Odisha HRD

Cabinet approves the innovation university bill; Update: Bill Introduced in the Lok Sabha

Update: Following is an excerpt from a PTI report in Zeenews.

A bill which seeks to provide for establishment of universities focussed on innovation and research was introduced in Parliament on Monday.

The Universities for Research and Innovation Bill, 2012 was tabled in the Lok Sabha by HRD Minister Kapil Sibal.

The Bill seeks to set up the universities both in the public as well as the private sectors.

Each university on research and innovation would provide for the knowledge and economic needs of the country by creating professionals, specialists, scientists and researchers and generate new knowledge to support the national innovation system.

According to the provisions of the Bill, each of these universities would offer exposure to an international classroom environment, with a minimum of 50 per cent of the students being Indian.

The hallmark of the legislation is that each university would focus on one area or problem of significance to India and build an eco-system of research and training around different related disciplines.

These universities would have autonomy in matters of academics, faculty, personnel and finances administration.

The President would be the visitor of the publicly funded universities.

The Bill, which was cleared by the Union Cabinet early this month, does not specify the target of 14 such universities as was proposed earlier.

Following is from a report by Basant Kumar Mohanty in Telegraph.

The Union cabinet today cleared a proposed “omnibus law” under which central or private theme-based universities can be set up with Parliament’s approval without enacting a separate law for each institution as is the rule now.

The Universities for Research and Innovation Bill, 2012, does not apply to general universities but only to “innovation universities” — those where teaching and research will focus on specific areas such as environment, astrophysics, urban planning or the liberal arts.

Universities are now set up individually through legislation by Parliament or a state’s Assembly. Once Parliament passes the new bill, which could be introduced in the current budget session, innovation universities can be established through an executive order followed by parliamentary approval, which will make the process faster.

It will also allow the establishment of as many theme-based universities as the Centre wants as long as they fulfil the set requirements. They can be set up in the public, private or public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

The government plans to set up a few such universities on its own. The bill allows internationally acclaimed foreign universities with at least 50 years of standing in their countries to collaborate with Indian entities to set up innovation universities.

Private bodies such as registered societies, trusts or companies registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act and foreign institutions will be termed “promoters” and will have to sign a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the government to set up innovation universities, either through collaboration or independently.

The promoter will apply to the government and send a detailed project proposal carrying information such as the vision plan, areas of focus, and how the land and funds will be mobilised.

If the proposal is found acceptable, the government will sign an MoA with the promoter, notify it and place it before Parliament, which will have the right to reject or amend it. The promoter cannot take away the profits from education activities but must plough them back into the institution for its development.

These universities can appoint by invitation anyone with academic distinction and professional achievements as professor or assistant professor. They can also appoint by invitation, as assistant professor, any graduate student with academic distinction and exceptional talent for research.

1 comment May 11th, 2012 Author : Chitta Baral

AIIMS Bhubaneswar director selected and faculty hired; classes to start in September 2012: Union health minister Mr. Azad

Following is from a report in Business Standard.

Despite the slow pace of construction work, the first academic session of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar is all set to begin from September this year while its hospital would be ready next year, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said today.

… The Director for the upcoming prestigious institute has already been selected and selection of faculties had also been completed, he said.

"Now all work and preparations (are) for starting the classes this year and the hospital by 2013 with full pace. People are working day and night to complete the work as per our plan," Azad said.

1 comment May 6th, 2012 Author : Chitta Baral

The phase by phase development of the six AIIMS like institutes

The following is from the web pages of AIIMS like institute Bhopal. The other institutes are expected to have the same plan.

Departments in Medical College

Phase I-1st May 2012

Departments in Hospital

May 4th, 2012 Author : Chitta Baral

Recruitment of faculty and administrators of the new AIIMS like institutes is in full swing; The ones at Bhopal and Patna have their websites up and running.

Earlier in https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/7218 we wrote about the advertisement on admission to the new AIIMS like institutes in Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Patna, Raipur, and Rishikesh. The ad mentions that  the first batch of class in these institutes is tentatively supposed to start in Fall 2012. For the classes to start in Fall 2012 faculty and administrators need to be hired. There is indication that such hiring is in full swing. Following are some of those indicators.

