Institute of Eminence tag to benefit IISc. through autonomy, additional funds
BENGALURU, JULY 29, 2018 00:00 IST
Autonomy may cut down on the approvals and reviews needed to set up new degree courses.File Photo
While the profile of Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), which regularly tops the rankings of scientific institutes in India and is making its way up international rankings, may not get a significant boost from the ‘Eminence’ tag, it may benefit from the autonomy granted and the additional funds. IISc. has yet to get a formal letter on the issue, or the modalities of what comes along with the tag.
Autonomy may cut down on the approvals and reviews needed to set up new degree courses as well as to tweak current courses, says Anurag Kumar, director, IISc. Currently, IISc’s programmes are approved or reviewed by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Significantly, the tag comes along with a significant funding of Rs. 200 crore for the next five years. The Rs. 1,000 crore ‘matching’ grant will be given provided IISc. can raise a similar amount themselves. “Fund-raising is never easy, but we have to raise this from government agencies (Department of Biotechnology, for instance), donors and CSR. We have a fund-raising office on campus, and it is doing quite well. We have to ramp up there,” said Mr. Kumar.
Apart from enhancing their current infrastructure at the main campus, the additional funds are expected to be spent on schemes which are not met by government funding agencies: post-doctoral salaries, sending researchers to international conferences, inviting distinguished speakers for talks and interactions, he said.
Three new campuses
Meanwhile, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) which has also earned the Institute of Eminence (IoE) plans to start new programmes, open three new campuses and step up its research activities. Speaking on the way forward, H. Vinod Bhat, Vice-Chancellor, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, said they were planning to open three new campuses in Sri Lanka, Bengaluru and Jamshedpur.
It will also now have the ‘autonomy’ to start new courses, programmes and institutes on campuses without approvals from the UGC or the All India Council of Technical Education. However, the management will have to continue to approach other regulatory bodies such as the Medical Council of India or Dental Council of India for approvals.
Dr. Bhat said that they plan to start courses in data sciences, health economics and analytics. The institute also wants to step up research and improve both the quality and quantity of publications.
On fees
With respect to fees, Dr. Bhat said that they do not want to increase the fees at the moment.
“We will follow what the fee fixation committee of the university tells us to do,” he said. This academic year, the fee hike ranged from 0 to 5% for different programmes. While public institutes have received funding, Dr. Rao said they will raise their own resources to. “We will engage with the alumni in a bigger way,” he said, adding that there were plans to start an alumni cell.
MAHE currently has around 24,000 students and 2,450 faculty members in 300 different programmes.
BENGALURU, JULY 29, 2018 00:00 IST
Autonomy may cut down on the approvals and reviews needed to set up new degree courses.File Photo
While the profile of Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), which regularly tops the rankings of scientific institutes in India and is making its way up international rankings, may not get a significant boost from the ‘Eminence’ tag, it may benefit from the autonomy granted and the additional funds. IISc. has yet to get a formal letter on the issue, or the modalities of what comes along with the tag.
Autonomy may cut down on the approvals and reviews needed to set up new degree courses as well as to tweak current courses, says Anurag Kumar, director, IISc. Currently, IISc’s programmes are approved or reviewed by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Significantly, the tag comes along with a significant funding of Rs. 200 crore for the next five years. The Rs. 1,000 crore ‘matching’ grant will be given provided IISc. can raise a similar amount themselves. “Fund-raising is never easy, but we have to raise this from government agencies (Department of Biotechnology, for instance), donors and CSR. We have a fund-raising office on campus, and it is doing quite well. We have to ramp up there,” said Mr. Kumar.
Apart from enhancing their current infrastructure at the main campus, the additional funds are expected to be spent on schemes which are not met by government funding agencies: post-doctoral salaries, sending researchers to international conferences, inviting distinguished speakers for talks and interactions, he said.
Three new campuses
Meanwhile, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) which has also earned the Institute of Eminence (IoE) plans to start new programmes, open three new campuses and step up its research activities. Speaking on the way forward, H. Vinod Bhat, Vice-Chancellor, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, said they were planning to open three new campuses in Sri Lanka, Bengaluru and Jamshedpur.
It will also now have the ‘autonomy’ to start new courses, programmes and institutes on campuses without approvals from the UGC or the All India Council of Technical Education. However, the management will have to continue to approach other regulatory bodies such as the Medical Council of India or Dental Council of India for approvals.
Dr. Bhat said that they plan to start courses in data sciences, health economics and analytics. The institute also wants to step up research and improve both the quality and quantity of publications.
On fees
With respect to fees, Dr. Bhat said that they do not want to increase the fees at the moment.
“We will follow what the fee fixation committee of the university tells us to do,” he said. This academic year, the fee hike ranged from 0 to 5% for different programmes. While public institutes have received funding, Dr. Rao said they will raise their own resources to. “We will engage with the alumni in a bigger way,” he said, adding that there were plans to start an alumni cell.
MAHE currently has around 24,000 students and 2,450 faculty members in 300 different programmes.
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