prof. Nirakar Bhol is of the opinion that if the upgraded status is accorded, then this college under OUAT would be a unique institution in the entire Eastern India and strengthen the position of the State Capital as another educational hub in forest-related research. Fourth year BSc Forestry student Jagannath Sahu thinks the upgradation plan can enable graduating B.Sc forestry students to have wider career options in natural resources management.
Volume 3 (a) Client’s Requirement (b) Surveyed Site Plan (available with HLL) (c) Geotechnical investigation report (available with HLL) (d) Zoning Plan. (available with HLL)
Chief Minister then, met the Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Shri Kapil Sibal. He requested him for immediate sanction of a Biotechnology Incubation Centre (BTIC) at the Biotech Pharma IT Park proposed at Bhubaneswar. The Incubator, which will be part of the BiotechnologyPark, will nurture innovative ideas into successful business ventures. It will enable the Park, to get essential facilities like state-of-the-art laboratories, equipment, training centre etc., for which the State Government has already provided 65 acres of prime land at Bhubaneswar. Shri Sibal agreed in-principle for opening of a Biotechnology Incubation Centre (BTIC) at Bhubaneswar and said that the Biotechnology sector in Orissa needs a boost. The Chief Minister further requested the Union Minister to sanction new Post Graduate course in Marine Biotechnology for BerhampurUniversity and FakirMohanUniversity, Balasore respectively, to which the Union Minister readily agreed to. In view of the economic potential of the Biotechnology sector and corresponding requirement of trained manpower, Orissa would be greatly benefited by opening up of these new courses.
National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) is looking for bright young people as teaching assistants in biology to help in teaching and carryout supervised research. The candidates are also expected to maintain laboratory and mentor undergraduate students. There will be opportunity to register for Ph.D. degree for those who perform exceptionally. The maximum duration of the position is five years subject to yearly evaluation. The candidates must have a 1st Class M.Sc./M.Phil. degree.
The interested candidates may send an application in plain paper with their ’Resume’ along with two letters of reference from their former teachers/supervisors and a statement of career goal to Director, Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar-751 005.
… SAI International School, the first corporate- style institute of the State. Every classroom will be equipped with computers with broadband connectivity and big display units. Specially crafted education management software will give parents an opportunity to monitor the progress of their wards through the Internet. All in all think of the Eton College and you get all its good attributes here. The school is being set up by the JSS Group close to Infocity here.
Classes will commence next academic session, from creche to class VII. It would be extended up to class XII later. The school will follow CBSE curriculum, however, with a blend of both US and British syllabuses. Renowned UK-based LaurelsGlobal institute will be closely collaborating with SAI International School on the academic front.
Sources said, the school has forged an understanding with well-known institutions of similar stature across the country for seamless migration of students.
Incorporation of best of the international curriculum would also help students coming from abroad integrate with the courses here with ease. But the school will not have residential facilities.
Adhering to the Yashpal Committee recommendations, the management has decided to do away with school bags up to class III. Lockers will be provided to all students. Classroom teaching will be uploaded to interactive website and parents can have access to real time teaching.
… The promoters said, the location, plus the international feel, would meet one of the key demands of the IT workforce here for such a school in the city.
"In the event of them shifting abroad, their wards would have little trouble adjusting to the new atmosphere," they underlined.
The tuition fee would also be within the reach of Government employees and parents engaged in other sectors, they claimed.
Comprehensive health check-up of all the students would be carried out for which the school has forged tieups with corporate hospitals here.
Health report will be sent to parents every quarter along with other reports. The menu has been designed by dietary consultant of Australia.
The Apeejay Surrendra Group has also expressed its willingness to set up a research and design centre and a Knowledge Park at Bhubaneswar, the government said.
The Knowledge Park would have a school as well as higher education on subjects such as business management, hotel management, fashion designing, food technology, and nutrition science and nautical science.
… Agarwal’s proposed Vedanta University is expected to be different. Undergraduates will study diverse subjects on the way to earning degrees, rather than focus exclusively on one discipline, as is typical at Indian universities. "An engineering student will be able to study literature or economics if he wants to, like in the US," says C.V. Krishnan, chief executive of the university project. Vedanta University plans to offer undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programmes in a huge variety of disciplines. The first phase of the university’s growth, to about 3,000 students, is scheduled to begin next year. In 2023, when it is destined for completion, Vedanta University will house 100,000 students, as well as 40,000 faculty and staff members.
…Nevertheless, he has huge ambitions for Vedanta University. According to promotional materials, Vedanta will boast faculty members and students from all over the world and will produce "tomorrow’s Nobel laureates, Olympic champions and community leaders." Agarwal and his public relations staff talk a good game – he has even likened himself to Leland Stanford, an American who made his fortune building railways in the US and founded Stanford University.
…Still, for Vedanta University’s supporters, its sheer scope is what makes it worth backing. "It could set a new revolutionary benchmark in higher education – and just the force of that argument should allow this project to go ahead," insists Pratap Bhanu Mehta, chief executive of New Delhi’s Centre for Policy Research.
As it is, the country’s 350 public universities serve only seven per cent of its 18- to 24-year-olds, a rate that is half that of other Asian countries. If Vedanta University succeeds, it could stem the rising tide of Indian students seeking an education overseas.
…
The campus
Is being designed by an American architect in Baltimore who has developed Duke, Carnegie-Mellon and Johns Hopkins universities in the US. It will be built on 8000 acres of land near the Puri-Konark marine drive in Orissa state and the buildings will be arranged in the form of two overlapping circles. The Orissa government has begun to build a four-lane expressway from the new campus to the international airport which is being constructed near the state capital, Bhubaneswar, 70km away. A railway station will also be located on campus. The area will be developed into a large university township that will house a permanent population of 500,000 in addition to the 100,000 students.
Any more?
Yes, there will also be a research and development park serving as an incubator for spin-off companies. Eventually, it is hoped that this will evolve into a large research-cum-education complex resembling Silicon Valley, the economic hub that surrounds Stanford.
Will it work?
The university system in India is under financial strain and is not known for its research strength, except in one or two areas, or for the quality of its academics. Although it has large numbers of keen and well-prepared students, India is not a global player and, unlike China, is not making super-human efforts to build up a stellar university system by recruiting retired or semi-retired university presidents and other staff from the US. That is why Indians spend large sums on getting a good higher education overseas. And it is why India’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, announced that he wanted to set up 25 new universities funded by the centre to augment the handful of centrally funded universities already in existence. It is also why he supports Vedanta University.
Whether Vedanta will succeed is debatable, according to Lord Parekh, the British peer who was educated in Bombay and the London School of Economics, and was later vice chancellor of the University of Baroda. First, he wonders where the quality staff will come from for a new university containing 100,000 students. Second, he asks who is going to manage a 40,000-strong faculty.
"Three Chinese universities have invited retired or semi-retired American professors and executive officers to staff their universities," he says. "Singapore is doing the same. These countries are paying well. They have the confidence to hire foreigners."
