Following is an excerpt from a report in tathya.in.
Jitendriya Kumar Satpathy will take over as third Vice Chancellor of Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) soon.
Professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering at National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela, has been appointed as new VC BPUT by the Chancellor Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare.
The Raj Bhawan has issued orders accordingly and Prof. Satpathy would remain VC for the next five years.
… Prof. Satpathy received his Ph. D in Electrical Engineering from the University of Bradford, United Kingdom.
… His specialisations include Digital Signal Processing, Application of Neural Networks & Fuzzy logic to digital communication, Electrical power drives.
Born in Cuttack with top academic excellence, Professor Satapathy is known for his down to earth approach.
… Commenting on his new appointment Professor Satapathy said that once he completes his duties in NIT, he will take over as VC.
Once he takes over the assignment, it will be possible to spell out his vision on BPUT, said Prof.Satapathy.
Since Prpfessor Satapathy has been living in Rourkela, there is a high chance that unlike his predecessors he will run BPUT from Rourkela.
January 25th, 2010
Rourkela is the second largest metropolitan area of Orissa with an official metropolitan population of 550,668 but perhaps much more (at least 700 K) if one takes into account nearby places like Biramitrapur and Rajgangpur. It is probably the most cosmopolitan area of Orissa. Because of its steel plant it has world-wide name recognition. It has a lot of young talents; I am told that Rourkela youngsters have done much better in entrance exams like IIT JEE than from other parts of Orissa. Rourkela and the Sundergarh district have produced many national hockey players (both male and female), some of whom have gone on to captain the Indian national side.
Being an important station in the Mumbai-Howrah line, Rourkela is very well connected to both. The National Institute of Technology at Rourkela is often ranked among the top 5 NITs of the country; in recent years it has done much better and is in the process of starting a business program. Rourkela also has two private engineering colleges and at least one more is in the works. Rourkela has at least two good magament schools: Rourkela Institute of Management Studies (sometimes ranked nationally) and Indian Institute of Production Management, Kansbahal.
Overall, Rourkela has the potential to be a Tier II city of India at the level of Vizag, Chandigarh, etc. But unfortunately, that has not happened so far and active organized efforts need to be made to achieve that.
So here I will list some of the things that should be pursued so that Rourkela becomes a Tier II city of India.
Knowledge and HRD aspects:
- Metropolitan University: Rourkela is perhaps the largest metropolitan area of the country, or may be the whole world which does not have a general university. This needs to be rectified at the earliest. IMHO, the best model to follow would be of Delhi University. So a Rourkela Metropolitan University should be established with graduate programs as well as with a few constituent colleges spread (offering Bachelors as well as Masters degrees) across the metropolitan area, but with no affiliated colleges. The exisiting government colleges in Rourkela (Govt. College, Rourkela; SG Women’s, Rourkela and Rourkela College) would be made constituents of this university.
- Medical College: Although a WODC sponsored PPP-based medical college is in the works, we must continue pursuing an ESIC medical college here. SAIL, which is making a medical college in Bokaro, should also be pushed to establish a medical college here.
- BPUT: BPUT must become fully operational from Rourkela.It needs to have real departments and centers and offer its own courses. It should be expanded to have programs in Science and Humanities.
- Research Centers: The state should pursue one of the central government departments such as CSIR, DAE, Sc & Tech, etc. to open a research center in Rourkela.
- Centrally funded University: At some point a centrally funded university should be pursued for Rourkela.
- More private institutions: Rourkela has the population base and the amenities that metropolitan areas offer to have more private institutions such as engineering colleges, management institutions etc. A multi-pronged apporoach should be taken.
- Local big industries should be cajoled to participate in this. For example, SAIL is also planning an engineering college in Bokaro. They should be pushed to have one in Rourkela.
- Local people should also open private institutions on their own.
- Educational foundations inside and outside state that have developed good private institutions should be approached and invited to open institutions in Rourkela. Inside Orissa, institutions like Silicon and NIST should be approached.
- STP: The STP at Rourkela should be expanded.
- IT/BPO: Because of the cosmopolitan nature of Rourkela, it would be a good place for BPO and call center operations. This should be pursued.
