Below is a collage of the logos of national level institutes and universities of Odisha. (IIIT is trying to get there.) Note that except NIT Rourkela, which started as an REC in 1961 and became NIT in 2002, the rest have been established in the last 5 years:
- IIIT and NISER in 2007,
- IIT in 2008, NLUO in 2008-9,
- CUO Koraput in 2009, and
- AIIMS in 2012.
See https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/6243 for a timeline of the establishment of various higher educational institutions of Odisha.
See our collection of logos of Odisha higher education institutions and universities in facebook at here and here.
September 2nd, 2012
June 14th, 2011
We read this news at http://www.rourkelacity.com/top-news/proffesor-sunil-sarangi-nit-director-hele/. This is really great news. During his previous tenures Prof. Sarangi has quietly done wonders for NIT Rourkela. Following are some earlier links.
One of the things that he should consider pursuing is a medical school as part of NIT Rourkela, perhaps in collaboration with SAIL and/or the state government. In general, Prof. Sarangi should aim for expanding NIT Rourkela with additional programs, while also improving the existing ones.
May 27th, 2011
(Thanks to a reader for the pointer.)
The details of the ranking is at http://dqindia.ciol.com/content/top_stories/2010/110112403.asp. The top 15 in that list with their 2009 ranking in parenthesis.
- IIT Bombay (New)
- IIT Delhi (2)
- IIT Kharagpur (1)
- IIT Madras (3)
- IIIT Hyderabad (7)
- IIT Roorkee (5)
- IT BHU (10)
- IIT Guwahati (6)
- BITS Pilani (8)
- NIT Surathkal (9)
- NSIT Delhi (17)
- NIT Rourkela (22)
- IIIT Allahabad (14)
- BIT Mesra (13)
- NIT Hamirpur (26)
This high ranking of NIT Rourkela is a parting gift to NIT Director, Prof. Sunil Sarangi. He did wonders to NIT Rourkela.
November 28th, 2010
Following is a from a PTI report in ibnlive.com.
National Institute of Technology-Rourkela and Vedanta Aluminium today signed an Mou to develop an environment-friendly technology.Vedanta will finance NIT-R to develop a cost-effective method for neutralisation of red mud and removal of poisonous heavy metals like arsenic, zinc and cadmium and to upscale the technology to industrial scale. …
Disposal of red mud, the waste product of aluminium manufacture had been bothering aluminium industries and governments and causing environment hazard. The disposal methods being followed has been creating problem of contamination of ground and surface water.Kumar said red mud mostly contain 50 per cent of iron ore and the aluminium industries want to reduce the level to zero.
August 12th, 2010
See details at http://application.nitrkl.ac.in/ and http://www.nitrkl.ac.in/admission_docs/Extension%20of%20dates_6_1.pdf. Following is an ad about this that appeared in some newspapers today.
It is great to see that NIT Rourkela is offering MBA and 2 yr and 5 yr M.Sc programs. Also impressive is its offering of programs in Life Sciences and Biotechnology and Medical Engineering.
In the future it should aim for a program in Intellectual Property Law (as is offered in IIT Kharagpur), more programs in liberal arts (such as in Economics), and possibly even an MBBS in collaboration with one of the local hospitals.
VSSUT Burla should follow NIT Rourkela’s path in expanding its offerings.
June 4th, 2010
Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.
In a written reply in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, minister of state for HRD D Purandeshwari said the ministry has decided to amend the IIT Act, the law that governs IITs, to include medical science. The health ministry had said that IITs should not be allowed to start conventional courses in medicine.
The amendment, Purandeshwari said, would help IITs to offer programmes bringing together the diverse disciplines of medicine and engineering. Referring to the health ministry’s objection, she said, "However, appreciating the fact that the modern trends in medical education and research in technology and medicine in all the developed and most of the developing countries are seen hand-in-hand, the government proposes to incorporate `medicine’ in the IIT Act."
