Ravenshaw East Hostel and its place in history – Some thoughts on Ravenshaw: VC Devdas Chhotray in Samaja
August 30th, 2010
Draft of the innovation universities bill to be tweaked
Update: From a report in Business Standard.
“The private sector says the proposed legislation is not open enough and we want all the ideas and solutions from entrepreneurs. With this legislation, there will be only 14 nationally-funded innovation universities, but the statute will allow for any number of private institutions,” added Sibal.
The highlighted part clarifies how the universities are going to be funded. The draft bill mentioned that some innovation universities will be made by the government and some by private parties. It appeared that it talked about the announced 14 universities. That would have been unfair to the locations whose innovation universities were to be funded privately . The above makes things clear. However it is still unclear what benefit would a private party get by making an innovation university and thus being obligated to follow the statute of the innovation universities. Will the status or label of "innovation university" help them in some way. Otherwise they can become a state university with a tailor made statute.
Update: Some excerpts from a report in Times of India.
… The nature of administrative structure, too, figured prominently in the discussion. For instance, it was felt that there is no need to have both academic board and board of governors.
"Delayering of administrative structure was suggested," a source said.
… Since Innovative Universities will be set up around a theme, it was felt that they should be multi-disciplinary in nature. It was suggested that while theme could be a good idea for the university to start with, gradually it can develop a multi-disciplinary approach.
… According to the minister, themes for Innovation Universities will be decided not by the government but by the institutions themselves.
The government will set up 14 fully-funded Innovation Universities in Greater Noida, Amritsar, Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Mysore, Gandhinagar, Jaipur, Kolkata, Bhopal and Kochi.
But the number of universities to be set up by private sector has not yet been decided.
(The reporter only listed 11 out of the 14 locations. The three that were missed are: Guwahati, Patna and Pune.)
Following is an excerpt from a report in ibnlive.com.
… "We will redraft the proposed legislation. The legislation does not spell out the outcomes. The legislation must set up objective and have criteria for outcome," HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said today. … Talking to reporters after holding deliberation with different stakeholders, industry body and academicians, Sibal said there was a broad consensus that the legislation should be taken forward. "However, there was also emphasis on the need to make the existing institutions attain world class standards in teaching, research and innovation". He said necessary changes to be made in the Universities for Innovation Bill is to ensure that initiatives and energy of the promoters are not stifled in an excessive regulatory mechanism. Sources said some promoters had certain objections to the appointment of vice chancellors to such universities through the collegium process. Sibal also said relaxation of the regulation mechanism was also felt as some had objections to the 20 per cent cap on appointment of graduating students with excellent academic record as assistant professors. The legislation allows appointment by invitation of any graduating students with high academic distinction as assistant professors in such university provided the total number of post filled by such policy does not exceed 20 per cent of the total sanctioned posts of assistant professors. The Bill is expected to be tabled in the Winter session of Parliament this year. With uniqueness being the hallmark of such centres, Sibal said the universities could be theme-based. "These institutes should identify areas having a direct bearing on community and environment while research and innovation could revolve around them," he said. …
August 29th, 2010
Mata Amritanandamayi Math Trust which runs Amrita University in South may have a medical college and university near Bhubaneswar
Update: A bit of Googling revealed that the trust also approached Andhra Pradesh about 2 weeks back. See http://expressbuzz.com/cities/hyderabad/amritanandamayi-math-plans-to-set-up-university/197221.html. Since their proposal to Odisha was sent about a year back, it is not clear if they are still interested in Odisha or because of Odisha’s delay they will go to Hyderabad. While their VC went to Hyderabad to meet AP CM, no one of that stature came to Odisha. So if Odisha really wants it they must move fast in offering the land.
Following is from a report in orissadiary.com.
Mata Amritanandamayi Math Trust proposed to set up an ultra modern medical college and hospital in the state. The Government has approved the proposal of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math Trust on Thursday for setting up of an ultra modern university in city at an investment of Rs 700 crore. In the first phase the Trust will invest a sum of Rs 500 crore and the admission will be started within two years.
The Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has approved the proposal of the Trust on Thursday . The proposed university would be provided 150 acres of land somewhere between Bhubaneswar and Khurda.