- Sports Institute/University: Sundergrah district is considered by many to be the Hockey cradle of India, both in men’s and women’s hockey. It has produced both Men’s and Women’s hockey team captains in Dilip Tirkey and Jyoti Sunita Kullu. Orissa government should pursue to establish a National Sports Institute (of the kind in Patiala) in Rourkela. It should include programs in physical training, coach training, official training etc. This would specially contribute in the enhancing the employment opportunities for Adivasis who constitute 50.74% of Sundergarh’s population.
Connectivity Aspects:
- Rail Connectivity -Trains: While the connectivity to Mumbai and Kolkata is marvelous, connectivity to other places needs improvement. Dilip has a good list of new trains needed for Rourkela at http://rourkelarail.wetpaint.com/page/DEMANDS. This list is:
- Rourkela-Bhubaneswar Intercity Express( Day Time)
- Rourkela-Berhampur Gajapati Express
- Rourkela-Secundarabad/Hyderabad Express
- Trains to New Delhi from Bhubaneswar via Rourkela OR Rourkela-Nizamuddin/New Delhi Express (Any extension of Ranchi-Hatia or Tatanagar trains will also work)
- Trains to Patna and Eastern U.P.
- Rail Connectivity-Others: The Talcher-Bimlagarh line must be fast-tracked.
- Roads: The 4-laning of the state highway 10 connecting Sambalpur and Rourkela must be expedited.
- Air Connectivity: Rourkela airport must be made functional with commercial flights at the earliest.
Metro area:
- A larger metropolitan area for Rourkela that includes Kansbahal and Rajgangpur in the west and Biramitrapur in the North must be formally established.
- The state government should pursue Rourkela to be included in JNNURM.
(The above is from Google Maps.)
(The above is from "sarini: Occasional papers, No. 4, Adivasis of Rourkela")
Work in Progress…
November 15th, 2009
Update: As one may notice one of the existing colleges that is missing from the list below is:
- Purushottam Institute of Technology, Rourkela.
It is missing because the Industries department of Orissa has barred it from admitting students from Orissa JEE in 2009-2010. Some details are reported at http://dailypioneer.com/191657/Industry-dept-bars-Purushottam-Institute.html. It was allowed to fill up seats based on AIEEE though.
The list below is based on the availability of seats pages of http://jeeorissa.com/availability_of_seats.asp.
- Ajay Binay Institute of Technology Cuttack (ABT) Pvt.
- Apex Institute of Technology & Management, Pahal Bhubaneshwar (APT) Pvt.
- ARYAN INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY PANCHAGAON, KHURDA Bhubaneswar (AIE) Pvt.
- Balasore College of Engineering & Technology Balasore (BCE) Pvt.
- Bhadrak Institute of Engineering & Technology Barapada, Bhadrak (BIT) Pvt.
- Bhubaneswar Engineering College Khurda (BEC) Pvt.
- Bhubaneswar Institute of Technology JANLA, KHURDA (BIB) Pvt.
- Black Diamond College of Engineering & Technology Jharsuguda (BDC) Pvt.
- BRM International Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (BII) Pvt.
- C. V. Raman College of Engineering Bhubaneswar (CVR) Pvt.
- Central Institute of Plastics Engineering And Technology Bhubaneswar (CPT) Govt.
- Centurian Institute of Technology Khurda (CIK) Pvt.
- College of Engineering & Technology Bhubaneswar (CET) Govt.
- College of Engineering Bhubaneswar Bhubaneshwar (CEB) Pvt.
- Dhaneswar Rath Institute of Engineering and Management Studies Tangi, Cuttack (DRM) Pvt.
- Eastern Academy of Science & Technology Phulnakhara, Khurda (EAS) Pvt.
- EINSTEIN ACADEMY OF TECHNOLOGY & MANAGEMENT BANIATANGI, KHURDA (EAT) Pvt.
- EKLAVYA COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Jatni, Bhubaneswar (ECT) Pvt.
- GANDHI ACADEMY OF TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING GOLONTHARA, BERHAMPUR (GAT) Pvt.
- Gandhi Engineering College Bhubaneswar (GEC) Pvt.
- GANDHI INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY BANIATANGI,KHURDA (GIE) Pvt.
- Gandhi Institute for Technology Bhubaneswar (GIF) Pvt.
- Gandhi Institute of Engineering & Technology Gunupur (GIT) Pvt.
- Gandhi Institute of Industrial Technology Berhampur (GII) Pvt.
- Gandhi Institute of Science and Technology Rayagada (GIR) Pvt.