Purandeswari said the programme would bring the two important disciplines of medicine and engineering together.
… IIT Kharagpur has come up with a concrete proposal in this regard and plans to start a medical college in collaboration with Indian Railways. At a meeting of experts in the health ministry in February this year, it was observed that IITs should start courses on health information technology, biomedical engineering and e-health rather than running a hospital or starting MBBS courses.
There are several lessons that Odisha can draw from this.
- As Purna Mishra suggested in a comment, VSSUT and the VSS Medical College in Burla should combine to form a single university.
- NIT Rourkela and IIT Bhubaneswar should consider adding a medical college as part of the institute; NIT could include the proposed ESI medical college and IIT could include the proposed Railways medical college.
April 22nd, 2010
I was going through NIT Rourkela’s website. Although it has been always ranked pretty high (good research ranking, high ranking by India Today) among engineering colleges in India, over the last few years it is turning into a comprehensive university with new departments and programs. Prof. Sunil Sarangi has done wonders since he has arrived as the director of NIT Rourkela. Following are some of the highlights of the unique programs, new programs and new departments.
Note: Among the above departments, the Applied Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics departments are not new but I think the M.Sc programs are new; I could not find when exactly they were started.
As one can notice from the above, one can do degrees in Molecular Biology or Humanities at NIT Rourkela. Soon one can pursue an MBA. This is really wonderful and kudos to Prof. Sarangi for making this happen.
In August this year when I met Prof. Sarangi in Orissa I broached the topic of having a medical college at NIT Rourkela. He was not opposed to the idea, but was worried that with only 1-2 years left in his tenure at NIT Rourkela, he would not be able to make it happen in that short time. I hope a way is found so that Prof. Sarangi stays for another 5 year term at NIT Rourkela. I am told every one likes him and respects him at NIT Rourkela. We should write him and thank him for all that he has done for NIT Rourkela, request him to stay longer in Rourkela and we should do something (perhaps write to CMO and MHRD) to give him another 5 year term. We should request Prof. Sarangi to start a medical college at NIT Rourkela. His parent institution, IIT Khragpur is starting one in Kharagpur, so if he is given time, he will be able to do it. Another program that NIT Rourkela should be encouraged to establish is "Architecture and Town Planning". (In this regard, NIT Warangal leads the pack of NITs in planning for a medical school and a law school.)
For our readers with Rourkela connection please spread the word about the availability of science, business and humanities programs at NIT Rourkela so that good students and faculty join these programs. Also, some of you students, go and pursue higher degrees (PhD) and come back and join NIT Rourkela and to the others become an entrepreneur and open companies in Rourkela.
Another good thing about all of these is that with the new VC at VSSUT Burla, who is also from IIT Khragapur and a good friend of Prof. Sarangi , a similar transformation can be expected at VSSUT Burla. Already, a new department of Humanities is being made at VSSUT Burla. VSSUT Burla has advertised for new faculty positions and its VC has mentioned some of his new plans. In an interview to TOI he is reported to have said:
Our priority will be to make the institution as one of the best of the country and for this we are planning to introduce few new branches of engineering courses. Textile engineering is one among them which will help to strengthen the development of the Sambalpuri fabric. We also plan to introduce Nano-science technology, Bio-medical engineering and surgical engineering soon”, the vice chancellor Dr Tripathy told.
December 19th, 2009
Update: See also https://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/4308.
Rourkela is the second largest metropolitan area of Orissa with an official metropolitan population of 550,668 but perhaps much more (at least 700 K) if one takes into account nearby places like Biramitrapur and Rajgangpur. It is probably the most cosmopolitan area of Orissa. Because of its steel plant it has world-wide name recognition. It has a lot of young talents; I am told that Rourkela youngsters have done much better in entrance exams like IIT JEE than from other parts of Orissa. Rourkela and the Sundergarh district have produced many national hockey players (both male and female), some of whom have gone on to captain the Indian national side.