1. The page http://mohfw.nic.in/index1.php?lang=1&level=0&linkid=37&lid=46 has links to several of the hirings that are going on.(Deadline for many of them is past.)
   • ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE POST OF (1.) DEPUTY DIRECTOR (ADMN.) (2.) FINANCIAL ADVISOR IN THE NEW ALL INDIA INSTITUTES OF MEDICAL SCIENCES (AIIMS) BEING ESTABLISHED (ONE POST IN EACH OF THE NEW AIIMS), UNDER PRADHAN MANTRI SWASTHYA SURAKSHA YOJANA. DEPUTY DIRECTOR (ADMINISTRATION) FOR BHOPAL, BHUBANESWAR, JODHPUR, PATNA AND RAIPUR AND FINANCIAL ADVISOR FOR BHOPAL, RAIPUR AND RISHIKESH (PDF, 132 KB)
   • Applications Received for the Post of Directors in the four New AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur, Raipur and Rishikesh in Response to Advertisement dated 27th Dec 2011 (DOCX, 38 KB)
   • Advertisement for the Medical superintendent Post in the Six New AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Patna, Raipur and Rishikesh (PDF, 143 KB)
   • ADVERTISEMENT FOR FACULTY POSITIONS IN THE SIX NEW ALL INDIA INSTITUTES OF MEDICAL SCIENCES (AIIMS) BEING ESTABLISHED AT RISHIKESH, BHOPAL, JODHPUR, PATNA, RAIPUR AND BHUBANESHWAR  (PDF, 31 KB)
   • Appointment of Directors in four AIIMS, Bhubaneshwar,Jodhpur,Raipur and Rishikesh (PDF, 47 KB)
   • Application received for the post of Director (AIIMS) like institutions under PMSSY Projects  (PDF, 75 KB)
2. The faculty job ad and links to the application form and FAQ is at http://aiimspatna.nic.in/. Note that faculty job ad lists 91 positions for each of the six AIIMS like institutions.
3. The initial deadline for the faculty job application is past. This economic times article mentions that 40 faculty have been hired for the AIIMS like institution in Bhopal. It is expected that similar number of faculty may have been hired for the other AIIMS like institutions.
4. AIIMS Bhopal and AIIMS Patna have their websites up and running. As of now, the AIIMS Patna website has very little information; but the AIIMS Bhopal website has a lot of information. Note that of the initial six directors that were selected only the ones for Bhopal and Patna accepted the job. (The other four did not and those positions had to be readvertised. Hopefully the directors of the other 4 institutions will be appointed soon.) Hence, they both have web pages.

47 comments May 4th, 2012 Author : Chitta Baral

Odisha should pursue one of the sports and physical education university proposed by the 12th plan working group on Sports and Physical Education

The 12th plan working group report on Sports and Physical Education recommends the establishment of  four regional centres of LNUPE and 5 new sports and physical education universities or physical education colleges. Odisha must vigorously pursue the central government and the planning commission to get one of the proposed 5 sports and physical education universities.

In this regard, please send an email to the Odisha CM at cmo@ori.nic.in with content such as given below:

Dear Esteemed CM:

The 12th plan working group on Sports and Physical Education has recommended in their report at http://planningcommission.nic.in/aboutus/committee/wrkgrp12/hrd/wg_repsports.pdf that "for meeting the increasing demand of Physical Education Teachers and producing quality PETs, at least four regional centres of LNUPE and 5 new sports and physical education universities or physical education colleges should be opened during 12th
Plan. "

Kindly pursue with the central government regarding having one of these universities in Odisha.

Sincerely,

Following are some rationale behind pursuing a Sports and Physical Education University. Please have a look at it at your leisure. 

While promoting sports,  besides providing good facilities (hostels, stadiums, turfs), what is most important is that the athletes are provided with opportunities to pursue some recognized degree/diploma/certificate of study so that they have alternate avenues of employment. For example, consider the story in http://www.indiablooms.com/SportsVideoDetails/sportsVideoDetails180312f.php.