- Gandhi Institute of Technological Advancement Badaraghunathpur, Bhubaneswar (GIB) Pvt.
- Gandhi Institute of Technology & Management Khurda (GIK) Pvt.
- Ghanashyama Hemalata Institute of Technology & Management Chhaitana Puri (GHT) Pvt.
- Gopal Krushna College of Engineering & Technology Jeypore (GCE) Pvt.
- Government College of Engineering Kalahandi Bhawanipatna, Kalahandi (GCK) Govt.
- GURUKUL COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING(FOR WOMEN) JAMUJHARI, BHUBANESWAR (GCW) Pvt.
- Gurukul Institute of Technology,Janla Bhubaneswar (GKT) Pvt.
- HITECH COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING BHUBANESWAR (HCE) Pvt.
- Hi-Tech Institute of Technology Khurda (HIT) Pvt.
- Indic Institute of Design & Research Khurda (IID) Pvt.
- Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology Sarang (IGT) Govt.
- INDOTECH COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING MALLIPADA, KHURDA (ICE) Pvt.
- Indus College of Engg. Bhubaneswar (IDU) Pvt.
- Institute of Advanced Computer & Research Rayagada (IAC) Pvt.
- International Institute of Information Technology(Self Sustaining) Gothapatana, Bhubaneswar (III) Govt.
- Jagannath Institute of Engineering & Technology Cuttack (JIC) Pvt.
- Jagannath Institute of Technology & Management Paralakhemundi (JIP) Pvt.
- Kalam Institute of Technology, Berhampur Berhampur (KIB) Pvt.
- KMBB COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY DALEIPUT, KHURDA (KCE) Pvt.
- Konark Institute of Science & Technology Jatni,Bhubaneswar (KIS) Pvt.
- Koustav Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (KIT) Pvt.
- Koustuva Institute of Self Domain(for Women) Bhubaneswar (KID) Pvt.
- Krupajala Engineering College Pubasasan, Bhubaneswar (KEC) Pvt.
- Maharaja Institute of Technology,Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (MIK) Pvt.
- Mahavir Institute of Engineering and Technology Paniora, Bhubaneswar (MIB) Pvt.
- Majhighariani Institute of Technology and Science Rayagada (MIT) Pvt.
- Modern Engineering & Management Studies Balasore (MEM) Pvt.
- Modern Institute of Technology & Management Khurda (MIM) Pvt.
- Nalanda Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (NIT) Pvt.
- National Institute of Science and Technology Palur Hills, Berhampur (NST) Pvt.
- NM Institute of Engineering & Technology Sijua, Bhubaneswar (NMI) Pvt.
- Orissa Engineering College Nijigarhkurki, Bhubaneswar (OEC) Pvt.
- Orissa School of Mining Engineering Keonjhar (OSM) Govt.
- Padmanava College of Engineering Rourkela (PCE) Pvt.
- Padmashree Krutartha Acharya College of Engineering Bargarh (PKA) Pvt.
- Parala Maharaja Engineering College Berhampur (PMG) Govt.
- RAHUL INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY GOVINDAPUR JN, BERHAMPUR (RIE) Pvt.
- Rajdhani Engineering College Bhubaneswar (REC) Pvt.
- Roland Institute of Technology Surya Vihar, Berhampur (RIT) Pvt.
- Samanta Chandra Sekhar Institute of Technology & Management Semiliguda, Koraput (SCS) Pvt.
- Sanjaya Memorial Institute of Technology Chandipadar, Berhampur (SMT) Pvt.
- Satyasai Engineering College Balasore (SAT) Pvt.
- Seemanta Engineering College Jharpokharia, Mayurbhanj (SEC) Pvt.
- SHIBANI INSTITUTE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION JANLA, BHUBANESWAR (SIE) Pvt.
- Silicon Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (SIT) Pvt.
- Silicon Institute of Technology Sasan, Sambalpur (SIS) Pvt.
- SOPHITORIUM ENGINEERING COLLEGE BANIATANGI, KHURDA (SEK) Pvt.
- SPINTRONIC TECHNOLOGY & ADVANCE RESEARCH TARABOI, KHURDA (STA) Pvt.
- SRINIX COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING RANIPATNA, BALASORE (SCE) Pvt.
- Subas Institute of Technology Barang,Bhubaneswar (SIB) Pvt.
