Birla Institute of Technology & Science
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani बिरला प्रौद्योगिकी एवं विज्ञान संस्थान पिलानी | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Motto | ज्ञानं परम् बलं gyanam paramam balam "Knowledge is Power Supreme" |
| Established | 1929. Became Deemed University in 1964[1] |
| Type | Private |
| Chancellor | Kumar Mangalam Birla[2] |
| Vice-Chancellor | Dr B N Jain[3] |
| Admin. staff | 593[4][5] |
| Undergraduates | 1970 annual intake[6] |
| Postgraduates | 216 annual intake [6] |
| Location |  Pilani(1929), Dubai (2000), Goa (2004), Hyderabad (2008) |
| Affiliations | ACU,[7] WACE, UGC[8] NAAC,[9] PCI,[10] AIU[11] |
| Website | BITS-Pilani, Pilani Campus, BITS-Pilani, Goa Campus BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus BITS-Pilani, Dubai Campus |
| Molecule (Sciences), Lotus (Humanities), Rocket (Technology) | |
BITS Pilani enrolls students on the basis of merit and not through any kind of reservations.[17] The institute is privately supported and fully residential.[18] BITS Pilani is the first Indian institution to set up a campus outside India.[19][20][21]
The Institute has developed and administers the all-India computerised entrance test BITSAT (BITS Admission Test), which is the first of its kind in India.[22][23] It is also known to be one of the first Indian engineering colleges to require compulsory internship through its "Practice School" program.[24][25][26][27]
It should not be confused with the Birla Institute of Technology.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] History
[edit] Inception
The institute was founded by Dr. Ghanshyam Das Birla in 1929 as an intermediate college.During World War II, the Government of India established a technical training center at Pilani to train technicians for defence services and industry. In 1946, it was converted into the Birla Engineering College with degree programmes in electrical and mechanical engineering.[28] The college was set up with very limited infrastructure. Prof. V Lakshminarayan became Vice Principal of Birla College of Engineering in 1946. The Masters programme in Electronics began in 1955.[29]
In the 1950s, the first Indian Institute of Technology's (IITs) were being set up. It was then that Dr.Ghanshyam Das Birla decided that his companies, and his country, needed a private IIT, and that MIT alone should provide the blueprint for the institute and train its faculty. Therefore, in 1964, the Birla Colleges of Arts, Commerce, Engineering, Pharmacy and Science were merged to form the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) with Dr. G.D. Birla as the founder chairman.
It was largely as a result of Dr. Birla's perseverance and contacts that in this period, (especially during 1964–1970) BITS Pilani received support from the Ford Foundation.[30][31] The Ford Foundation also supported an alliance between BITS and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (During 1964-1970), during which the faculty at BITS were sent abroad to receive training at MIT [32] The faculty members at MIT also helped to reshape the curriculum at BITS[33] by introducing the semester system, continuous evaluation and world-class textbooks for the courses.
To hasten the pace of reforms, the Ford Foundation and its MIT advisers convinced Birla to hire Prof . C. R. Mitra, former head of a private technical school in Kanpur, as the new Director of the Institute. It was Mitra who pushed for a "practice school" internship program far more ambitious than anything MIT had done, as a requirement for all faculty and students. This Practice School Program is now a part of all BITS campuses.
According to Robert Kargon and Stuart Leslie, BITS offered an opportunity (to the Ford Foundation and MIT) to build “a leading technological university in India” responsive to India’s goals, “to produce practising engineers who will be in a position to graduate and to build industries in India, under Indian conditions". With its emphasis on the Practice School and ties to Indian industry, it helped educate Indian industrialists along with Indian engineers who would remain in India, in contrast to many other engineering colleges in India, most of whose graduates would leave the country after obtaining their basic engineering education. The Ford Foundation Evaluators...proudly noted that the Indian government, despite having given no direct financial support, “was looking to BITS to provide a model for future development in education in engineering and science in India".[34]
BITS Pilani became a Deemed University established vide Sec. 3 of the UGC Act, 1956 under notification No. F.12-23/63.U-2 of June 18, 1964.[35]
[edit] Expansion into Multiple Campuses
BITS Pilani has undergone a gradual and planned expansion since 1999, both in India and abroad, to help meet the demand for engineers. In 1999, student capacity was expanded from 2500 to 4000[36]. New campuses were established in Dubai (2000) and Goa, India (2004). In 2006, BITS Pilani acquired 200 acres (0.81 km2) of land from the Andhra Pradesh government through the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority for opening up a new campus. The land is located in Jawaharnagar, Shammer Mandal in Rangareddy district.[37][38] The BITS Pilani Hyderabad, India campus started functioning in 2008. BITS also runs a virtual university[39] and an extension center in Bangalore.
