Odisha HRD

Logos of national level institutes and universities of Odisha

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.

3 comments September 2nd, 2012

Odisha government makes guidelines for new private universities; impact on the various applications

The following bullet points about the guidelines are from this article in tathya.in.

• The committee that will examine the proposals based on the guidelines will be headed by the Chief Secretary and Secretary of the Higher Education will be the Member Convener.
• Each private university shall be established by a separate Act, which will be passed by Odisha Legislative Assembly.
• Private university shall fulfill the minimum criteria in terms of programs, faculty, infrastructural facilities and financial viability.
• Any college opting to establish a private university should have been in existence for at least 15 years in the state, however in deserving cases the State Government may relax the condition of 15 years for
  institutes of national and international repute.
• In ‘De Novo’ university category, where no such institution belonging to the promoter exists within Odisha as on date of commencement of the university will be devoted to unique and emerging areas of knowledge. These institutions should be promoted by persons/institutions of proven merit and reputation. Selection of universities in this category will be made by a committee of experts comprising eminent academicians and the Secretary of the department concerned dealing with the subject.
• Infrastructure requirement: At least 15 acres of land in urban area and 30 acres of land in non-urban area will be needed. For administrative building 1000 square meter and academic building 10,000 square meter will be required for a private university. Residential accommodation for teachers and hostel accommodation for students will be required.
• Corpus Fund: For institutions conducting professional program such as Engineering & Technology and Medicine it will be Rs.8 crore, where as for Management and Law it will be Rs.5 crore and for other programs Rs.4 crore kitty will be needed. For institutions conducting both professional and other programs will have Rs.10 as Corpus Fund, while for the ‘De Novo’ category of university; the Corpus Fund will be Rs.25 crore.
• Financial viability of the institution will be verified by the audited statements of accounts of the institutions for the previous 5 years.
• The Chancellor of the university will be an eminent educationist or a distinguished public figure and there will be no Pro-Chancellor.
• The Board of Management will be headed by the Vice Chancellor with the body consisting a minimum of 10 and maximum of 12 Members.

In the link https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/7127 we have the list of applicants as of 8/20/2011. Let us analyze some of those application in terms of the above criteria. (In that we will use the link https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/6243 which includes the dates when various professional colleges were started.)

• Centurion: Established on 12/23/2010. Its main constituent JITM started in 1997.
• Sri Sri: Act passed by GOO on 12/26/09. Classes to start in Fall 2012. Would have been considered in the de-novo category.
• ICFAI: Act passed by GOO on 3/9/10. No progress since then. Would have been considered in the de-novo category.
• Vedanta University: Bill passed by OLA in December 2009. Awaiting governor’s assent. Also awaiting supreme court verdict on land acquisition.
• Jagadguru Kripalu University: Would be considered in de-novo category.
• Xavier University: XIMB was started in 1987.
• Techno Global University: Techno started in 2005. It will have 15 years experience in 2020.
• Amrita Viswa Vidyapeetham University: Would be considered in de-novo category.
• Synergy University: Synergy started in 1999. It will have 15 years experience in 2014.
• Women’s university of Technology: Not sure about the foundation that is behind this. Could be KISD. KISD was started in 2001.
• Private University by Rai foundation: Would be considered in de-novo category.
• Amity University: Would be considered in de-novo category.
• University of Corporate Excellence: Would be considered in de-novo category.
• Silicon University: Silicon was started in 2001.
• ASBM University: Not sure when ASBM was started.
• Divine Global University by Divine Education Trust, Delhi: No idea about the trust behind it.
• GIET University, Gunupur: GIET was started in 1997.
• C. V. Raman International University Bhubaneswar: C. V. Raman was started in 1997.
• JPM University by Shree Chandulal Minda Memorial Trust: Do not know about this trust.
• Krupajal National University: Krupajal was started in 1999.
• Manipal: Would be considered in de-novo category.
• Odia University: Would be considered in de-novo category.
• Edu City in Rourkela by Knowledge Foundation, Jail Road, Jharpada, Bhubaneswar: Do not know about this trust.

