FROM THE DESK OF THE VICE CHANCELLOR

The West Bengal University of Technology has a two fold mandate. To strive to emerge as a centre of excellence in the field of technical education especially in the emerging areas and to provide academic support and guidance to affiliated institutions in Engineering, Technology and Management spread all across the state of West Bengal. The main focus of the University is to produvce scientist-engineers and technologists. Consequently, the emphasis is on post-graduate study and research. We have continuously endeavoured to meet these demanding societal requirements.

In June last year an expert team from the UGC visited the University for an inspection. Following the team’s recommendations, the UGC has extended aRupees Five crore grant to this University with its five departments. We have already received an initial installment of Rupees Two crore, which is being utilized as per UGC’s suggestions.

The Department of Biotechnology has also been selected for DST grant of Rs. Sixty Eight lakhs under FIST programme. This grant is expected to give a further boost to its research and development activities.

Rules governing enrolment, registration and defence in the PhD programme of University are under review following UGC guidelines. Experts from neighbouring Institutes are expected to participate in this process. Affiliated MTech programmes too are in process of unification through a participatory mechanism where all the colleges offering a course participate to approve a common syllabus. The examination would be centralized.

The entire curriculum and syllabus of BTech courses in under the process of revision. The entrusted committee with members from IIT Kharagpur, Jadavpur University and BESU has met on several occasions to prepare a document which would be also in tune with the Washington Accord. Similar activity is going on also for some of the first degree professional courses.

Work at Haringhata campus has been resumed after an academic evaluation of the Architect’s proposals. Space has been earmarked for the existing academic programmes. Free space has been created all over the campus, to the maximum possible, by merging some of the proposed facilities to accommodate future programmes. Several joint meeting of the Architect and Builder’s firms have been held to define short term work schedules and to review past activitiues. The newly appointed University Engineer initiated steps to recruit additional temporary technical personnel for the constant supervision of the construction activities.

The EDUSAT programme is being further strengthened. The university studio from where the courses are beamed has been converted to accommodate sixty students. This will permit live programmes, delivered by selected faculty, specially in BTech to be conducted from studio for the benefit of all the connected colleges.

The addition of more than tem thousand sqft of covered space on the top floor was delayed because of some litigation. However, work could be resumed not only on this but also on the creation of some more space within University campus. The extra class rooms and faculty sitting accommodation will ease the pressure on space in the Salt Lake campus. The Controller of Examination alone is required to store about seven-eight lakhs of answer scripts in a retrievable manner at the end of each semester examination.

The administrative sections of the University have been active over the past year to realize all the promised grants, distribute them to the Departments and seek utilization of such funds. Their most creditable performance in seeing to it that the University’s stand is protected in the Courts of Law of the country has re-established the authority of the University and will go a long way to establish discipline.