The Higher Education Minister Debi Prasad Mishra. said that the Chief Minister has approved the proposal of the Math Trust . As per the proposal, the Trust would set up a medical college and hospital along with institutions which would impart engineering, nano technology, biotechnology, ayurveda, Arts and Science subjects. The university would have facilities for imparting various courses to nearly 25 thousand students of which five percent would be reserved for meritorious students belonging to BPL families. It would provide study loans to the poor meritorious students. The Trust would also open off-campuses in other cities of the State, he said.
Informing about the success story of the universities set up by the Trust, the Minister said the former has already set up five universities in three States including Coimbatore of Tamil Nadu and Keral which have been successfully imparting quality education. The proposed university would invest Rs 3 crore per each bed in its medical college and hospital.
The trust has set a target to start admissions in two years time. It would begin the construction work forthwith after lands are allotted and no special legislation would be required, Minister said.
Indeed this trust has set up some very good institutions in the south. Its main institution, Amrita University is a very good university with campuses in Kerala at Amritapuri and Kochi, in Karnataka at Bangalore and Mysore, and in Tamil Nadu at Ettimadai. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Some may be disappointed that why this university in Bhubaneswar and not in another place in Odisha. The following is what I was told. Some Odia disciples of Mata Amrutanandamayi approached the government about this almost a year back. The government proposed them another location away from Bhubaneswar. The organization wanted Bhubaneswar. The last I heard the stalemate was going on. Today I read in the paper about this.
There is one lesson one can take away from this and other recent examples. Other locations which want such institutions should contact appropriate trusts and let the trust propose their location. I think the government will support that. Not only that if the location that is proposed is a backward area the government would chip in with land as well as 10 crores. The recent medical college proposal for Keonjhar comes to mind. So that is where the energy should be put. Alternatively, one may follow the JITM route, which now is a state university in Parlakhemundi. One needs to take such initiatives and be motivated by successes at other places.
For example, now that various organizations came together and successfully stopped Vedanta mining in Kalhandi, those organizations should be contacted to help the development of Kalahandi in other ways starting with higher educational institutions and eco-tourism infrastructure. I think Dr. Digambar Patra has already contacted some of them, but a more concerted effort would be good.
The SAIL medical college effort is also in the right direction. Please consider signing the petition at http://www.petitionodisha.in/health-care/sail-medical-college-at-rourkela/ .
Also, making efforts to improve the infrastructure in other places so that outside trusts are interested in those places is equally important. In that regard please consider signing the petition at http://www.petitionodisha.in/transportation/immediate-upgradation-of-airports-of-odisha/ which is about establishing functioning airports at Jharsuguda and Jeypore and initiating international flights to Bhubaneswar.
3 comments August 27th, 2010
Central University of Orissa Koraput submits a DPR for a medical college to MHRD; Other plans and progress there
Following is an excerpt from a report in Hindu.
The Central University of Orissa is setting up a medical college and a hospital that will bring health care at the doorsteps of the people in the region.
… “A hospital in the region would bring relief to the people,” the Vice-Chancellor of the University Surabhi Banerjee told TheHindu.
A detailed interim project report has been submitted to the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
… a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) for establishing a School of Health Sciences, for collaboration in teaching and research in Masters in Public Health Management. The school will also run courses in Nursing Sciences and Allied Health Sciences.
A similar MoU will be signed with Narayana Hrudayalaya, Bangalore, for training in medical and allied health sciences. … The Delhi-based Jamia Hamdard University has also extended help in the field of allied sciences.
As the university enters its second year at the end of this month, it intends to tie up with the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation for setting up a School of Bio-Diversity and Conservation of Natural Resources, and with the Chennai Institute of Mathematical Studies, that will offer a 5 year Integrated M.Sc in Mathematics
Grooming students
“But only obtaining a degree is not enough in today’s competitive world. Personality development is equally important. I have involved the British Council for improving the communication skills of students. The Council has already commenced classes where 75 students have enrolled,” she explained.
In addition to imparting training in Information Technology, efforts are being made to groom and counsel the students before they are ready to “take off.”
At present, 150 students from across the country have been enrolled in the University in the School of Languages and the School of Social Sciences. The former offers Post Graduation courses in English and Oriya, while the latter provides Post Graduation courses in Anthropology, Sociology and Mass Communication and Journalism. The Academic Council has also approved Ph.D Programmes.
Professor Banerjee is also working on a proposal to start an Institute of Marine Biotechnology.