So among the above XIMB, GIET and CVRaman have the required 15 years experience; Synergy and Krupajal will have that in 2014.

July 28th, 2012

IIIT Bhubaneswar inches closer to becoming a state university: Sambada

4 comments December 2nd, 2011

List of faculty at IIIT Bhubaneswar and their qualification

Further updated on April 4, 2012.

Further updated on February 4, 2012. These updates are in pink.

Further updated on December 7, 2011. These updates are in red.

The following was compiled from http://www.iiit-bh.ac.in/faculty/faculty-list and http://www.iiit-bh.ac.in/downloads/AdmissionBrochure2011.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1 on September 23rd, 2011. (For an older list compiled in March 2011 see https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/6149.)

Computer Science:

1. Dr. Gopal Krishna Nayak, B. Tech (IIT Kharagpur), PGDM (IIM Bangalore), Ph.D. (IIT Kharagpur), Professor & Director
2. Mr. Ajit Kumar Das, B. Tech (IIT Kharagpur), M. Tech (UU), Ph.D. Continuing (UU), Professor & Dean
3. Dr. Rakesh Chandra Balabantaray, M. Tech (UU), Ph. D. (UU), Assistant Professor
4. Dr. Anjali Mohapatra, M. Tech. (UU), Ph. D. (UU), Assistant Professor
5. Ms Puspanjali Mohapatra, M. Tech.(UU), MBA, Assistant Professor
6. Dr. Debasish Jena, BE, M.Tech.(UU),Ph.D.(NIT, Rourkela), Assistant Professor
7. Dr. Alok Chakrabarty , Ph.D. (Assam Univerisity), Assistant Professor 
8. Dr. Hemanta Kumar Pati , Ph.D. (IIT Kharagpur), Assistant Professor
9. Mr. Suvendu Rup ,B.E(UU) , M.Tech.(Jadavpur University), Ph.D. continuing (NIT Rourkela), Assistant Professor
10. Dr. Sudarsan Padhy, Ph.D,  Professor (Retired from Utkal University)
11. Ms. Bharati Mishra, M.Tech, Assistant Professor  (NEW)
12. Mr. Sabyasachi Patra, M.Tech, Assistant Professor (NEW)
13. Mr. Tushar Ranjan Sahoo, M.Tech (IIT Kharagpur), Assistant Professor (NEW)
14. Mr. Muktikanta Sahu, M. Tech. (BPUT), Lecturer

• Dr. Shakti Ranjan Mohapatra, Ph.D, Visiting Faculty, from CITE Bhubaneswar
• Dr. Ajit Nayak, Ph.D, Visiting Faculty, from ITER, SOA University Bhubaneswar

Electrical Engineering:

1. Ms. Usharani Rout, M. Tech.(BIT, Mesra), Assistant Professor
2. Mr. Tapas Kumar Panigrahi , M. Tech.(Bengal Engineering College), Assistant Professor
3. Ms. Umamani Subudhi , M.Tech.(UCE, Burla), Assistant Professor
4. Mr. Debani Mishra, M.Tech (IIT Delhi), Assistant Professor (NEW)
5. Mr. Kshirod K Rout, M.Tech, Assistant Professor (NEW)
6. Mr. Saroj Mishra, M.tech (IITKharagpur), Assistant Professor (NEW)
7. Mr. Prakash Kumar Ray, M.Tech (UCE Burla), Ph.D (cont. at MNNIT), Assistant Professor.

