Odisha HRD

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

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

“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

Utkal University of Culture and other institutions under the Culture Department of Odisha

The Utkal University of Culture in Bhubaneswar has the following faculties:

	Faculty of Language and Literature
	(I)	Department of Socio Linguistics
	(II)	Department of Foreign Languages
			Japanese
			Germany
			Russian
			French
			Korean
			Thai
			Burmese
			Spanish
			Italian
	Faculty of Visual Arts
			Department of Painting
			Department of Applied Art and Design
			Department of Art History and Aesthetics
	Faculty of Performing Art
			Department of Vocal Music
			Department of Instrumental Music
			Department of Drama
			Department of Dance
	Faculty of Architecture and Archaeology
			Department of Cultural Heritage and Conservation (Self-financing courses)
	Faculty of Culture Studies
			Department of Culture Studies
	Faculty of Orissan Studies
			Department of South and South East Asian Studies
	Other
			Department of Tourism and Hospitality Services (self-financing course)

The Utkal University of Culture has four government affiliated colleges. They are:

In addition the Culture Department has several other sub-ordinate offices under it. They are:

• Orissa State Archives, Bhubaneswar
• Orissa Sahitya Academi, Bhubaneswar
• Orissa Sangeet Natak Academi, Bhubaneswar
• Orissa Lalit Kala Academi, Bhubaneswar
• Orissa Urdu Academi, Bhubaneswar
• Orissan Institute of Maritime and South-East Asian Studies
• S.V. Govt. School of Art and Craft, Jeypore
• Harekrushna Mahatab State Library & Bhubaneswar Public Library, Bhubaneswar
• Orissa State Archaeology, Bhubaneswar
• Orissa State Museum, Bhubaneswar

The private colleges currently affiliated with the Utkal University of Culture are:

In addition Odisha has some related centrally funded institutions. They are:

• Institute of Hotel Management, Bhubaneswar
• Foodcraft Institute, Balangir
• Indian Institute of Handloom Technology, Baragarh
• Bhubaneswar Center of IITTM
• NIFT (National Institute of fashion Technology) Bhubaneswar
• Apparel Training and Design Center (see also here)
  • An Eastern zone hub at Bhubaneswar
  • An Eastern zone center at Rourkela
  • Eastern zone satellite centers at Berhampur, Baripada and Cuttack

In regards to the centrally funded institutions Odisha should pursue the following (please suggest more):

• An Institute of Apparel Management similar to the one in Haryana.
• Upgradation of the Bhubaneswar Center of IITTM to the level of the Gwalior center
• Upgradation of FCI Balangir to an Institute of Hotel Management
• A campus of National School of Drama

In addition the Odisha government needs to:

• Establish some (at least one) government college(s) affiliated to Utkal University of Culture in Western Odisha. Branches of Utkal University of Culture would be even better.
• Establish some research centers in culture and dances of Western Odisha and Tribal Odisha. This includes centers on Sambalpuri dance and music and Mayurbhanj chhau and other tribal  dances and music.

In the culture front, as we mentioned in https://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/3624: "By looking at the web page of the Eastern Zonal Cultural Center in Kolkata, it seems like all of the infrastructure of this center is in West Bengal. … the system of zonal cultural center is not working. The GOI must expand it to all major states and establish a similar center in Odisha. Odisha CM must lobby for it and make sure it is included in the next five year plan starting from 2012."

Also the national convention of SPICMACAY will be in Ravenshaw College in 2011. The Odisha government should take advantage of that and establish a permanent center (or perhaps something bigger) of SPICMACAY in Odisha.

1 comment July 11th, 2010

XIMB to get government support of 20 crores for its campuses in Balangir and Sambalpur

Update: Following are excerpts from a report in Telegraph.

“It (the additional centre) will either be in Sambalpur or Bolangir. We might even open centres in both cities. This will depend on where the state government provides land. Once that is over, we will sign a memorandum of understanding with the state government,” said XIMB director Father P.T. Joseph.

… “We are just waiting for Naveen Patnaik’s approval. We can start work on the new centre as soon as we receive his approval,” he said.

… “The management college will come as succour to students aspiring for quality higher education in the neglected areas of western Orissa. Centres of XIMB will come up at both Bolangir and Sambalpur. We are in the process of finalising the land plots. The state government has already sanctioned Rs 10 crore for the project,” said Singh Deo.

