BU proposes research at undergraduate level

Disclosing this at the 45th mini convocation here on Saturday, Vice Chancellor N Prabhu Dev said that principals of private colleges had been invited to discuss the pros and cons of the proposed initiative to give an impetus to the quality of research.

Besides, the idea seeks to inculcate an appetite for research in the students from an early academic level. The matter is also being discussed with the Department of Higher Education. Lack of facilities such as ill-equipped laboratories in the affiliated colleges, however, might pose problems in executing the scheme, the V-C added. BU had disbursed Rs one lakh each to 72 teachers to take up research work in their respective disciplines, Dev said.

According to the V-C, BU was in talks with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B), the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) and other premier institutes to form a group to create avenues of higher learning for students.

Dev said that Rs 30 crore were sanctioned for setting up laboratories and buying equipment of which Rs 10 crore had been released. However, he said that more funds are required to set up labs for research in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and other fields.

Resource Centre

An exclusive Learning Resource Centre for disabled students would be set up once the BU Syndicate accepted a proposal in this regard. The plan envisages creating a conducive learning atmosphere for the differently able students with facilities such as the building, teachers and materials.  The Vice Chancellor has has granted his assent to the proposal which will be placed before the Syndicate for its approval.

The initiative would be executed with the help of the State Commissioner for Disabilities, the V-C stated. On the recently announced measure of providing subsidised mid-day meals to students at the BU campus, the Vice Chancellor said that talks were being held with the Akshaya Patra Foundation and others. A Syndicate sub-committee, also including the V-C, would meet the NGOs on Monday, he added.

On the occasion, 67 SC/ST students who secured highest marks in the first two semesters of their postgraduate programmes were felicitated. M Madan Gopal, Principal Secretary, Department of Higher Education, gave away the prizes.