Electronics:

1. Mr. Harish Kumar Sahoo ,M.Tech.(NIT,Rourkela),Ph.D. continuing (Sambalpur University), Assistant Professor
2. Mr. Ashutosh Kar, M.Tech (NIT Hamirpur), Assistant Professor (NEW)
3. Mr. Rajat K Giri, M.Tech, Assistant Professor (NEW)
4. Mr. Subrat Mohanty, M.Tech (BESU), Assistant Professor (NEW)
5. Dr. M. Ravi Kumar, M.Tech (CUSAT), Ph.D (IIT Kharagpur), Assistant Professor (NEW)
6. Mr. Pradyut K Biswal, M.Tech, Assistant Professor (NEW)
7. Mr. Bijayanada Patnaik. M.Tech. Continuing Ph.D. (IIT BBS) Assistant Professor.
8. Mr. Ratnakar Dash , M. Tech.(UCE, Burla), Ph.D.continuing (NIT, Rourkela), Lecturer
9. Mr. Soumendranath Dutta, M.Tech, Ph.D (cont)., Assistant Professor.

• Mr. Tapas Patra, Visiting Faculty, From CET Bhubaneswar

Mechanical Engineering:

1. Mr. Bamadev Sahoo, M. Tech. (IIT Kharagpur), Assistant Professor
2. Mr. Biranchi Narayan Padhi , M. Tech.(UCE, Burla), Ph.D. continuing (NIT Rourkela), Assistant Professor

• Dr. L. N. Panda, Ph.D, Visiting Faculty, From CET Bhubaneswar
• Dr. P. K. Satapathy, Ph.D, Visiting Faculty, From CET Bhubaneswar

Physics:

1. Dr. Monalisa Ray, M.Phil., Ph.D.(UU), Assistant Professor
2. Dr. Biswajit Pradhan, Ph.D.(IIT Bombay), Assistant Professor

• Mr. R. K. Parida, Visiting Faculty, From ITER,  SOA University

Chemistry:

1. Dr. Satyanarayan Pal, Ph.D.(CU, Hyderabad), Assistant Professor
2. Dr. Hiranmayee Satapathy, Ph.D.(IIT Kharagpur), Assistant Professor

Mathematics:

1. Dr. Rupaj Kumar Nayak, Ph.D.(UU), Assistant Professor
2. Dr. Prasanta K Ray, Ph.D. (NIT Rourkela), Assistant Professor (NEW)
3. Dr. Sanjay Parhi, Ph.D. (IIT Kharagpur), Assistant Professor (NEW)
4. Dr. Shanta Kumar Sunanda, Ph.D. (IIT Kharagpur), Assistant Professor.
5. Dr. Manas Ranjan Tripathy , Ph.D .(IIT Kharagpur), Lecturer

Humanities:

1. Ms. Lipika Das, Lecturer, M. A., M.Phil., Ph.D.continuing (UU) – Communicative English, Assistant Professor
2. Dr. Tanutrushna Panigrahi, Ph. D. (Berhampur University) – Communicative English, Assistant Professor
3. Jolly Dey; Humanities, Assistant Professor

• Mr. Bhawani Shankar Mishra, Humanities, Visiting faculty.

3 comments September 25th, 2011

List of faculty at IIIT Bhubaneswar and their qualification

The following is compiled from http://www.iiit-bh.ac.in/faculty/faculty-list and http://www.iiit-bh.ac.in/downloads/AdmissionBrochure2011.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1.

Computer Science:

1. Dr. Gopal Krishna Nayak, B. Tech (IIT Kharagpur), PGDM (IIM Bangalore), Ph.D. (IIT Kharagpur), Professor & Director
2. Mr. Ajit Kumar Das, B. Tech (IIT Kharagpur), M. Tech (UU), Ph.D. Continuing (UU), Professor & Dean
3. Dr. Rakesh Chandra Balabantaray, M. Tech (UU), Ph. D. (UU), Assistant Professor
4. Dr. Anjali Mohapatra, M. Tech. (UU), Ph. D. (UU), Assistant Professor
5. Ms Puspanjali Mohapatra, M. Tech.(UU), Lecturer
6. Mr. Muktikanta Sahu, M. Tech. (BPUT), Lecturer
7. Dr. Debasish Jena, BE, M.Tech.(UU),Ph.D.(NIT, Rourkela), Assistant Professor
8. Mr. Alok Chakrabarty , Ph.D. thesis submitted (Assam Univerisity), Lecturer
9. Dr. Hemanta Kumar Pati , Ph.D. (IIT Kharagpur), Assistant Professor
10. Mr. Suvendu Rup ,B.E(UU) , M.Tech.(Jadavpur University), Ph.D. continuing (NIT Rourkela), Lecturer
11. Dr. Sudarsan Padhy, Ph.D, Emeritus Professor (Retired from Utkal University)