The headline of the above mentioned Hindu report says: "Orissa Central University to set up medical college, hospital." But the content only says that they have submitted a DPR. It does not say that MHRD has agreed for the medical college. It is possible that MHRD is trying to not publicize it at this stage and thus has just encouraged CUO Koraput for the medical college and thus they have sent the DPR. In other words it is not a done deal until MHRD agrees to the proposal and the budget gets passed. We need to see in March 2012 if it is in next year’s budget.
Nevertheless kudos to VC of CUO Koraput as timely sending a DPR is important. Earlier in February 2010 the news was that she was about to send a DPR. Now she has sent it. So that is a good step. Also, now that the DPR has been sent the state can more forcefully lobby for the DPR to be approved. (Before sendng a DPR a tactics that is often used by various ministries when asked for something is: "Send us a proposal or DPR.")
August 26th, 2010
Getting a national institute to the Sambalpur area; upgrading VSSUT to an IIEST
I think the best possibility is to work on upgrading VSSUT, Burla (formerly, UCE Burla) to an IIEST. UCE Burla alumni is fully supportive of this. In general, such a proposal has and will continue to have support from all circles of Odisha. Also, the CM has in the past written to Delhi about upgrading this.
To do this first the state government needs to be pushed to give a one time allocation of a significant amount (say 100 crores) to improve the infrastructure. In addition the faculty size needs to be increased to be at the level of the colleges mentioned below. Simultaneously there should be a campaign to convince the central government to upgrade it to an IIEST.
The Congress MP from Sambalpur should do all he can for this.
For some background on IIESTs see http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/psearch/QResult15.aspx?qref=89897. Following are screen capture of that page.
4 comments August 18th, 2010
Sri Sri University (near Cuttack) to start classes in 2011 and ICFAI University Odisha to start in 2012
Following is an excerpt from a report in indiaeducationdiary.in.
Sri Sri Ravishankar University would start enrolling students for MBA and BBA courses for first batch from July 2011. This was announced by chairman of the Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir Trust of Governors Srinivasan on Thursday.
According Srinivasan, the work for the proposed university has already started and they would start to enroll students for 120 seats for common MBA programe, 30 seats each in Agro-MBA and Entrepreneurs MBA from next academic session. Similarly, there are 60 seats for the BBA programe.
The authorities of Sri Sri Ravishankar University have also informed that the courses in medical, engineering, vedic school and other courses would be launched subsequently.
The state government had signed MoU with Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir Trust in December 2006 for the university project pegged at Rs 350 crores. The proposed campus is likely to come up in approximately 200-300 acres of land in Naraj, 10 km from Cuttack. The campus will include academic buildings, recreational facilities, meditation halls, and a sports complex. It will be designed to cater to the needs of 1,500 faculty members, an equal number of non-academic staff members, and 15,000 students.
Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.
THE ICFAI Group, known for its chain of B-schools, is planning to set up eight universities in as many states in the next two years with an investment of Rs400 crore, says a senior official.
It has received the necessary approvals from the governments of Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, said SK Sharma, director, planning and coordination, ICFAI.
The universities are expected to be operational first in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh next year. “The construction work at these campuses is almost through. The state government has to inspect the facilities,” said Mr Sharma. The universities in Gujarat, Assam, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh will follow suit in 2012.
1 comment August 16th, 2010
Odisha higher education department seeks public opinion on its draft bill for establishing an Orissa State Open University
Following is from http://www.dheorissa.in/DHE/PDF/OOU-Notice.pdf.
Higher Education Department, Government of Orissa
Notice eliciting PUBLIC OPINION on establishment of Orissa State Open University
It has been felt that the National target of 30% Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) by 2020 is difficult to be achieved with the capacity of existing colleges and institutions. To have desired expansion for bridging the gap by providing higher education to large section of the population and to help disadvantaged sections of the society in making education available near their place of work or home, the Government of Orissa in Higher Education Department have decided to establish the Orissa State Open University, which will provide education in distance mode through its study centres. It will also impart skill education in the flexi mode to thousands of youth and provide the opportunity of training to the untrained teachers in distance mode.
A Preliminary Draft Bill is hosted in the Department Website: www.dheorissa.in for eliciting opinion of general public and eminent educationists of the State. They are requested to please go through the draft bill and to send their comments/opinion through e-mail: hedsec2010@gmail.com or in writing addressed to Sri S. K. Das, Joint Secretary, Higher Education Department on or before 26.08.2010.
S. K. Das
Joint Secretary to Govt.