- SUDDHANANDA ENGINEERING & RESEARH CENTRE PHULNAKHARA, CUTTACK (SER) Pvt.
- Sundargarh Engineering College sundargarh (SUN) Pvt.
- Synergy Institute of Engineering and Technology Dhenkanal (SYN) Pvt.
- SYNERGY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BHIMPUR, KHURDA (SIK) Pvt.
- TempleCity Institute of Technology & Engineering Khurda (TCT) Pvt.
- The Techno School Bhubaneswar (TTS) Pvt.
- Trident Academy of Technology Bhubaneswar (TAT) Pvt.
- VEDANG INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLGY DURGA PRASAD,KHURDA (VIK) Pvt.
- Veera Surendra Sai University of Technology Burla (UCE) Govt.
- Vignan Institute of Technology & Management Berhampur (VIT) Pvt.
- VIKASH COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING(FOR WOMEN) BARGARH (VCE) Pvt.
- VIVEKANANDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BHUBANESWAR (VIB) Pvt.
- Xavier Institute of Technology Ghangapatna, Bhubaneswar (XIT) Pvt.
The Engineering Colleges, institutes and departments that do not take students via JEE are:
- IIT Bhubaneswar
- NIT Rourkela
- ITER, SOA University, Bhubaneswar
- KIIT Engineering College, Bhubaneswar
- Department of Agricultural Engineering, OUAT, Bhubaneswar
- ICFAI Tech, Bhubaneswar
July 25th, 2009
(Update on June 17 2008: For guidance on what you can get with your Orissa JEE rank in 2008, please see http://www.orissalinks.com/archives/1185 I do not have more information than that.)
The following is from our earlier post titled: "2007 ranking of Orissa Engineering colleges that participated in BPUT counseling – solely based on student preferences."
Continuing with our methodology, and solely based on the student preferences in the GE (general) category, we develop a ranking below. Our methodology is we compare when the various branches of the colleges get finished. For example below when we write CET (8, 8, 12, 12, 16) it means that two of the CET branches were all finished in the GE category by the ranks 800, two by 1200 and one by 1600. We will use the first three numbers unless it becomes necessary to go beyond that.
- 1. UCE Burla (8,8,12,12,16)
- 1. CET Bhubaneswar (8,8,12,12,16)
- 2. ITER Bhubaneswar (16,16,16)
- 3. Silicon Bhubaneswar (16, 20, 20)
- 4. CV Raman Bhubaneswar (20,24,28)
- 5. NIST Berhampur (24, 24, 28)
- 6. GITA Bhubaneswar(28,28,32)
- 7. Orissa Eng College Bhubaneswar (28, 28, 36)
- 7. IGIT Sarang (20,28,45)
- 8. College of Eng Bhubaneswar (36,36,41)
- 9. Gandhi Eng College Bhubaneswar (36,41,45)
- 10. Krupajala Bhubaneswar (45,45,45)
- 10. Trident Bhuabneswar (41, 45, 50)
- 11. East Bhubaneswar (45,55,66)
- 11. Gandhi Inst for Tech Bhubaneswar (50,50,60)
- 11. GIET Gunupur (50,50,60)
- 12. Orissa school of mining eng Keonjhar (45, 55, 117)
- 13. NMIET Bhubaneswar (66, 72, 78)
- 14. DRIEMS Dhenkanala(72,72,100)
- 15. Konark Bhubaneswar (78, 78, 117)
- 15. Koustuva Bhubaneswar (78, 100, 100)
- 15. Mahavir Bhubaneswar (78, 84, 100)
- 15. Synergy Dhenkanal (78, 84, 100)
- 16. Nalanda Bhubaneswar (84, 84, 100)
- 17. Rajdhani Bhubaneswar (84, 100, 100)
- 18. Roland Berhampur (84,100, 108)
- 19. Techno Bhubaneswar (84, 100, 117)
- 19. Padmanav Rourkela (100,100,100)
- 20. Ajay Binay Cuttack (100,100,117)
- 21. Ghanashyam Hemalata Puri(100,108,136)
- 22. Jagannath Cuttack (108,117,147)
- 22. Bhadrakh (117,117, 136)
- 23. JITM Parlakhemundi (117,126,147)
- 24. Inst of Adv Rayagada (117,136,159)
- 24. Sanjay Memorial Berhampur (117,147,159)
- 24. Purushottam Rourkela (126,126,136)
- 26. Balasore (136,136,159)
- 27. Seemanta Mayurbhanj (159, 159, 186)
- 28. Padmashree Baragarh (172,172,200)
- 29. Majighariani Rayagada (172,200,200)
- 30. Satyasai Balasore (159, 172, 999)
- 31. Samanta Chandra Sekhar Koraput (186,999,999)
- 32. Gopal Krishna Jeypore (999,999,999)
The colleges that are missing from the above are NIT Rourkela, and KIIT. I consider NIT Rourkela to currently be the best in Orissa. I would slot KIIT around ITER and Silicon.