• Dr. Shakti Ranjan Mohapatra, Ph.D, Visiting Faculty, from CITE Bhubaneswar
• Dr. Ajit Nayak, Ph.D, Visiting Faculty, from ITER, SOA University Bhubaneswar

Electrical Engineering:

1. Ms. Usharani Rout, M. Tech.(BIT, Mesra), Lecturer
2. Mr. Tapas Kumar Panigrahi , M. Tech.(Bengal Engineering College), Senior Lecturer
3. Ms. Umamani Subudhi , M.Tech.(UCE, Burla), Lecturer

Electronics:

1. Mr. Harish Kumar Sahoo ,M.Tech.(NIT,Rourkela),Ph.D. continuing (Sambalpur University), Senior Lecturer
2. Mr. Ratnakar Dash , M. Tech.(UCE, Burla), Ph.D.continuing (NIT, Rourkela), Lecturer

• Mr. Tapas Patra, Visiting Faculty, From CET Bhubaneswar

Mechanical Engineering:

1. Mr. Bamadev Sahoo, M. Tech. (IIT Kharagpur), Senior Lecturer
2. Mr. Biranchi Narayan Padhi , M. Tech.(UCE, Burla), Ph.D. continuing (NIT Rourkela), Senior Lecturer

• Dr. L. N. Panda, Ph.D, Visiting Faculty, From CET Bhubaneswar
• Dr. P. K. Satapathy, Ph.D, Visiting Faculty, From CET Bhubaneswar

Physics:

1. Dr. Monalisa Ray, M.Phil., Ph.D.(UU), Senior Lecturer
2. Dr. Biswajit Pradhan, Ph.D.(IIT Bombay), Lecturer

• Mr. R. K. Parida, Visiting Faculty, From ITER,  SOA University

Chemistry:

1. Dr. Satyanarayan Pal, Ph.D.(CU, Hyderabad), Senior Lecturer
2. Dr. Hiranmayee Satapathy, Ph.D.(IIT Kharagpur), Lecturer

Mathematics:

1. Dr. Rupaj Kumar Nayak, Ph.D.(UU), Assistant Professor
2. Dr. Manas Ranjan Tripathy , Ph.D .(IIT Kharagpur), Lecturer

Humanities:

1. Ms. Lipika Das, Lecturer, M. A., M.Phil., Ph.D.continuing (UU) – Communicative English, Lecturer
2. Dr. Tanutrushna Panigrahi, Ph. D. (Berhampur University) – Communicative English, Senior Lecturer

22 comments March 5th, 2011

Union Cabinet approved setting up of 20 new IIITs (December 2010)

Somehow we missed this news earlier. Following is from the PIB release http://www.pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=68209.

January 4th, 2011

IIIT bill to come up in Budget session of the parliament in March

Following is from a report in expressbuzz.com.

In order to set up 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) with a public private partnership (PPP) model, the Centre has decided to introduce the Institutes of Information Technology Bill 2010 in the Budget session of the Parliament.

The Human Resource Development Ministry has prepared the draft Bill to allow the setting up of institutes in PPP mode which can function with complete autonomy and at the same time with professionalism and integrity. The Bill also proposes to declare the IIIT, Kancheepuram, Pandit Dwarka Prasad Mishra IIIT, Jabalpur, Atal Bihari Vajpayee IIIT, Gwalior and IIIT, Allahabad as institutions of national importance, retaining the individuality and autonomy of each institute.