[edit] Chancellor and Academic Head
| Academic Heads |
|---|
|
[edit] Admission
[edit] Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad Campuses
Since 2005, admission to BITS campuses have been offered to students based on their performance in an all-India Entrance Examination, called BITS Admission Test BITSAT. The test, exclusive to the BITS Pilani University, is conducted online and held in May and June in many cities all over India.[22][23] The exam tests the candidate's knowledge, reasoning and analytical abilities in English, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Logical reasoning, and is based broadly on the higher secondary curriculum in India and abroad. To be eligible for admissions, prospective students are also required to obtain a minimum aggregate of 80% marks in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics (subject to a minimum of 60% in each of these three subjects) in their higher secondary examination.[45] Toppers of higher secondary examinations of each single board are exempted from taking BITSAT test and are considered for direct admission.[45][46] BITSAT differs from the conventional written examination as it is an online exam held at more than 20 places all over India.[47] Acceptance rate in BITS is very low, less than 2.08% in 2007,[48][49] making it one of the most selective in India. The admission is purely on the basis of merit and not through any kind of reservation.[50][edit] Dubai Campus
Admission to Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani - Dubai is based entirely on the marks secured on the 12th standard qualifying exam and no other entrance test[citation needed]. Though BITS Pilani-Dubai campus was set up to serve the educational requirements of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, admissions to the college are open to all nationalities[citation needed].[edit] Pilani Campus
Pilani is located 220 km west to Delhi and 217 km North to Jaipur; the BITS campus is located to the south of the bus stand of Pilani. The total area of the campus (which includes the Birla Education Trust) is over 4 square kilometres (990 acres), but the developed area is 0.2 square kilometres (49 acres) of which 60769 m2 is used for the BITS University building.[51] The campus has several class rooms (area 11245 M2), laboratories (area 7069 M2).
BITS has a temple dedicated to the goddess Saraswati, called Sharda Peeth. It was built by Dr. G D Birla. The white marble temple is built on a 7 feet (2.1 m) high foundation, with 70 pillars for support and spread across an area of 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2).[52] Pilani Campus has India's first technological museum called Birla Museum. Built in 1954, it exhibits the accomplishments of technology.[53] [54]
BITS has a 2535 m² auditorium decorated by paintings drawn by students.[51]
[edit] Residential and Dining facilities
The institute has 11 hostels for boys and 1 hostel for girls.[55] The hostels are named for historical figures, religious figures and saints.Every two boys hostel share a common mess. There is a separate mess for Meera Bhawan. All these messes are fully managed by students.[56] Apart from the mess, students can eat at the Institute canteen (IC), the All Night Canteen (ANC), and the Students Activity Centre Cafeteria. ANC is also managed by students.[57][edit] Student Life
BITS Pilani has students from across India and thus have regional associations, which carry out various cultural programs on respective festival occasions.There are also student clubs. Hindi Drama Club (HDC)[58] and English Drama Club (EDC) perform stage and street plays during student festivals. Hindi Press Club (HPC) and English press Club (EPC) publish newsletters describing activities happening on campus and conduct journalism quizzes in APOGEE and OASIS. English Language Activities Society (ELAS) and Hindi Activities Society (HAS) conduct various quizzing events. Creative Activities Club (CrAC) conducts art exhibitions and competitions. Photography Club conducts workshops and training sessions in various aspects of photography to its members.
Ragamalika [59] is a club which organizes Indian classical and Carnatic music programs. Ragamalika also organizes events for Indian classical dance. Music Club is organizes music nights and performs in various events like Fusion and Tarang in OASIS. Dance Club organizes various dance workshops and performs in cultural events in APOGEE and OASIS.[60]
[edit] APOGEE
APOGEE (A Professions Oriented Gathering over Educational Experience) is the annual college technical festival. Organised during the month of March, the college has more than 1000 participants during the festival. Events includes kernel events, various workshops, Project displays, Paper presentation, online events and Guest Lectures.[61][edit] Oasis
Oasis is the annual cultural festival held at BITS Pilani campus. This is typically organised in October and draws more than 1500 outstation participants. Oasis has events ranging from music, drama, dance, stage shows, fashion and treasure hunts. Professional shows involve popular singers or bands. In the past many popular Indian singers and bands including the likes of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy[62], K K, Vishal Shekhar, Motherjane, The Rainbow Bridge, Bhayanak Maut, and Lucky Ali have performed in professional shows during Oasis.[edit] Academics
The Institute has a three-tier academic structure.[edit] Integrated First Degree
BITS Pilani offers 4 year Integrated First Degree programmes in Bachelor of Engineering (B.E. (Hons.)), Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm (Hons.)), Master of Science (M.Sc (Hons.)), Master of Science (M.Sc (Technology)), and Master of Arts (M.A (Hons.)). Various programmes are offered with the degrees and these are classified into groups A, B & C.[63]- Group A:
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical & Electronics Engineering
- Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Pharmacy
- Computer Science.