Being an important station in the Mumbai-Howrah line, Rourkela is very well connected to both. The National Institute of Technology at Rourkela is often ranked among the top 5 NITs of the country; in recent years it has done much better and is in the process of starting a business program. Rourkela also has two private engineering colleges and at least one more is in the works. Rourkela has at least two good magament schools: Rourkela Institute of Management Studies (sometimes ranked nationally) and Indian Institute of Production Management, Kansbahal.
Overall, Rourkela has the potential to be a Tier II city of India at the level of Vizag, Chandigarh, etc. But unfortunately, that has not happened so far and active organized efforts need to be made to achieve that.
So here I will list some of the things that should be pursued so that Rourkela becomes a Tier II city of India.
Knowledge and HRD aspects:
- Metropolitan University: Rourkela is perhaps the largest metropolitan area of the country, or may be the whole world which does not have a general university. This needs to be rectified at the earliest. IMHO, the best model to follow would be of Delhi University. So a Rourkela Metropolitan University should be established with graduate programs as well as with a few constituent colleges spread (offering Bachelors as well as Masters degrees) across the metropolitan area, but with no affiliated colleges. The exisiting government colleges in Rourkela (Govt. College, Rourkela; SG Women’s, Rourkela and Rourkela College) would be made constituents of this university.
- Medical College: Although a WODC sponsored PPP-based medical college is in the works, we must continue pursuing an ESIC medical college here. SAIL, which is making a medical college in Bokaro, should also be pushed to establish a medical college here.
- BPUT: BPUT must become fully operational from Rourkela.It needs to have real departments and centers and offer its own courses. It should be expanded to have programs in Science and Humanities.
- Research Centers: The state should pursue one of the central government departments such as CSIR, DAE, Sc & Tech, etc. to open a research center in Rourkela.
- Centrally funded University: At some point a centrally funded university should be pursued for Rourkela.
- More private institutions: Rourkela has the population base and the amenities that metropolitan areas offer to have more private institutions such as engineering colleges, management institutions etc. A multi-pronged apporoach should be taken.
- Local big industries should be cajoled to participate in this. For example, SAIL is also planning an engineering college in Bokaro. They should be pushed to have one in Rourkela.
- Local people should also open private institutions on their own.
- Educational foundations inside and outside state that have developed good private institutions should be approached and invited to open institutions in Rourkela. Inside Orissa, institutions like Silicon and NIST should be approached.
- STP: The STP at Rourkela should be expanded.
- IT/BPO: Because of the cosmopolitan nature of Rourkela, it would be a good place for BPO and call center operations. This should be pursued.
- Sports Institute/University: Sundergrah district is considered by many to be the Hockey cradle of India, both in men’s and women’s hockey. It has produced both Men’s and Women’s hockey team captains in Dilip Tirkey and Jyoti Sunita Kullu. Orissa government should pursue to establish a National Sports Institute (of the kind in Patiala) in Rourkela. It should include programs in physical training, coach training, official training etc. This would specially contribute in the enhancing the employment opportunities for Adivasis who constitute 50.74% of Sundergarh’s population.
Connectivity Aspects:
- Rail Connectivity -Trains: While the connectivity to Mumbai and Kolkata is marvelous, connectivity to other places needs improvement. Dilip has a good list of new trains needed for Rourkela at http://rourkelarail.wetpaint.com/page/DEMANDS. This list is:
- Rourkela-Bhubaneswar Intercity Express( Day Time)
- Rourkela-Berhampur Gajapati Express
- Rourkela-Secundarabad/Hyderabad Express
- Trains to New Delhi from Bhubaneswar via Rourkela OR Rourkela-Nizamuddin/New Delhi Express (Any extension of Ranchi-Hatia or Tatanagar trains will also work)
- Trains to Patna and Eastern U.P.