The new IIITs would offer under-graduate, masters and PhD programmes.

Each institute will have an intake capacity of about 1,000 students within a period of six to seven years of their functioning.

The capital cost of each IIIT would be `128 crore to be contributed in the ratio of 50:35:15 by the central government, the state government and the industry respectively. Land for the institutes would be provided by the states, for a completely integrated campus with science and technology parks.

Each institute will specialise on specific area of Information Technology and each IIIT would be a centre of excellence in that domain. The project would start from the financial year 2011-12 with setting up five to 10 IIITs depending upon the response of the state governments and private partners, according to sources.

The draft bill mentioned above is available at http://www.education.nic.in/Acts/IIITBill-2010.pdf.

January 2nd, 2011

Construction site pictures of IMI Bhubaneswar campus on 29th December 2010; suggests good progress towards 2011 opening

The following picture is taken near the main construction entrance looking to the left.

The following picture shows the main construction entrance and a distant look on the buildings on the left.

The following picture is taken from the construction entrance looking to the right.

The following picture is taken from the construction entrance looking to the far right.

The folloiwng picture is a close-up view to the right.

The following picture is taken from the inside of IIIT Bhubaneswar. The building on the left are the IIIT hostels. The faraway buildings in the center and the right are the IMI buildings. This picture shows that IIIT and IMI are adjacent to each other.

3 comments December 30th, 2010

Many 11th plan HRD initiatives including 20 new IIITs facing roadblocks; Minister Sibal seeks PM’s help

Following is an excerpt from a report in Indian Express.

… Sibal had written to the PM seeking his intervention on three stuck schemes including the proposal to set up 20 new IIITs (Indian Institutes of Information Technology) on PPP basis, which was shot down by the Finance Ministry earlier this month. Of the other two stuck projects, one is meant to finance state universities and colleges, and the second is a Rs 2,000-crore scheme to set up 2,500 vocational schools across the country.

The PMO has now asked the Planning Commission to re-examine the projects.

Sibal is learnt to have brought to the PM’s notice how these projects were key to increasing the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education. India is looking at a GER target of 20 per cent by 2020 against a dismal 12 per cent at present.

… the ministry’s proposal — shared with all state governments last year — to incentivise states for setting up new universities and colleges has also hit a roadblock. The proposal is to provide Central assistance to state governments to the tune of 1/3rd of the capital cost for setting up of new universities and colleges and also for expansion of existing institutes. The state governments will be required to bear 2/3rd of the capital cost and recurring expenditure. In fact, states have already been asked to identify land and suitable locations for these new institutions and also prepare detailed project reports.

2 comments July 21st, 2010

IIIT Bhubaneswar to become a state university; Centurion University of Technology and Management (a private state university) in Parlakhemundi in the offing

Following are excerpts from a report in tathya.in. (The website of the Centurion group is http://www.cgi.ac.in/.)

… Proposal to establish the Centurion University of Technology and Management (CUTM) by the Department of Higher Education (DHE) has received green signal of the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

… And latest is Centurion University of Technology and Management (CUTM) in Gajapati will go a long way in serving the state in general and KBK in particular, said a senior official.

Once the proposal receives clearance of the State Cabinet, a bill will be presented in the Odisha House to enact a law to establish the university by JITM Trust.

This is a great move by the Odisha government. In recent years JITM of Parlakhemundi has had many innovative programs. Making it a university is a just reward and a big boon to the backward Gajapati area.

I hope other areas of Odisha take note of this and try to learn from this. It is easier for a government to help, if people take their own initiatives.

Another institution that deserves similar reward is the Gandhi group of institutions, with its initial (and the best) college GIET in Gunupur, also in a backward district (Rayagada). I hope the Odisha government also upgrades the GIET in Gunupur, the largest engineering college in Odisha, to a university. 