Outlook for 2008-2009:
Now that ITER’s parent organization Siksha O Anusandhan has become a deemed university, ITER may opt out of Orissa JEE and/or 2008 BPUT counseling.
In 2008 and 2009 there would be several new colleges.
May 29th, 2008
Following is an excerpt from a news report in New Indian Express.
… If sources are to be believed, the varsity is seriously planning to raise the intake capacity of the government institutions.
The technical university’s four constituent colleges – University College of Engineering (UCE), Burla, College of Engineering and Technology (CET), Bhubaneswar, Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology (IGIT), Saranga, and Orissa School of Mining Engineering (OSME), Keonjhar – impart different courses in engineering streams.
While UCE has seven disciplines with an intake capacity of about 270, annual approved strength of CET is 340 in as many as nine streams. Similarly, IGIT admits 150 students in five programmes, while OSME’s degree streams intake is about 90.
However, the BPUT management appears to believe that the government colleges are in need of increasing their intake capacity which will strengthen them financially.
While UCE, Burla and CET, Bhubaneswar, are primarily dependent on government, it is OSME (degree stream) which is self-sufficient.
In the last board of management meeting of the varsity, it was strongly felt that the private colleges have a much larger student strength compared to their government counterparts that contribute significantly to their solvency.
It has agreed that an increased intake in government constituent colleges is the need of the hour where the number of qualified teachers and overall infrastructure is better compared to those available in the private colleges.
A way out is to introduce self-financing models for the programmes. In fact, two engineering streams in UCE, Burla and four subjects in CET here are self-financing but the funds are not sufficient to support the increasing needs.
November 19th, 2007
Following is an excerpt from a report in New Indian Express.
… The system was approved by a joint meeting of the university top brass with the management of colleges. It will be installed on a pilot basis in dozen colleges in the City and another two in Rourkela where the university is headquartered.
The system will come into effect by November 25 as the two software vendors which were roped in are ready with the customised programme.
Under the system, each member of the faculty would be required to enter the curriculum she/he is assigned to complete each day and the actual progress.
The faculty members will also indicate the attendance in a class so that the university can have a clear view on the students’ perfor mance.
The programmes are so designed that it will take a teacher about 10 minutes to post the day’s report.
“The report entry will be keyword-based. All that a teacher has to do is drag and drop words to indicate the subject he taught in a day,” BPUT Vice-Chancellor Omkar Nath Mohanty told this paper.
Besides, the university and college managements agreed to ban inter-college migration of teachers during the period from November 1 till July 30, 2008.
Only if teachers have valid grounds for a migration then only would they be allowed but after examination by a committee. Similarly, the teachers would be given a registration number by the varsity, subject to appearance before a selection committee.
It has also been decided to go ahead with the CCTV installation project. It has been estimated at Rs 2.5 lakh with 20 cameras, a central software and an access to the server.
November 14th, 2007
Following is from Tathya.in.
Accordingly it was decided that each student will have to receive 6 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) out of 10 to be eligible to pass the B.Tech degree.
However in the first year itself the student has to receive 4.5 CGPA, so that he/she can be promoted.
But by the end of the course he will have to get 6 CGPA to receive the degree.
Though B.Tech program is for 4 years but a student will be allowed 7 years time for clearance of the degree.
The student, who will be enrolled in 2008-09, if fails consecutively in 3 semesters will be out of the university, said a spokesman of BPUT.
It was decided to set up a Faculty Training Institute to train the faculty members of the constituent colleges.
The proposed system is probably similar to the system followed at IITs. The year back system is what is followed at most colleges in the rest of the country. In the US universities there is no year back system. However there are pre-requsites for classes. So if subject A is a prerequisite for subject B then one can not normally take B before he/she has passed A. However, the courses that are prerequisites for other courses and are in the critical path to graduation are offered every semester.