Higher Education Department
3 comments August 16th, 2010
Samaja op-ed advocating a Veterinary, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries University
The op-ed below advocates carving out a Veterinary, Animal Husbandry and Fishering University out of OUAT. It also mentions the following:
- A private organization is also planning a Veterinary University.
- OUAT management board has decided to establish the states second Veterinary and Animal husbandry college at Chipilima, near Sambalpur.
- It also has decided to establish a Diary Science College in Baripada.
Related postings from the past:
- January 2, 2009: Initial news on a Veterinary University.
- April 4th 2010: Number of seats in various OUAT Colleges.
- December 30 2009: College of Agriculture starts class in Bhawanipatna.
- June 23rd 2009: OUAT also offers MCA, MBA (Agri-business management), and MSc in Bioinformatics and Microbiology.
- May 11th 2009: OUAT plans a new college of Forestry.
- Nov 10th 2007: Horticulture college planned in Chipilima.
3 comments August 9th, 2010
Centurion University of Technology & Management Bill 2010 passed on 5th August: A big boost to the extremely backward and tribal Gajapati district
Following are excerpts from a report in http://www.tathya.in/news/story.asp?sno=4397.
… the Odisha Legislative Assembly (OLA) passed the Centurion University of Technology & Management Bill 2010 on 5 August.
The new University, which will be a self financed private university, will come up at Parlakhemandi in tribal zone of the state, Gajapati district.
The Centurion University, which is being promoted by the Jagannath Institute of Technology & Management Trust (JITM Trust) which runs Jagannath Institute of Technology and Management will run the new University.
… Minister said the new University aims to provide high quality education and will open the School of Engineering & Technology, School of Natural Science, School of Humanities & Social Science, School of Management & Law, School of Vocational Education & Training and School of Tribal & Development Studies.
The University will have an endowment fund of Rs.3 crore, revealed the Minister Higher Education, shall be invested and kept invested until the dissolution of the University in long term securities issued or guaranteed by the State Government.
2 comments August 5th, 2010
Mathematics faculty in institutes and universities in the Bhubaneswar area
Earlier we reported on the shortage of Math Ph.D’s in India. Slowly the Bhubaneswar area is emerging as a center for Mathematics starting from mentoring at the high school level (at IMA) to pursuing Ph.D at NISER, IIT, Utkal and Ravenshaw. There is also a good chance that one of the proposed 10 science magnet high schools will be established in this area. (The top Math center in India is Chennai which has IIT Madras, Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Chennai Mathematical Institute.) Below we list Math faculty (mostly with Ph.Ds) in institutes and universities in the Bhubaneswar area.
Related pointers from the past:
- Shortage of Math Ph.D’s in India.
- Postings on IIT Bhubaneswar.
- Postings on NISER Bhubaneswar.
- Postings on IMA Bhubaneswar.
August 4th, 2010
Centurion University of Technology and Management Orissa Bill-2010 tabled in the Odisha Assembly
Following is an excerpt from a report in tathya.in.
Debi Prasad Mishra, Minister Higher Education introduced the Centurion University of Technology and Management Orissa Bill-2010 here on 31 July in the Assembly.
According to the Bill, the university will have its campus at Paralakhemundi, which has sixty acres of land and at least 10,000 square meters will be available in the form of buildings and ancillary infrastructure.
The university shall be unitary, self-financed and it is established to provide advanced knowledge in branches of Engineering & Technology, Medical Science & Genetics, Humanities & Social Science, Management, Law, Vocational Education & Training, Tribal and Development Studies.
… The Governor of Odisha will be the Visitor of the university and will preside over the convocation of the varsity.
The Visitor will have sweeping powers and can call for any papers or information relating to the affairs of the university.
The Chairman of the Trust will be the President of the varsity, where as the university will have Vice Chancellor, Pro-Vice Chancellor and other regular functionaries.
The Bill will be taken up for discussion in the House next week, said sources.
3 comments July 31st, 2010
“Sister Universities” relationship between the proposed 14 innovation universities and 14 UK universities
Following is an excerpt from a report in c2clive.
Addressing academics at IIT-Madras Research Park, Mr. Willetts said eight U.K. universities – Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, Essex, Birmingham, Newcastle, Exeter and the Open University – are eager to forge links during the design and eventual creation of the new Innovation Universities.
“We are keen to identify 14 British universities that can work alongside from the beginning. After talks with Kapil Sibal, I will go back to Britain to identify the 14 British universities to match up with the universities here,” the British Minister said.