May 1st, 2012 Author : Chitta Baral

NTTF in Gopalpur offers programs at various levels (including for people with diplomas and degrees in engineering) that virtually guarantee industry jobs

The website of NTTF is at http://www.nttftrg.com/index.htm. Currently it has one center in Odisha in Gopalpur. They had earlier listed a center in Kalinganagar, but it is no longer listed in http://www.nttftrg.com/contactus.html#add13.  A training program, diploma or a PGdiploma from NTTF almost guarantees a job; See their campus placement data at http://www.nttftrg.com/placement.html.

Recently I saw two of their ads which are given below. More and more people should consider doing a program at NTTF and Odisha government should help in the establishment of more NTTF centers in Odisha.

2 comments April 29th, 2012 Author : Chitta Baral

Update on the proposed Xavier Univerisity

Following is from an article in livemint.

In a departure from the current trend in business education, the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB) is opening its own university and taking away some of its courses from what it describes as a restrictive All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) accreditation process. This will allow it to impart “innovative courses”.

To be named Xavier’s University, the institution will start its first campus in Orissa’s Puri district, followed by two more campuses in Sambalpur and Balangir districts.

“The AICTE has a lot of restrictions when it comes to expansion,” XIMB director P.T. Joseph said over the telephone from Bhubaneswar. “Now, we have got a go-ahead from the state government to start our own university.”

… Joseph said the institute will spend about Rs70 crore in the first phase of the university plan, of which Rs20 crore will come from the state. While the first campus in Pipli, Puri, will be spread across 35 acres, the Sambalpur and Balangir campuses will be built on 25 acres and 15 acres, respectively. The university will be set up as a private one under the state’s rules, which means it will have more autonomy. “There will be more investment as we progress,” Joseph said.

… To start with, XIMB will offer students the rural management course without AICTE accreditation. “XIMB will remain as an institute under the AICTE umbrella. If they create problems, then we have to think otherwise. But we are taking our (two-year) rural management course to the university from next year when the university starts operation,” Joseph said. The institute will also run a master’s programme on public health in collaboration with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. It will also offer its three-continent master of global management programme under the university.

XIMB’s plan is a smart way of tackling issues related to AICTE, said Pramath Sinha, founding dean of the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

… Allowing serious players to open universities is creating an ecosystem that’s free of excessive control, he said. Sinha is planning to open a university in Haryana under the state’s laws.

Joseph said Xavier’s University will offer both undergraduate and post-graduate programmes in areas such as environmental management, microfinance, healthcare management and disaster management. Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik will lay the foundation of the campus on Saturday, according to an official invitation.

The state will pass a legislation to open the private university soon and till that time XIMB will call them additional campuses, instead of a university, the institute’s spokesperson said.

1 comment April 28th, 2012 Author : Chitta Baral

200 universities in the 12th plan?

Following is an excerpt from a report in Hindustan Times.

Higher education in the country is set to get a boost with the HRD ministry finalising plans worth Rs. 80,000 crore inorder to improve access to colleges and universities.

The UPA government has embarked upon an ambitious plan to double the gross enrollment ratio (GER), from present around 17% to 30% by the year 2020. For this, there would be a need of several new universities and colleges across the country.

HRD minister Kapil Sibal on Wednesday told Lok Sabha that 200 new universities and a degree college in each district of India will be opened in the next five years. “We have asked for Rs. 20,000 crore for opening new universities in the 12th plan,” he said.
 
In addition to new institutions, many of the existing colleges will be upgraded either into universities or autonomous colleges having powers to award degrees.
 
The budget for revitalising the higher education will be Rs. 80,000 crore, the biggest ever allocation for higher education.
 
A large amount of this money will be awarded to state governments to improve higher education in rural areas. This, by increasing the Central government share in higher education funding to the states.

As of now, the Centre shares just 35% of the cost of starting a new higher education institution. In the 12th plan (2012-17), Sibal said, the government proposes to increase the Central share to 65% and 90% for the north-eastern states.

This, according to the ministry, will give an incentive to the state governments to submit proposals for starting new higher education institutes. Many state governments have been reluctant to seek funds from the Centre because they had to assure 65% funds to start the project.

April 26th, 2012 Author : Chitta Baral

IIT Bhubaneswar to have India’s first Innovation Centre for Climate Change

The following is an excerpt from http://ibnlive.in.com/news/coming-up-innovation-centre-for-climate-change/251002-60-117.html.