- Rail Connectivity-Others: The Talcher-Bimlagarh line must be fast-tracked.
- Roads: The 4-laning of the state highway 10 connecting Sambalpur and Rourkela must be expedited.
- Air Connectivity: Rourkela airport must be made functional with commercial flights at the earliest.
Metro area:
- A larger metropolitan area for Rourkela that includes Kansbahal and Rajgangpur in the west and Biramitrapur in the North must be formally established.
- The state government should pursue Rourkela to be included in JNNURM.
(The above is from Google Maps.)
(The above is from "sarini: Occasional papers, No. 4, Adivasis of Rourkela")
Work in Progress…
November 15th, 2009
Following is an excerpt from an IANS story by Prashant Nanda that we found in a report in thaiinidan.com.
… “We will retain our original name (NIT-Warangal) but it will become an integrated university with both medical and legal education among other programmes beyond engineering and technology.
“We will also provide postgraduate courses in humanities, business economics, biotechnology and many others. The focus will gradually shift to from under-graduation to post-graduation and research,” Rao explained.
NIT Warangal is the first among the NITs. It was dedicated to the nation by the first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru way back in 1959. Then it was known a regional engineering college. The institute is older than many IITs, including IIT-Delhi.
… The director said the institute, which started its journey with a little over 100 students from a temporary campus, now boasts of 4,200 students. In 2006, the institute had 2,000 students of which 1,600 were pursuing B.Tech courses and the rest M.Tech.
“While all the central government institutes are implementing the OBC (Other Backward Classes) quota in three years, we did it at one go. With an increase in the number of seats, we have shifted our focus to post-graduation and research. Out of 4,200 students, currently 1,400 are M.Tech students and 300 are PhD scholars,” Rao added.
Like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, NIT-Warangal will become an integrated university and provide all kinds of courses to students to help the country move forward in the field of higher education, he said.
“The process of becoming a university will start from the coming academic session but it may take a few years to become a full-fledged one. We are targeting 5,000 students by 2011 and 15,000 by 2015,” Rao said, elaborating on his mega plan.
“We are planning to have the school of medical science next year. We are going to give emphasis on biotechnology and microbiology and here the school of medical science will help us grow in both research and innovation.”
NIT Roukela has recently started a program in Biotechnology and is about to start MBA. But it must go beyond and pursue a medical school.
September 29th, 2009
The following table is from the current science article at http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/aug102009/304.pdf titled “Ranking of Indian Engineering and Technological Institutes for their Research Performance during 1999-2008” by G. Prathap and B. M. Gupta. It appears in Current Science, Vol. 97(3), 2009. It gives the top 30 engineering and technical institutes based on publications from those institutes during 1999-2008. Based on this ranking NIT Rourkela is at number 20.
In the table below: P is the number of papers published, C is the number of citations obtained, ICP is the number of papers through international collaboration, h is the H-index and p is a newly proposed index.
There has been some discussin on these ranking in several blogs. Following are some links to those blog entries.
August 23rd, 2009
Update on 27th April 2011: The Central University location has been changed to Bander Sindri near Ajmer and only 80 kms from Jaipur. The Innovation University (previsouly referred to as National University) aiming for world class is now pushed for Jaipur. [Times of India]
The panel set up by the CM of Rajsthan has picked the following places to recommend to the central government for the various national institutes and universities coming up in Rajasthan. (From a Times of India report and another Times of India report)
- IIT : Jodhpur
- IIM: Udaipur
- National University aiming for world-class: Ajmer
- Central university: Bikaner.
