Odisha HRD

To be a ‘good university’ is a decent and honourable thing, but no ‘good’ university these days can feel entirely comfortable, since we are not now judged solely on our local or even national contribution, but our international standing.

The competition to be ranked among the world’s top universities is increasing, with much jostling for position on international league tables. According to the latest Shanghai Jiao Tong University Ranking, the US dominates with 37 of its universities in the top 50. Arguably this is starting to change. China, for example, is investing heavily in its universities, but there is still a long way to go before any find themselves in the top 50.

… But what makes a university world class? As international competition for students and academics increases, this question is very much on the front burner for university leaders. Many people talk about ‘world class’ universities, but what the term means is often left hovering in the air, undefined.

In my view, four factors make a university world class. First, it must show a commitment to breadth and excellence in all fields of human inquiry, not simply in a particular niche. Uniform excellence across all fields is an ideal that no university achieves in practice, but it is a fine ambition. One senses that universal, high ambition in great universities, coupled with real excellence in most fields, most of the time.

Second, world class universities engage in cutting-edge research whilst at the same time teaching the next generation, their students. Teaching and research are intrinsically bound together, with top researchers inspiring and mentoring their students. In turn, students themselves inspire and challenge their teachers.

Much of the talk about world class universities centres around the production of exciting discoveries and universities’ contribution to the economy and to human enrichment through the development of cultural knowledge. But every bit as important as these is the role of universities as educators. World class universities produce students who will go on to be leaders in all walks of life.

Third, great universities must allow their researchers the freedom to experiment, succeed, and sometimes fail. They must be able to make grand mistakes as well as grand discoveries. It is often through making those mistakes that the grand discoveries are made.

This implies a degree of inefficiency, but it is a necessary inefficiency and a corollary of greatness. A university operating with a completely utilitarian mindset will forego the opportunities that a more open-ended system allows.

Finally, world class universities have permeable boundaries. This means encouraging interdisciplinary research and teaching; it means working with the private sector, for example, fostering and encouraging partnerships with industry; and it means encouraging international collaboration.

World class universities look outward, and think beyond conventional boundaries today, we educate students more and more of whom will go on to live and work in a range of cultures. We must equip them for this life, partly by what we teach them, partly by what other experiences we offer them, who they meet as students and the composition of the study body. …

The Bengal Engineering and Science University (Besu) in Shibpur plans to invest Rs 450 crore to fine tune its syllabus and to improve infrastructure and accommodation facilities.

This is part of an attempt to nearly double its student and faculty intake. The money is a grant from the centre for the Eleventh Five Year Plan.

The institute has received the status of an Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology (IIEST) from the central government. The university has also been conferred the status of Institute of National Importance (INI).

… Bhaswati Mitra, Besu, registrar said: “We will not only increase the student and faculty intake, but also completely transform the campus with introduction of e-governance and wi-fi systems. We are also looking at setting up new campuses around our existing campus in Shibpur in West Bengal and the next one in Salt Lake in Kolkata.”

Currently, the institute has about 2,500 students and 250 teachers. It has about 60 classrooms and 14 hostels for students. The institute plans to increase the number of undergraduate students by 50 per cent and award 30 more research scholarships by the end of the Eleventh Five Year Plan. The institute also plans to change its syllabus to accommodate papers in more specialisations.

The syllabus was last revised in 2004. In July 2007, it introduced three new courses � MSc in food and nutrition, postgraduation in megatronics and postgraduation in safety and occupational health.

With the grant, the institute is looking at introducing several new courses and verticals under technology, management and engineering for students over five years.

The institute is also planning a new digital library building. The number of hostels will also be increased from the 14, currently. At present, the campus has two eight-storey buildings and more such projects have been lined up.

The University plans to invest in setting up its second campus in Salt Lake in Kolkata. It has been able to locate 40 acres in Salt Lake where the University plans to offer courses in Information Technology (IT) and Management. At present, its 125-acre campus in Shibpur in West Bengal accommodates 250 and 240 students for IT and management courses respectively. …