Update: Following is from Samaja.

Following is from tathya.in.

… XIMB will open two Centers in Balangir and Sambalpur in Western Odisha to provide Higher Education in Management.

… Both for Balangir and Sambalpur Centers of XIMB, the State Government will provide Rs.20 crore grant from the kitty of Western Odisha Development Council (WODC), said sources. 

The proposal was sent to the Chief Minister by Ananga Udaya Singh Deo, Minister Planning & Coordination and Public Enterprises.

… Chief Minister Mr.Patnaik, who is eager for balanced growth of the entire state, favored the idea and has approved the proposal, said a senior mandarin in the Department of Planning & Coordination. 

Chief Secretary Tarun Kanti Mishra has also favored the idea of supporting XIMB as the top notch B-School is opening its branches at Balangir and Sambalpur.

This is really a good development.  There are several other developments which together provide several lessons.

• Silicon started in Bhubaneswar and last year it opened a branch in Sambalpur. Its branch in Sambalpur was funded by a Silicon Valley group which is now planning to pump 150-300 crores to develop Silicon University which will benefit both its Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur operations.
• GIET Gunupur is the first of the Gandhi institutions and the group now has many  colleges including ones in Bhubaneswar, Berhampur and Rayagada.
• IIT Bhubaneswar will have an additional marine campus in a location away from Bhbaneswar.
• Hi-Tech sarted its first medical college in Bhubaneswar. It is now making a medical college in Rourkela.

There are two lessons one can draw from this.

1. Private institutions of education are playing and will continue to play important role in the state and people wanting to develop their area should themselves get involved in establishing institutions. This is in addition to pursuing the government which every citizen has the right to pursue.
2. Development in the state will spread from one area to other. The key is to let development happen without delay. The more it is delayed in one location, it will result in more delay in the rest of the places. For example, a successful Vedanta University in a location would lead to additional branches in other locations. The key is to let the first campus be operational at the earliest.

17 comments July 7th, 2010

A Silicon Valley group to fund Silicon Institute to make it a university

The Silicon Institute of Technology in Bhubaneswar is one of the best private engineering college in Odisha. In Orissa JEE, after the government institutions in Burla and Bhubaneswar the next preferred college in recent years has been Silicon Institute (NIST Berhampur is a close second). A Silicon Valley group is planning to put Rs 150-300 crores on Silicon Institute of Technology in Bhubaneswar to upgrade it to a University. The group has already invested in SIlicon Institute resulting in the establishment of a branch in Sambalpur.

The new investment plan was announced in the Invest Bhubaneswar Symposium in Palo Alto on July 1st 2010. I was present during the announcement.

5 comments July 2nd, 2010

CM favors Xavier University: Tathya.in scrolling headline

Also heard it from other high ranking sources that the CM has approved Xavier University. So this should come up in the next cabinet meeting and hopefully in the next assembly session or possibly even in the next half of the current assembly session.

Genesis (from sources): The idea for making Xavier University was first mooted in June 2009. It has taken a year for it to get the CM’s official nod. I was told that the time in between was spent in convincing various officials and ministers in the government, drafting the bill and getting the proposal approved by the XIMB board.

June 28th, 2010

XIMB starts short programs in Delhi; Dubai may be next

Following is from a report in webnewswire.

Xavier Institute of Management-Bhubaneswar(XIMB) announces Financial Planning and Wealth Management Program in New Delhi, for graduates, working professionals and enterpreneurs providing services to financial sector and for those who hold keen interest in the same sphere. This program will expose the participants to various theories and practices of Financial and Wealth Management enabling them to equip with the techniques with which they can handle their current business tasks in better and effective manner.

Since, the prime objective of the program is quality education that would help in better career prospects in corporate sector, the core faculty of XIMB would hold the sessions at Lodhi Road imparting both practical and theoratical insights of the financial world. The lectures would be a judicious blend of physical classroom sessions, instructor lead training, quizzes, case studies and project works. Participants would be benefited both academically and professionally as this program would have a high market value and branding among the corporates.