NIST Berhampur also deserves similar reward as it is located in Ganjam (also considered a backward district and part of the backward South Odisha) and is among the top engineering colleges in Odisha.

Based on quality, Silicon Bhubaneswar also deserves to become a university. Similarly, Hi-tech because of its medical college also deserves to become a university. (Note: The two other private medical coleges of Odisha are part of deemed universities.)

In general, the government should make universities out of any engineering college that is in a backward district but yet is among the top 20 (with respect to student preferences), groups with private medical and engineering colleges in any location, and top 5  private engineering colleges in any location. This should be done every 4-5 years so that every college does not become a university.

Following are excerpts from a report in tathya.in on IIIT Bhubaneswar. 

State Government has decided to accord the Unitary University status to IIIT-Bh so that it will enjoy academic, administrative and financial autonomy.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has given consent to the proposal of Ramesh Chandra Majhi, Minister IT in this regard.

… State Cabinet will take a call on the issue on 9 June, said sources. 

3 comments June 8th, 2010

Andhra’s recruiting of IITians as faculty for its 3 recent IIITs

In 2008 Andhra created 3 new IIITs in rural areas of the state. These three IIITs at Basar, Nuzvid and RK Valley are the components of the newly established Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies. Following are excerpts from a report in Times of India that talks about hiring of faculty for these IIITs.

The institutes are going through a crisis at present due to inadequate faculty and lack of infrastructure because of which the state government has decided to reduce the intake of students by half — from 6,000 per year to 3,000 — from the coming academic year.

… “About 140 post-graduates from the five Indian Institutes of Technologies (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore have come forward to teach the rural students even though they have lucrative offers on hand from the corporate sector and international institutes,” said R V Raja Kumar, vice chancellor of the Rajiv Gandhi University for Knowledge Technologies under which the three institutes function.

At least half of the selected post-graduates and PhDs are Andhrites and have expressed their willingness to stay among the students and impart engineering education in the country, the VC said. Raja Kumar himself is an IITian from Kharagpur. “The hunt for talent will continue. We want to recruit post-graduates from the institutes of national and international repute in the country,” the VC said.

.. “This is for the first time in India that campus recruitment is being done by a university for the recruitment of the faculty. The response has been very encouraging and several post-graduates have volunteered to join the institutes located in remote areas,” said Raja Kumar.

In Odisha KIIT has been recruiting heavily from IITs. We reported on it in https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/2492. I hope the Odisha government engineering colleges, IIIT Bhubaneswar, SUIIT and VSSUT follow a similar approach and go for campus recruitment in the IITs.

The program at these IIITs in Andhra are different from programs anywhere else. See http://www.rgukt.in/program.html. They offer 6 year dual degree programs after the 10th class and take students mainly from the rural areas.

May 2nd, 2010

The faculty at IIIT Bhubaneswar and their degrees

Following is gleaned from http://www.iiit-bh.ac.in/downloads/mandotaryDisclosure-2009.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1. Below I just give the name and the degrees. For other important qualifications such as experience, please see the above mentioned document.