India will very soon have the first-ever Innovation Centre for Climate Change (ICCC) to cover the Bay of Bengal. It will come up on the Konark-Puri road. The Centre will function under the Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar (IITB).

The Bay of Bengal Coastal Observatory (BOBCO) as it has been named will study the behaviour of the Bay of Bengal. With the completion of the observatory, the country will be able to forecast extreme weather conditions and collect data about the ocean behaviour and numerous other details like the physical, chemical, biological and Geo-scientific data. “All this information will be instrumental in preparing a model for understanding cyclone. We would have understood the 1999 cyclone better if we had this observatory back then,” said Earth, Ocean and Climate Sciences Prof Prem Chand Pandey.

Its working will be different from the Meteorological Department (MET) as the ICCC will look into the causes behind the occurrences in the ocean while MET department records the ocean behaviour and gives continuous information.

The ICCC will come up along with the School of Earth, Ocean and Climate Science (SEOCS) under IITB. The SEOCS, which will come up at Arugul, will be headed by Prof Subhashish Tripathy. The State Government had allotted around 936 acre land for the construction of the SEOCS. It also recently allotted around 75 acres for setting up of the observatory.

… For the setting up of the observatory, IITB is working closely with University of Massachusetts and University of South Hampton. They will also conduct the Ocean Instrumentation Training Programme to train people with the advanced instruments that will be used in the ICCC. “There will be around 12 faculties initially, but with the gradual growth of the school, more and more experienced faculties will be brought in,” said Tripathy. The recruitment process has already begun. The institute also has ambitious plans to conduct research in the field of land, ocean and atmosphere, added Pandey.

1 comment April 23rd, 2012 Author : Chitta Baral

Kapil Sibal in a UK round table: 14 innovation universities, cluster innovation centers, collaboration with UK and Meta-universities

Following is rearranged from http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=82396. The sub-headings are added by me.

On 14 Innovation Universities

Recognizing the need for leveraging on the creative knowledge, we are also planning to set up 14 Innovation Universities, to begin with, aiming at world class standards which will set benchmarks for excellence for the Central and State Universities. Each of the Innovation University shall consistently aspire for attainment of pinnacle of knowledge and will provide the knowledge manpower of the country in training professionals, specialists, scientists and researchers needed by the supporting national innovation system. Government has already framed a legislation for Universities of Research and Innovation which will provide a facilitating framework for creation of these institutions. These universities would be embedded in ecosystems developed for promoting synergies among education, research and incubation centres or industry

In order to be truly innovative, these Innovation Universities will not be clones of each other, but will focus on one deep theme of innovation and will focus on one area or problem of global significance in general and India in particular, by building an ecosystem of research and teaching around related discipline and fields and will search for solutions that are globally valid. For example, such areas may focus on urbanization public health, water security, environmental sustainability, digital literacy etc. The proposed universities will be autonomous in true sense, designing their own knowledge disciplines, admission criteria, academic programmes, credit systems etc. The programmes shall also facilitate horizontal mobility across disciplines.

…

We have realized that traditional models of public funded universities are not enough as the investment required is too high. We do acknowledge the need for policies to encourage private investment in higher education and the Foreign Education Providers’ Bill, now under consideration of the Parliament, is a decisive step in that direction. Although Government will be prime facilitator of the new innovation universities and innovation clusters, it is also proposed to focus on Public Private Partnerships (PPP) mode. It is also proposed to collaborate with Universities elsewhere in the world and they may be invited to set up similar such institutions in India and Government will support its research and establishment needs and teaching including scholarships may be funded by the promoting university. New Greenfield Innovation Universities supporting an already existing University/Institution of repute to attain world class standards through innovation in chosen areas of knowledge as well as Identification of some educational hubs in the country, where a few institutions of excellence are located and create an architecture of Innovation University by promoting synergy for teaching and research among such institutions are the models that we are aiming at promoting.