One question to the readers: If a student fails in a course in a semetser and takes the exam for that course the next semester, what happens to the internal marks. Does he/she have a chance to improve them? How?
October 27th, 2007
NaxatraNews (NN): Orissa is poised for a major industrial boom, as the Vice- Chancellor of the nodal technical University of the state what do you think about the synergy between the industry and academics?
Omkarnath Mohanty (OM): In a mature economy, the synergy between industry and academia is spontaneous. However, in a situation such as India’s and Orissa’s, this is not so; one has to make an effort to bring about a serious interaction between the two. An attempt has already been made in the IT sector to have a serious collaboration by identifying common projects at the Post-Graduate level. Further, in many colleges, the Knowledge Center concept will become operational attracting some of the industries to participate. However, this is going to be a slow process for some time as the industry does not necessarily feel that the academia can assist its progress. In the steel sector we are about to witness a quantum jump in production in Orissa and the Post-Graduate Centre in Steel Research has been contemplated at Rourkela for awarding M.Tech. and Ph.D. degrees. It is expected that a number of steel companies will participate in this exercise.
NN: The number of engineering students passing out from colleges each year from the state is far short of the present requirements. Besides, many students go out of the state for greener pastures. How would you address this issue given the projected industrialization in the state?
OM: Yes, it is true that the number of graduates coming out of the forty–plus engineering colleges (close to 15000 each year) may not be sufficient to take care of all the industries in Orissa, particularly in the near future. However it will be difficult to see the number of colleges growing overnight. Further even with the current number of colleges, the quality of faculty is far from satisfactory and is a serious issue. Therefore, we would like to see a balanced growth in the number of colleges in Orissa.
NN: After assuming charge you have brought about many changes in the University administration as well as education system in spite of protests from many quarters. Which one you would rate as the greatest success and why?
OM: We have attempted to introduce several practices both in the administration as well as in the academic system of BPUT. In the University administration system the most important step that has been taken is the e-Registration process. This has just been introduced after a considerable amount of thought and efforts. It is expected that this process will get around several instances of "wrong" registration of students. The Semester Registration must be in consonance with the permissible group of subjects that a student can opt for and at the same time scrutinize the performance of the student in earlier examinations (clearance of subject). The new system has developed an algorithm that has embedded the stipulations of academic regulations.
In the area of Academics, I guess one of the most important steps is the starting of Question Bank in each subject. The Question Bank part has just begun; it needs to be strengthened so that every question paper has a semblance of quality and is strictly within the syllabus that is prescribed. In the absence of such a practice, numerous problems with regard to the standard of a Question Paper and its coverage have arisen in the past.
NN: What’s your opinion on the present controversy over capitation fee and separate entrance examination for engineering students of the privately owned engineering colleges?
OM: I do not intend to get into the capitation fees controversy – probably there is no real controversy. For instance, there was never a "declared" capitation fee. The current rationalization of fee structure has attempted to take into consideration all parameters that go into the financial structure of an academic institution. It has also provided for a generous expenditure on developmental activities. Most importantly there is also a handsome annual rate of return for the investment that has been provided for in the fee structure. If it is sincerely and ethically practaised by the owners of colleges, there should be very little scope for any disenchantment among the public.
As regards the separate entrance examination issue, everyone must be aware that the Supreme Court has decreed that the admission to the unaided, private professional institutions be based on:factors including transparency of the method of admission, merit being the only criterion of selection and no financial exploitation of the students
When the above criteria are employed, the merit of a separate entrance examination, to my mind, does not exist. One single entrance examination, today designated as the Orissa JEE, takes care of all the three above attributes.
NN: Keeping the booming steel industry of the state in mind you have planned a steel research institute at Rourkela. What precisely is this institute about?
OM: The Steel Research Institute in Rourkela has just only been born. It is meant for awarding M.Tech. and Ph. D. degree in the area of steel research. The world of steel, over the past decade, has witnessed radical developments both in the production techniques as well as in the application of steel. For instance, the FINEX process (recently adopted by POSCO in their plant in Korea), can use fine ore and has multiple products; this process is going to be watched with a lot of interest. Another example could be the Thin Strip Casting (primarily developed by an Oriya Metallurgist from IIT-Kharagpur, at BHP Australia) is currently in commercial production at the NUCOR plant in USA, involves direct casting from liquid state to 1mm and below strip. Thereby, the cost of steel strips is appreciably, reduced. Similarly, in the application areas extremely high strength (>1000Mpa) combined with reasonable ductility and more importantly high formability steel sheets have now been developed; these are important for automobile body manufacturing. Their use can reduce weight of a car without sacrificing safety.