I think the idea of each of the 14 innovation universities having a partner from UK is a great idea. Similar partnership from universities in US, other parts of Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and top universities in the East (Japan, S. Korea, Singapore and Hongkong) would be great.
July 29th, 2010
Draft Law on Innovation Universities under circulation
Following is an excerpt from a report in Hindu.
… As per the first draft of the Bill circulated by the Union Human Resource Development Ministry to the heads of all higher educational institutions like Central universities, Indian Institutes of Management and Indian Institutes of Technology, and members of the task force on the National Commission for Higher Education and Research, each University for Innovation will have to establish a University Endowment Fund but will have the freedom to receive donations, contributions from alumni and other incomes as long as 80 per cent of annual income is used for development of research infrastructure. Each university will be a not-for-profit legal entity and no part of the surplus revenue will be invested for any other purpose except growth and development of the university.
… The Innovation Universities are primarily intended to be private institutions. However, the HRD Ministry can also make grants to develop them, in which case the President would be the Visitor and the government would have a larger role to play in their functioning.
Each university will have an independent Board of Governors that will be empowered to discharge all functions by enacting statutes to provide for its administration, management and operations. The Board will delegate its powers to the Academic Board headed by the Vice-Chancellor that will perform financial, management and administrative functions including appointments and collaborations, the Board of Studies that will specify programmes of study to be offered, Faculty of Knowledge Manpower Assessment to study and assess through research trends in emerging fields of knowledge of relevance, and the Research Council that will interface with the research funding organisations, industry and civil society.
Intellectual property
In the case of a publicly-funded university, any new knowledge created from research that leads to an intellectual property will have to be reported to the government for retaining title. The Centre may refuse title on the grounds of public interest or exceptional circumstances, or national security. The Central government will protect, maintain and utilise the publicly funded intellectual property for which the title vests with it and it can give directions for prohibiting or restricting the publication of information to any person or entity which it considers necessary in the interest of the country. The income or royalties arising out of publicly funded intellectual property will be shared by the University for Innovation with the intellectual property creator in accordance with the provision.
The establishment of 14 Universities for Innovation is expected to set benchmarks for excellence for other institutions of higher learning through “path-breaking research and promoting synergies between teaching and research.” Each such university will stand for “humanism, tolerance, reason and adventure of ideas and search for truth.” It is expected to attempt to provide a path for humankind free from deprivation and seek to understand and appreciate nature and its laws for the well-being of the people. Further, these institutions will seek to “provide society with competent men and women to meet the knowledge needs of the country and perform service to the nation and to humanity and cultivating the right moral and intellectual values.”
I am trying to get hold of the draft law, but have not been successful yet.
1 comment July 22nd, 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
Heavy demand for M.Com at Utkal University; most graduates get placed before finishing
Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.
The varsity has received 802 applications for 48 seats in commerce, implying that as many as 16 aspirants are vying for each seat.
… In the last academic session, the department had received 580 applications. The choice of course has got its own reasons. One of the most important and visible reasons has been the on-campus placement. Students are offered jobs even before they appear for their final examination.
Employers in the banking, insurance and other financial sectors are quite keen to take students, said senior officials in the department. …
… “We restructure the syllabus every three years, keeping up with the latest trends and demands in the market. “In fact, many of those who wish to pursue a course in cost accountancy and chartered accountancy can be seen attending commerce classes for they are significantly similar,” said A.K. Swain, a lecturer in the department.
An M.Com course currently includes in its syllabus, management concepts and practices, marketing managements, corporate financial accounting, financial management, accounting for decision making, statistical analysis, business environment, insurance management, organisation behaviour, and computer application in business.
It also includes managerial economics, corporate tax planning, entrepreneurship development, e-commerce, advance accounting, services marketing, advertising and sales management, financial institutions, markets and international accounting, strategic management, economic analysis of decision-making, and corporate legal framework.
2 comments July 20th, 2010
Proposed XIMB campuses in Balangir and Sambalpur to have 120 seats each
Following is an excerpt from a report in tathya.in.
Minister said to provide qualitative education on Management, XIMB has been roped in to set up its campus at Balangir to start a Post Graduate Program in General Management with specialization in Banking and Finance Service.
Intake will be 60 students in this discipline and equal number of students in Rural Management Program, for which XIMB will be given Rs.10 crore grant.
Similarly XIMB will open another branch at Sambalpur for General Management with specialization in Human Resource Development Program with intake capacity of 120 students, said the Minister.
54 comments July 18th, 2010