Cluster Innovation Centers

We have also planned creation of Cluster Innovation Centres in our Higher Education Institutions for promoting linkages for innovations, and R&D for solving the real problems and creation of products and processes for which systemic reforms have already been initiated for facilitating the linkages with industry and society. The Cluster Innovation Centres will provide a platform for the University and its partners to forge linkages between various stakeholders from industry and academia and to act as catalysts and facilitators. We have prepared a blueprint for setting up about 50 innovation centres of excellence in different frontier areas. Cambridge Cluster in UK as well as Trinity College founded by Cambridge Science Park are two prominent examples from UK which have promoted the growth of enterprise and innovation and created thriving innovation ecosystems. Such examples also exists in US (MIT, Silicon Valley – Stanford University), Israel, Germany, Sweden, Japan, China and Korea. Biggest strength of these clusters has been the cooperation and collaboration, where all actors are connected in symbiotic relationships. We are also aiming to scale up such National Innovation Clusters. We already have a few such schemes in the form of Technology Business Incubators and Technology Entrepreneur Promotion.

Collaboration with UK

The Cluster Innovation Centers and Innovation Universities are the specific areas in which we seek further collaboration with UK Institutions who have already innovated and scaled up by creating appropriate framework and institutionalized the same successfully.

Meta Universities

Seizing the new opportunities and leveraging the National Knowledge Network, the National Innovation Council has also proposed to create the first Global Meta University. With a network of Universities coming together offering courses cutting across disciplines, the Meta University will reinterpret the concept of a University as not just a traditional, physical space of learning, but as a repository of knowledge and information that can be delivered in multiple ways, and can be accessed from anywhere and anytime. It will seek to enhance the learning experience through new and innovative delivery models of education that allow students and institutions to collaborate in unprecedented ways. Thus the 21st century meta-university would be a network and an ecosystem rather than a single brick and mortar space – a Facebook of Institutions. A few central institutions located at Delhi, like Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Delhi, Jamia-Millia Islamia and IIT-Delhi have already initiated steps to constitute a meta-university. Here also, we are looking forward to collaborate with Institutions from the United Kingdom in the next step for creation of global meta alliances. Though the internet and technology are fundamental to this conception of the Meta University, at the crux is not a new technology but a ‘new pedagogy’ that is more in tune with the requirements of the knowledge society of the 21st century. In such an environment there is a greater focus on a learner centric, collaborative model that allows continuous learning from the environment.

April 20th, 2012 Author : Chitta Baral

IIT Bhubaneswar starts M.Tech programs; in 2012-13 it will enroll more graduate students than undergraduate students

So far IIT Bhubaneswar only offered B.Tech and Ph.D programs. It has now advertised its new M.Tech programs which are actually joint M.Tech-Ph.D programs that allow one with GPA greater than 8 (after doing the M.Tech coursework) to seamlessly transition to a Ph.D program or just get an M.Tech degree. The details of the program is given at http://www.iitbbs.ac.in/applicationforms/advt/Information-for-Admission-to-Joint-M.Tech.-Ph.D.Programme.pdf.

Following are some excerpts from that.

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BHUBANESWAR

INFORMATION FOR JOINT M. TECH. – PH.D. PROGRAMME Joint M. Tech. – Ph. D. Programme in:

* Applied Geosciences
* Civil Engineering
* Climate Science & Technology
* Electronics & Communication Engineering
* Materials Science and Engineering
* Mechanical Engineering

Selection: Valid GATE score followed by Written Test and/or Interview. Opting for Ph. D. Programme:

Desirous students with CGPA greater than equal to 8 after the 3rd semester of the M. Tech. programme with an aptitude towards research can opt for Ph. D. Those students with CGPA less than 8 will exit with M. Tech. degree after successfully completing the fourth semester and the credit requirements.

… Number of Seats: 18 in each programme. (Reservation as per GOI norms applicable).

In addition to the above mentioned joint M.Tech/Ph.D program IIT Bhubaneswar has also advertised for direct admission to its Ph.D programs in each of its seven schools .

• Basic Sciences
• Earth, Ocean and Climate Sciences
• Electrical Sciences
• Humanities, Social Sciences & Management
• Infrastructure
• Mechanical Sciences
• Minerals, Metallurgical & Materials

See http://www.iitbbs.ac.in/applicationforms/advt/Information-for-Admission-to-Ph.D.Programme.pdf for details.

With these programs added and currently with only 120 B.Tech students admitted per year, IIT Bhubaneswar will have more graduate students (M.Tech and Ph.D)  admitted per year than undergraduate students (B.Tech). This is a good direction and IIT Bhubaneswar should strive to have more graduate students than undergraduate students thus putting emphasis on research.