- Manufacturing engineering
- Electronics and Communication Engineering (Hyderabad Campus only)
- Group B:
- Group C:
[edit] Higher Degree
BITS Pilani offers higher degree programmes such as Master of Engineering (M.E.), Master of Pharmacy (M.Pharm), Master of Public Health (M.P.H) Masters in Business Administration (M.B.A).[64][edit] Off-Campus Programmes
BITS Pilani offers various off-campus work integrated learning and collaborative programmes that target the Human Resource Development needs of the industry. The enrolment has grown over the years from 30 in 1979 to over 10000 students in 2005. More than 19000 students were registered for the various off-campus work-integrated learning programmes during 2008-09.[65] Work related learning programmes also accommodate industry professionals to pursue their PhD whilst being employed.[edit] International projects
BITS Pilani is a key partner in several international initiatives like the development of JournalServer[66] open-access digital library, the Project IPV6,[67] MIT iCampus[68] initiative, etc.[edit] Reputation and rankings
A 'Ranking of Indian engineering and technological institutes for their research performance during 1999–2008' was recently published in the journal 'Current Science'.[69]. It analysed publication data from the SCOPUS database during 1999-2008 to come up with the rankings. BITS Pilani was ranked No. 4 in terms of mean citation rate (behind IISc Bangalore, IIT Kanpur and UICT Mumbai), No. 15 in terms of total number of papers published, No. 2 in share of papers resulting from international collaboration (behind IIT Kanpur), and No. 12 in terms of a complex performance index described in that journal article. BITS Pilani is also the best ranked private institute in India in all parameters.[citation needed]A study by the Indian Semiconductor Association (ISA) in 2008 revealed that BITS Pilani along with IISc and top 5 IITs accounted for 70-75% of semiconductor research in India.[70][71]
According to the Asiaweek magazine's rankings of Science & Technology schools in the Asia-Pacific region BITS Pilani, Pilani campus was on the top 20[72] in Asia and Top 5, in the year 2000[73] in terms of Student Selectivity. (UNESCO Science Report 2005(ISBN 92-3-103967-9) makes use of these rankings).
- Annual rankings of Engineering colleges in India have been published by India Today[74] magazine since 1997. BITS Pilani was consistently ranked in the Top 5 (1997–2004). BITS opted out of the rankings in 2005-2008 because of a pending court case between BITS and India Today.[75][76] In 2009, the institute rejoined the rankings, and was ranked 7th in the list of top engineering colleges in India and it was also ranked as the best privately run engineering college in India.[77]
- Asiaweek magazine and Financial Times ranked BITS Pilani's MBA program 30th best full-time MBA program in Asia [78] and the 4th best Distance Learning MBA program in Asia [79] in the year 2000.
- Government of India's National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) rated BITS as a five star Institution[81] for the period ending February 7, 2007. BITS has scored 82.55 out of 100, higher than comparable public universities (with a five star rating and a focus on science and technology) such as IIT Delhi(79.5), IIT Bombay (79.6), IIT Kanpur (81.2), Anna University (75.7), Bangalore University (77.05), Jadavpur University (77.35), Mumbai University (75.05), Pune University (78.55) and Roorkee University / IIT Roorkee (79.2).
The Washington Accord recognises degrees from BITS Pilani and the IITs to be equivalent to the other institutions in the accord [84]
- Outlook - C fore survey[85] has ranked the university's business program in the top 20 Business programs in India in 2005.
Year | India Today (Since 1998) | Outlook (Since 2005) | Asiaweek (2000) | Mint / Hindustan Times (Since 2008) | Dataquest T-Schools (Since 2005) | Electronics For You (Since 2009) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 6 [86] | |||||
| 1999 | 6[87] | |||||
| 2000 | 6[88] | 7th (India), 19th (Asia)[89] | ||||
| 2001 | 4[90] | |||||
| 2002 | 3[91] | |||||
| 2003 | 5[92] | |||||
| 2004 | 8[93] | Top 10 (No individual rankings)[94] | ||||
| 2005 | Did not participate[95] | 15[96] | ||||
| 2006 | Did not participate | 6[97] | 9[98] | |||
| 2007 | Did not participate | 6[99] | 11[100] | |||
| 2008 | Did not participate | 7[101] | 6[102] | Did not participate[103] | ||
| 2009 | 7[104] | 6[105] | 5[106] | 8[107] | 5[108][109] | |
| 2010 | 7[110] | 7[111] | 6[112][113][114] | Not yet declared | 5[115] |
[edit] Alumni
Main article: List of BITS alumni
The BITS Alumni Association is an international organization with chapters throughout the world. BITSAA is active in connecting BITSians throughout the world through various networking and social events. Frequent fund raisers are organized to give back to their Alma mater and also to support other BITSians.[116][edit] Pictures of Pilani Campus
 A student hostel on a foggy winter morning |  Central Library, BITS Pilani |  Road to the Institute, BITS Pilani |  Auditorium Panel Art, Oasis Festival |
 G.D. Birla Memorial, BITS Pilani |
No comments:
Post a Comment