Our centre at Rourkela is expected to get into some of above areas. This would require a multi-disciplinary approach, quite different from the conventional metallurgy of the earlier period. We have made a modest beginning with advertisement for 5 faculty that have been granted by the government of Orissa. Our plan is to involve the major steel companies operating in India both for support in the faculty and in procuring the sophisticated research equipment. This will however take time.
NN: Safeguarding intellectual property rights has become an important issue in academic world. Do you think research institutes and researchers of the state are giving due regard to the matter?
OM: Yes, the IPR items relating to the University are very important. For one thing, awareness about IPR motivates people to be engaged in innovative and creative research. On the other, the knowledge of IPR can also be utilized for commercial gain through introducing new products or processes. This can engage the attention of creative faculty as well as students.
NN: Better pay package in IT industry has attracted most of the engineering students from core subjects like civil and mechanical trades to IT resulting in non-availability of sufficient number of quality manpower in the core sector. How do you think this trend could be arrested?
OM: It is true that better pay package in the IT industry has been attracting brighter people into the IT sector, apparently making the core sector impoverished in terms of quality manpower. However, it must also be borne in mind that all engineering subjects require an IT-enabled approach. For instance, the Civil / Mechanical / Electrical Engineers of today have to be very well acquainted with many soft computing techniques and optimization techniques. Therefore, there is no real unhealthy competition between these streams. We are attempting to make the core sector more IT-savvy. The new upward trend in the market place for core engineering sector during the past two years has confirmed that IT-assisted core sector will also find excellent employment opportunities in the near future.
NN: Similarly the exodus of good students to IT industry in last few years has also resulted in shortage of good faculties. Do you have any plan to create a faculty pool or any special measures to upgrade their skills?
OM: There are several measures that we have contemplated in order to build a pool of good faculty. These include: Collaborating with IITs in order to get their course-content that are web-based or DVD-based which in turn will also involve training of BPUT faculty by IIT teachers at regular intervals. Besides we are in the process of creating an Academic Staff College under the aegis of BPUT using our own experienced faculty spread over several colleges. Moreover there are training programmes for engineering faculty undertaken at advanced centres, both at IITs and other central universities such as Jadavpur University. We would be taking advantages of each of the above channels open to us.
NN: As private engineering colleges keep mushrooming in the state are you happy with the quality of students coming out under the BPUT banner? Do you think measures like abolition of year-back system you had initiated have yielded desired results?
OM: The first batch of the students under the BPUT banner has come out this year. Some of these students, I am sure, are bright judging by their quality of placement and their grade points. As far as "abolition" of year-back system is concerned there seems to be a misinformation. BPUT has never abolished the system of promoting students to next higher year based on their performance; indeed, many students were not promoted last year. There has, however, been only some modification in the criteria / stipulation.
Incidentally it must be understood that the University does not have a "year-back" system as such; what has been stipulated is the fact that weaker students will take longer than 4 years to complete a B.Tech. programme, that is ideally of 4-year duration.
NN: What else is in store for BPUT in the coming days?
OM: The coming years would witness a greater emphasis on Ph D. and M.Tech. programmes of the University. It is now realized across the globe that in order to run a quality B.Tech. programme, M.Tech. and Ph.D programmes are necessary supports. Research publications by faculty is another area which is going to be stressed upon in the coming years. Another item of importance would be the quality text books, primarily written by BPUT faculty for its own syllabus. This is going to be financially supported by the University in order to provide the necessary incentive to our faculty for engaging themselves in this area; that of text-book creation.
October 6th, 2007
Following are excerpts from Statesman‘s reports on this.
Hundreds of students of the University College of Engineering (UCE) at Burla are up in the arms against the authorities of the Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) and the junior staff of the industries department of the Orissa government.
“When our main demand is to get IIT status for this college, the deemed university status should be granted. Even the chief minister Mr Naveen Patnaik and the secretary of industries in particular is highly interested for according this status to the UCE. But there is no effort, either on the part of BPUT or the junior level officers of the industries department,” said one of the students.