April 14th, 2012 Author : Chitta Baral

14 innovation universties (aiming to be world class) moved to the 12th plan

Following are recent news snippets on this.

From http://www.igovernment.in/site/14-world-class-varsities-now-12th-plan dated 30th March 2012.

The proposal for setting up of world class universities in 14 states is awaiting clearance by the Law Ministry, Minister of State for Human Resource Development D Purandeswari said.

Replying to questions in the Rajya Sabha, Purandeswari said the government is also planning to set up higher educational institutions in the 374 educationally backward blocks in the country.

The National Development Council had approved setting up of 14 world-class universities for innovation across the 11th and 12th plan periods on the public private partnership model.

The innovation universities are part of the Ministry of Human Resource Development’s (MHRD) "brain gain" policy to attract global.

The proposed universities will be set up in Bhubaneswar, Kochi, Amritsar, Greater Noida, Patna, Guwahati, Kolkata, Bhopal, Gandhinagar, Coimbatore, Mysore, Pune, Visakhapatnam and Jaipur.

From http://twocircles.net/2012apr10/14_innovation_universities_be_set_india.html dated April 10th 2012.

Fourteen innovation universities would be set up in the country during the 12th Five Year Plan, Union Minister of State for Planning, Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Ashwani Kumar said here Tuesday.

From http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/govt-to-set-up-14-innovation-universities/984605.html dated April 10th 2012.

Chandigarh, Apr 10 (PTI) The government today said it will set up 14 innovation universities during the 12th five- year plan. "We are going to open 14 innovation universities," Union Minister of State for Planning Ashwani Kumar told reporters here. Kumar was in the city to review the flagship programmes of the state. The innovation universities are aimed at making India a global knowledge hub. Each one to be built around a theme or subject, these unique universities will enjoy total autonomy with regard to appointments, collaborations, resource generation and nomenclature of degrees awarded by it.

From http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/chennai/innovation-varsity-kovai-soon-066 dated April 2nd 2012.

The Union government has added another feather to Tamil Nadu’s cap by proposing to set up a university of innovation at Coimbatore.

This will be one of the 14 universities to be set up in the country.

The Centre will table Universities for Innovations Bill, 2011, in Parliament soon.

The Bill will provide an in-principle approval for establishing universities for innovation. Some of the innovation universities will be in partnership with private players also and they will be made eligible for the government’s funding for research activities and student scholarships.

The Union HRD minister will discuss the proposal with education secretaries of all state governments on April 13 in New Delhi.

1 comment April 10th, 2012 Author : Chitta Baral

Schemes such as mid-day meals, free books, free school dresses, bicycles for girls increasing enrolment in Odisha government schools!

If this is true, then this is great news. Now the infrastructure and teaching in the schools need to improve so that the students that are enrolled get a good education and their time is not wasted.

5 comments April 6th, 2012 Author : Chitta Baral

Odisha CM clears the University of Corporate Excellence proposal; one of its promoter is Prof. Bala Balachandran

Following is an excerpt from an article in tathya.in.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik taking interest in the proposal of Bala V Balachandran for setting up the University of Corporate Excellence (UoCE) in Odisha, has cleared the same.

… Padmashree Prof. Balachandran, Professor at the Kellogg Institute of Management (KIM), USA is one of the major promoters of UoCE, which will come up with a cost of Rs.500-600 crore.

After setting up the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, along with some like-minded people, he started his Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai. 

And now Prof. Balachandran has joined hands with top experts in the field of education and management to set up UoCE near the Capital City, which will enrol 5060 students in 9 years. 

Accordingly the Chief Minister has cleared the proposal of Infinity Education Foundation (IEF), which will set up UoCE near Khurda.

… Earlier considering the student strength, Chief Secretary headed committee has decided to provide 20 acres of Government land at the premium of market rate in Daspur of Khurda district.

After assessing the progress in future, additional land can be considered for allotment, said an official.

… The University will have School of Technology, School of Management, School of Law, School of Humanities and School of Advanced Studies.

School of Technology will include courses on Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Electronics & Computer Engineering and Bio-Technology.

School of Humanities at foundational level will be preparing the students for corporate disciplines.

School of Advanced Studies will be providing courses for top-end corporate role.