The committee also recommended:
- a "futuristic" heritage conservation and museology centre in Jaipur
- an institute of Food Technology in Hadoti region of Kota
Currently the following national institutions exisit or are being made in the following places in Rajasthan:
- NIT: Jaipur
- LNMIT (private but top-notch): Jaipur
- National law School: Jodhpur
- AIIMS-like institution (being made): Jodhpur
The institutions are nicely distributed between various cities of Rajsthan, although people of Jaipur and Kota are not happy. The population of these locations are:
- Jaipur (World Gazetteer 2009): 3.1 million (has inetrnational air connectivity)
- Jodhpur (World Gazetteer 2009): 988K – (332 kms from Jaipur; has air connectivity)
- Udaipur (World Gazetteer 2009): 457K – (400 kms from Jaipur; has air connectivity)
- Ajmer (World Gazetteer 2009): 604.7K – (131 kms from Jaipur)
- Bikaner (World Gazetteer 2009): 624.6K – (321 kms from Jaipur)
- Kota (World Gazetteer 2009): 823 K (242 kms from Jaipur)
In contrast in Orissa the distribution of national institutions are more Bhubaneswar centric. Following is the status:
- IIT: Bhubaneswar
- NISER: Bhubaneswar
- AIIMS-like (being made) : Bhubaneswar
- National Law University: Cuttack (part of Bhubaneswar metroplex)
- IIIT (state-funded) : Bhubaneswar
- National University aiming to be world class: Bhubaneswar
- Vedanta University (private): Puri
- NIT: Rourkela
- Central University: Koraput
- IIIT (centrally funded): state wants it in Berhampur; center has identified as Bhubaneswar
Unfortunately, one of the reason given behind the above selection is the lack of connectivity and the size of places. Following is some information on that.
- Bhubaneswar (World Gazetteer 2009): 1.67 million (has airport but no inetrnational connectivity)
- Rourkela (World Gazetteer 2009): 551 K (no air connections) – 334 kms from Bhubaneswar
- Berhampur (World Gazetteer 2009): 403 K (no air connections) – 160 kms from Bhubaneswar
- Koraput-Jeypore-Sunabeda: 200K+ (no air connections) – 499 kms from bhubaneswar
- Puri (World Gazetteer 2009): 185K – 60 kms from Bhubaneswar
- Sambalpur (World Gazetteer 2009): 258 K (no air connections) – 321 kms from Bhubaneswar
- Jharsuguda-Belpahar-Brajarajnagar: 200 K (no air connections) – 374 kms from Bhubaneswar; 50 kms from Sambalpur
For the future, following are some of the steps that Orissa government needs to urgently take regarding developing more larger urban areas and having the national institutions more evenly distributed:
- Make sure the centrally funded IIIT is established in Berhampur
- Establish functioing airports in Jharsuguda, Rourkela and Koraput at the earliest
- Push for international flights to Bhubaneswar
- Push for upgradation of UCE Burla (Sambalpur area) to an IIEST (Indian Institute of Engineering Science & Technology)
- Push for the establishment of a branch of IGNTU (Indira Gandhi National Tribal University) in Phulbani
- Push for the establishment of IIM outside of the Bhubaneswar area
- Push for the establishment of a centrally funded KBK Inst of Engineering and Technology (along the lines of SLIET and ABAGKIET) in Kalahandi or Balangir.
- Push for upgrading another medical college (Berhampur or Sambalpur) to AIIMS level.
- Push for establishing NID in a location outside of Bhubaneswar
- Push for establishing NIPER in a location outside of Bhubaneswar
- Push for a BITS Pilani campus in a location outside of Bhubaneswar
June 12th, 2009
Dear All Alumni of all places,
It is a great pleasure to hereby inform you that NITRAAB is organizing a national level seminar on 21st December 2008 (sun day) at 9.15 a.m. at the hotel SWOSTI PLAZA. The theme of the seminar is INDUSTRIAL RESURGENCE IN ORISSA .
The seminar will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Orissa and many other dignitaries and renowned speakers will grace the occasion. It will also be attended by many of the loved and respected ex- faculties of the RECR/NITR.
In fact this seminar will be the perfect showcase of the newly registered NITRAAB and its activities, with support and help from the NITRAA H.Q. at Rourkela. So as the honourable members of the NITRAA, you are hereby earnestly requested to make this seminar a grand success by attending and participating in it with out fail.