During the total tenure of 6 months integrated approach to learn various aspects of Finance, Financial Services Insurance(Life, Non-Life), Risk Management, Pension Planning, Estate and Tax Planning would give participants holistic perspective of Financial Planning so that they can shoulder greater responsibilities in their future career. Details of the program is available on www.indialearn.com or www.alethia.in.

Eligibility of the program is minimum 50% in graduation. Participants can attend the lectures without compromising their working schedule. The admission process would include application form+written test followed by personal interview. Participants will be awarded with a certificate from XIMB after the completion of the program.

Total fee is of Rs.50,000+ service tax. The documents required for the admission are certified copy of official academic records, copy of work experience (with attached visiting card) and four passport size colour photographs.

Admission forms are available from Ms Darshana Vyas at darshana@creativecrest.com and these can be obtained free of cost.For further information call 011-46076571 or 9268730013.

I was told XIMB is also exploring offering short courses in Dubai. These initiatives should help further increase the brand value of XIMB. In addition extra money from these initiatives could be deployed in the proposed Xavier University and new XIMB campuses in Khurda and Balangir. Odisha government should fast track the Xavier University Bill and any issue (such as land allotment) associated with the new XIMB campuses.

June 25th, 2010

ICFAI University bill passes in Odisha assembly with minor ammendments

Following are excerpts from a report in tathya.in.

The Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI) University Bill received the green signal of the Odisha Legislative Assembly (OLA) today.

… Debi Prasad Mishra, Minister Higher Education piloted the Bill, which was introduced in the Monsoon Session of the Thirteenth Assembly.

Mr.Mishra agreed few changes in the Bill and it was passed after discussion.

… According to latest accommodation, two Members of the House and Secretary of the Department of Higher Education(DHE) will in the Board of Management(BOM) of the University.

Mr.Mishra also agreed to the proposal for granting concession to students belonging to ST, SC and OBC students.

Assembly asked the ICFAI authorities to prepare Fee Structure on the Guidelines of University Grants Commission (UGC) and other regulatory bodies.
Similarly the Endowment Fund will be raised to Rs.5 crore, which was Rs.3 crore.

… With the Bill cleared , now the Hyderabad-based ICFAI would invest Rs 150 crore in setting up a university in Odisha.

The university would have strength of about 1,500 students and offer courses in various disciplines like engineering, management, law, science and humanities. 

… ICFAI has identified 30 acres of land between Bhubaneswar and Khurda for setting up its proposed university.

2 comments June 24th, 2010

Bhubaneswar Odisha a favorite for second campuses of Business Schools

Businessworld has an article on various management schools that are opening second campuses across the country. Among the seven institutes that are mentioned regarding second campuses, Bhubaneswar figures with respect to 4 of them. The article also updates on the status of these campuses. Following are some excerpts:

… International Management Institute (IMI) is also setting up a second campus in Bhubaneswar. The ostensible reason for a second campus is the shortage of infrastructure at the Delhi campus. “But the choice of location was based on the encouragement from the state government and our desire to bring high quality management education to this region,” says P.K. Bhaumik, director, IMI-Delhi.

… Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB), has already been given land by the Orissa government for its second campus in Khurda (15 km from the main campus). “The government of Orissa had said they would build a compound wall to the Khurda campus and hand it over to us,” says P.T. Joseph, director, XIMB. The institute also plans to open two new campuses in Bolangir and Sambalpur in Orissa. However, the state government is yet to sign the Memorandum of Understanding for the other two plots.

Similarly, Birla Institute of Management Technology (Bimtech), has been granted 30 acres of land by the Orissa government to set up a new campus in Bhubaneswar. “So far, we have registered the new campus and are finalising the design. With two specialised programmes, Faculty of Management and Faculty of Design, the first session is expected to start in June 2012,” says Harivansh Chaturvedi, director of Bimtech.

…Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI University), which has eight campuses all over the country, is now adding new campuses in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Baddi (Himachal Pradesh), Guwahati, Indore and Bhubaneswar.  “This is not a new trend. For so long, the IIMs were at seven different locations and Xavier’s was at four different locations. Now, others are following,” says Koshy Verghese, secretary general, Federation of Universities, Hyderabad.

Does the above mean that BIMTech Bhubaneswar will have a program in Design.

3 comments June 21st, 2010