UoCE will have top collaborative universities including Carnegie Mellon University, MIT, IIT, Harvard Business School, Kellogg School of Management, Harvard Law School, Yale Law School and several others, said sources.

6 comments March 31st, 2012 Author : Chitta Baral

Odisha CM clears the proposal of Manipal Educational Foundation to establish a state university near Bhubaneswar

Following are excerpts from a report in tathya.in.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has cleared the proposal of the MEF, which is eyeing to expand its footprint all over the country in general and eastern India in particular.

This will be a State University, for which a bill will be presented in the Odisha Legislative Assembly (OLA), said a senior official in the Department of Higher Education (DHE).

The proposed university will be fourth of its kind and will come up with an investment of Rs.200 crore.

… The proposed University will provide high quality education at the level of under Graduation, Post Graduation, post-PG and Research in Engineering, management, Hospitality, Law, Paramedics, Pharmacy, Education Technology, Media & Journalism, Planning & Architecture, Medicine and general subjects also.

Total student strength of about 10,000 is estimated by the end of five years to achieve the target of 20,000 in 7-8 years as the University is expecting normative growth by 5 per cent per annum.

20 percent seat will be reserved for Person of Indian Origin (PIO), Foreign/NRI/NRI sponsored students as this will be a World Class University.

The proposed University will come up in the outskirts of the Capital City, for which 70 acres of Government land will be provided at a premium of market rate to the promoters of the institution, said sources in Government.

Recently the Chief Secretary headed committee has approved the proposal, which has been green signalled by the Chief Minister, said sources.

2 comments March 30th, 2012 Author : Chitta Baral

First of the 14 proposed innovation universities to come up in Pune, but without the “innovation” tag; not sure how many of the rest will happen

Following is an excerpt from a report in Hindu.

The Tagore University for the Liberal Arts, first institution to be established under the Human Resource Development Ministry’s once ambitious Universities for Innovation programme, will be set up in Pune. But, ironically, the word ‘innovation’ will be missing from the nomenclature of the institution. For, the group of experts, which was asked to draft a concept for such institutions, fears that such an emphasis is likely to inhibit its creative potential.

 The task of such an “institution should be, not to presume an elite status for itself, but to create excellence by drawing freely upon the best talent from all sections of the populace, and fostering it to the furthest extent possible in a climate of international exchange and awareness. Ultimately, such an institution might be the first of many, and it might also provide a model for other existing universities,” the group said in its report submitted to the Ministry.

 On its part, the Ministry is finalising the concept paper so that it can send the toned down version of the Universities for Innovation Bill, 2011 for Cabinet clearance.

 The proposal to set up 14 such world-class universities was made during the tenure of the former HRD Minister, Arjun Singh, and even the locations were finalised with the Planning Commission. Under the new regime, it was decided to convert these universities into institutions of innovation in different areas of societal concerns. They were then named Universities for Innovation, each expected to focus on its theme in an interdisciplinary manner. However, the revised draft Bill does not give any number for such universities.

 …  The experts include theatre personality Girish Karnad, academics Supriya Chaudhuri and Sunil Khilnani, and writer Ramachandra Guha.

 According to the group’s note, the task of the Tagore University for the Liberal Arts should be to promote both arts and science under the rubric of liberal arts, in an interdisciplinary environment which allows creative interchange of scholars from different fields. The university will have five schools: School of Humanities for teaching languages, literature, philosophy, cultural studies and creative writing; School of Social Sciences for teaching history, politics, sociology, economics and human sciences; School of Sciences for mathematical studies, biological sciences, physical sciences and environmental science; School of Performing Arts for dance, theatre, music, film and sports; and School of Visual and Applied Arts for painting, sculpture, graphic, arts, textile arts, crafts, design and photography.

 The experts group has recommended that the university should have a Research Fund with an annual corpus of Rs 200 crore, administered by a Research Council with both internal and external members. ….

The university can invite applications for a proportion of its posts from non-Indian citizens who are outstanding scholars, artists, writers and scientists so as to promote international cooperation and exchange of ideas. The guests will be entitled to special salary provisions, in excess of the pay scales stipulated by the University Grants Commission or other such regulatory body.

March 12th, 2012 Author : Chitta Baral