The seminar is arranged on sponsorship basis and hence there shall not be any participation fees.
Since this will be our own fuction, it is needless to say that our presence is essential. The programme for the day will be as follows :-
Seminar- with snacks and lunch:- 9.15 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.
Dinner and Cultural Programme :- 6.30 p.m. to 10.00 p.m.
Please attend and make it a success.
Sincerely
Sanjaya K. Mohanty
Co-ordinator
sanjaya58@gmail.com
(Message sent by
Bharati Panda
NIT- Rourkela 1980 (Mech.)
Member / Board of Governors
NIT – Rourkela )
December 15th, 2008
October 12th, 2008
Berhampur:
- Gandhi Institute of Industrial Technology Berhampur (GII) Pvt.
- Kalam Institute of Technology, Berhampur Berhampur (KIB) Pvt.
- National Institute of Science and Technology Palur Hills, Berhampur (NST) Pvt.
- Roland Institute of Technology Surya Vihar, Berhampur (RIT) Pvt.
- Sanjaya Memorial Institute of Technology Chandipadar, Berhampur (SMT) Pvt.
- Vignan Institute of Technology & Management Berhampur (VIT) Pvt.
- IIIT Berhampur (planned)
- Parla Maharaj Engineering College (planned)
- Rahul Institute of Engineering & Technology Thatadapalli Village, Kotharsing (P.O.) Konisi Tahasil, Berhampur, Ganjam (D. T.) Orissa (planned)
Rourkela-Sundergarh:
- Padmanava College of Engineering Rourkela (PCE) Pvt.
- Purushottam Institute of Engineering & Technology Mandiakudar, Rourkela (PIE) Pvt.
- Sundargarh Engineering College sundargarh (SUN) Pvt.
- NIT Rourkela
- Rourkela Institute of Technology At P.O. Kuarmunda, District : Sundergarh Pin 770039 Orissa (planned)
Balasore-Bhadrakh:
- Balasore College of Engineering & Technology Balasore (BCE) Pvt.
- Bhadrak Institute of Engineering & Technology Barapada, Bhadrak (BIT) Pvt.
- Modern Engineering & Management Studies Balasore (MEM) Pvt.
- Satyasai Engineering College Balasore (SAT) Pvt.
- Vijayanjali Institute of Technology At Gadabhanga No. 4 P.O. Khantapara, District : Balasore 756043 Orissa (planned)
Gunupur-Rayagada:
- Gandhi Institute of Engineering & Technology Gunupur (GIT) Pvt.
- Gandhi Institute of Science and Technology Rayagada (GIR) Pvt.
- Institute of Advanced Computer & Research Rayagada (IAC) Pvt.
- Majhighariani Institute of Technology and Science Rayagada (MIT) Pvt.
Sambalpur-Baragarh-Jharsuguda:
- Black Diamond College of Engineering & Technology Jharsuguda (BDC) Pvt.
- Padmashree Krutartha Acharya College of Engineering Bargarh (PKA) Pvt.
- University College of Engineering Burla (UCE) Govt.
Angul-Talcher:
- Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology Sarang (IGT) Govt.
- Adarsha College of Engineering At Saradhapur, P.O. Kumurisingha Dist : Angul, Pin 759122 Orissa (planned)
Koraput-Jeypore:
- Gopal Krushna College of Engineering & Technology Jeypore (GCE) Pvt.
- Samanta Chandra Sekhar Institute of Technology & Management Semiliguda, Koraput (SCS) Pvt.
Others:
- Jagannath Institute of Technology & Management Paralakhemundi (JIP) Pvt.
- Orissa School of Mining Engineering Keonjhar (OSM) Govt.
- Seemanta Engineering College Jharpokharia, Mayurbhanj (SEC) Pvt.
August 3rd, 2008
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