1. Dr. Gopal Nayak, Director.  B.Tech and Ph.D IIT Kharagpur.PGDM IIM Bangalore.
2. Ajit Das, Dean and Professor. B. Tech IIT Khragpur. M. Tech Utkal. Pursuing PhD at Utkal.
3. Ramesh Chandra Balbantray, Assistant Professor, M.Sc and M.Phil in Maths from Utkal, M.Tech in CS from Utkal, Ph.D thesis submitted in 2007 at Utkal.
4. Ashok Das, Assistant Professor, M.Sc Mathematics IIT Kharagpur, M.Tech Computer Science and Data Processing, IIT Khragpur., Ph.D in Computer Science & Engineering submitted in June 2008 at IIT Kharagpur.
5. Anjali Mohapatra, Senior Lecturer, M.Sc and M. Phil in Physics, Utkal, M.Tech in Computer Science, Utkal, Continuing Ph.D at Utkal on Computational Molecular Biology.
6. Dr. Monalisa Ray, Senior Lecturer, M.Sc Physics Ravenshaw/Utkal, Ph.D in Physics, Utkal.
7. Dr. Tanutrushna Panigrahi, Senior Lecturer, MA and Ph.D in English from Berhampur University.
8. Dr. Rupaj Nayak, Senior Lecturer, MA and Ph.D in Mathematics from Utkal.
9. Dr. Biswajit Pradhan, Lecturer, MSc Berhampur and PhD  in Physics IIT Bombay.
10. Dr. Satyanarayan Pal, Senior Lecturer, M.Sc in Chemistry Vidyasagar University, Ph.D in Chemistry, Univ. of Hyderabad.
11. Muktikanta Sahu, Lecturer, B.E , BIET Bhadrak, M.Tech CET in CS & IT.
12. Lipika Das, Lecturer, MA in English Utkal, Continuing Ph.D at Utkal.
13. Usharani Rout, Lecturer, B.E Electrical IGIT Sarang, M.Tech BIT Mesra in Control System.
14. Puspanjali Mohapatra, Lecturer, B.E Electrical IGIT Sarang, M.Tech Computer Science, Utkal, Continuing Ph.D at Utkal.
15. Dr. Hiranmayee Satpathy, Lecturer, M.Sc Chemistry Utkal, Ph.D in Polymer Chemistry, IIT Kharagpur.
16. Bamadev Sahoo, Senior Lecturer, BE Mechanical IGIT Sarang, M.Tech Aerospace Eng from IIT Kharagpur, Continuing Ph.D in Mechanical at Jadavpur University.

24 comments November 30th, 2009

20 new IIITs wait for the approval of the finance committee and the union cabinet

Following is an excerpt from a report in dnaindia.com.

Jayalakshmi Venugopal / DNA, Thursday, September 10, 2009 9:03 IST

The Planning Commission approved "in principle" plans of the Union ministry of human resources development to establish 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) under the 11th Five Year Plan across various locations in India.

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), the trade body of the IT and BPO sector, was entrusted with the task of preparing a detailed project report (DPR) which would incorporate a model of private-public partnership in the setting up of these new institutes.

This plan, prepared by NASSCOM, was submitted in May 2008, and has now been granted the Planning Commission’s go-ahead.

However, it is still awaiting the green signal from the finance committee of the Union government and the central cabinet.

3 comments October 3rd, 2009

Regular JEE counseling starts with Womens categories; IIIT, Silicon West, Parala Maharaj and Govt. Engineering College Bhawanipatna are in

Regular JEE counseling started yesterday with Women’s categories. In addition to the colleges that were listed for the AIEEE round of  Orissa JEE counseling,  the list of colleges also includes IIIT, Silicon Sambalpur, Parala Maharaj and Govt. College Bhawanipatna. This does not yet appear in the Orissa JEE web site, but I was told by a friend that this is the case. So the complete list of new colleges is:

1. Aryan Institute of Engineering and Technology, Mouza: Barakuda, Post Panchagoan, Bhubaneswar-752 050
2. Bhubaneswar Institute of Technology, Plot No 4, Village Harapur, Khurda, Pin- 752 054
3. Einstien Academy of Tech. & Management (EATAM) Bania Tangi Bhubaneswar
4. Eklavya College of Tech., and Sci., At Kusumati PO Jatni Bhubaneswar Khurda
5. Gandhi Academy of Tech. & Engineering At/PO Golonthara Konisi, Berhampur, Dist Ganjam Orissa
6. Gandhi Institute for Education & Technology, At Banlatangi, P.O. Bajpur, Dist : Khurda-752060
7. Government Engineering College, Kalahandi
8. Gurukula College of Engineering for Women (GCEM) At- Jamuhari Chhatabar, Bhubaneshwar Dist- Khurda Odisha
9. Hi-Tech College of Engineering, Rasulghar, Pandara Bhubaneswar
10. Indotech College of Engineering, Plot No. 144, AT/PO Mallipada, Via Pallahat(Khurda-2) Dist-khurda,Orissa-752056
11. International Institute of Information Technology, Plot No – 570(P), Gothapatna, Khandagiri, Bhubaneswar – 751030
12. KMBB College of Engineering and Technology AT-Daleiput, PO-Talahat Dist. Khurda,Orissa
13. Parala Maharaj Engineering College, Berhampur
14. Rahul Institute of Engineering & Technology, Govindapur JN Tata Dapalli, Village Konisi, Berhampur, Ganjam (DT) Orissa-761 008.
15. Shibani Institute of Technical Education , At-PO-Chhatabar,Via, Hanla, Bhubaneswar – 752054, Khurda, Orissa
16. Silicon Institute of Technology, Sason, Sambalpur -763 200, Orissa.
17. Sophitorium Engineering College, Baniatangi, Khurda
18. Spintronic Tech. & Advance Resarch At.Po Taraboi P.S. Jatani Dist Khurda, Orissa
19. Srinix College of Engineering College At-Ranipatna, Dist Balasore-750001 .
20. Suddhananda Engg. & Research Centre, Phulnakhara Cuttack At Anchhipur P.O. Bhatapatna Orissa
21. Synergy Institute of Technology, At : Bhimpur,P.O. Jagannathpur, P.S. Balianta, Dist:Khurda, Orissa
22. Vedang Institute of Technology, Durga Prasad, P.O. Ramachandi, Dist. Khurda, Orissa
23. Vikash College of Engineering for Women (VCEW) plot No. 2766, P.S. Dist- Baragarh, Odisha
24. Vivekananda Inst. Of Tech., at Chhatabar Dandi, Chaatabar, Orissa
25. Xavier Institute of Tech., Princess Avencue Ghangapatna Bhubaneswar Dist Khurda Orissa

Among the above Silicon Sambalpur, IIIT, and Bhubaneswar Institute of Technology (BIT) are colleges which I would recommend the most. As I wrote earlier, I would even say that students with good enough ranks to get CET or UCE may also consider BIT and IIIT seriously. (Disclaimer: As far as I can recall, I am in the advisory board of BIT, Centurion, JITM and was in the advisory board of Silicon some years back.)

13 comments July 25th, 2009

Update on IIIT Bhubaneswar and IIIT Berhampur

Following is an excerpt from a report in Expressbuzz.com.

The International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Bhubaneswar, is all set to launch B Tech courses in several disciplines from the ensuing academic session.

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has granted its approval to the premier institute for intake of 240 students in the disciplines of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Computer Science Engineering and IT. Each discipline would have a seat strength of 60.

The students for the B Tech programme would be taken from the State JEE this year. Plans are to restrict intake from State JEE to between 50 and 60 percent and the rest from AIEE and IIT JEE in the subsequent years. Along with the B Tech courses, the institute will also include Ph.D programmes in its curriculum from this year.

… A proposal would be put up with the UGC for accordance of University status to it once it gets going in full strength. The institute, which is presently conducting M Tech courses in Computer Science and IT with 25 students each from the OCAC building, is expected to shift to its own campus at Gothapatna on the outskirts of the Capital in August this year. The campus would come up as a state-of-the-art facility to provide top standard atmosphere and education to the students. Spanning over 23 acres, the IIIT would then have around 2000 students, Prof Nayak said.

… work has started on establishing a second IIIT at Berhampur. The Government has allotted 100 acres for the proposed institute at Rangeilunda.

30 comments July 11th, 2009

Rajasthan uses a balanced approach in choosing locations for its national institutions

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

9 comments June 12th, 2009