“In order to be eligible for the University Grants Commission (UGC) status, BPUT needs to have five government engineering colleges under it. But at present it has got only four colleges.
The students further said that to get a deemed university status, any engineering college has to fulfil eight criteria and the UCE satisfies seven.
During a strike in 2005, BPUT’s vice chancellor Mr Omkar Nath Mohanty promised action in three days. But more than one-and-half-year has already passed since then,” one of the students said.
But the comment of the VC of BPUT is different altogether.
“BPUT has already given clearance for deemed university status to UCE 10 months ago. At the same time it has given academic autonomy to UCE. Hence, the question of any apathetic attitude to UCE doesn’t arise,” said Mr Omkar Nath Mohanty. BPUT needs five post graduate departments, and not government colleges under it to get eligible for the UGC aid.
“It has already got 12 such departments, excluding UCE,” Mr Mohanty said.
I have two remarks on this story.
- I personally believe that the UCE students would be much better of trying with state government to make UCE Burla a state university. Getting a deemed university tag is much more difficult, and I am not sure that it has any advantages over becoming a state university. What is important is to be a university and get the "funded by UGC tag." The Bengal Engineering and Science University (formerly Bengal Engineering College, Howrah) is a state University and has the funded by UGC tag and it go selected to become one of the IIESTs. UCE Burla students must also note that Ravenshaw was made a state university only last year (2006 October) and it already got the "funded by UGC" tag. In regards to getting the "deemed university" tag, it is a central government decision and is much harder to get than convincing the Orissa state legislators to declare UCE Burla a state university. We wrote about this earlier in http://www.orissalinks.com/?p=60 and http://www.orissalinks.com/?p=23 and even talked about this to many UCE Burla alumni. I am not sure why they don’t see the light. If BESU (Bengal Engineering and Science University) and CUSAT (Cochin University of Science and Technology) are state universities and have the “Funded by UGC” status (See the UGC West Bengal and Kerala pages here and here respectively) and both have become IIESTs, why is UCE Burla trying the harder and not necessarily better path?
- Why BPUT still does not have a "funded by UGC tag" yet? What is BPUT’s VC doing? This is a disgrace.
October 6th, 2007
(Update on June 17 2008: For guidance on what you can get with your Orissa JEE rank in 2008, please see http://www.orissalinks.com/archives/1185 I do not have more information than that.)
During the last two years I ranked various engineering colleges in Orissa based on the student preferences during BPUT’s counselling. In the following I will list the top 10 for 2006 and 2005. However, I must stress that proper rankings can only be done by using several parameters: student preference, opinions of companies, faculty quality, facilities etc. So my ranking based on only one criteria is flawed. But thats all the data that I have handy. So don’t take this ranking as gospel. Please use other channels to get more information on various colleges, such as their web pages.
2006 Top 10: (complete ranking with details on methodology) Not Considered: NIT Rourkela and KIIT Bhubaneswar as their 2006 admission is not through BPUT.
- 1. CET, Bhubaneswar (govt.)
- 2. UCE, Burla (govt.)
- 3. ITER, Bhubaneswar
- 4. NIST, Berhampur
- 4. Silicon, Bhubaneswar
- 6. CV Raman, Bhubaneswar
- 7. IGIT, Sarang (govt.)
- 8. Orissa Engineering College, Bhubaneswar
- 9. GIET, Gunupur
- 10. Gandhi Institute, Bhubaneswar
- …19. Orissa School of Mines, Keonjhar (govt.)
- … 37. Institue of Textile Technology, Choudwar (govt.)
Not Considered: NIT Rourkela as its 2005 admission was not through BPUT.
- 1. CET, Bhubaneswar (govt.)
- 2. UCE, Burla (govt.)
- 3. ITER, Bhubaneswar
- 4. NIST, Berhampur
- 5. KIIT, Bhubaneswar (In 2005 only part of its admission was through BPUT)
- 6. Silicon, Bhubaneswar
- 6. CV Raman, Bhubaneswar
- 8. Orissa Engineering College, Bhubaneswar
- 9. GIET, Gunupur
- 9. IGIT, Sarang
- 9. Krupajal, Bhubaneswar
- …18. Orissa School of Mines, Keonjhar (govt.)
- … 32. Institue of Textile Technology, Choudwar (govt.)
June 6th, 2007
