22nd ICAS twinning programme held

The 22nd twinning programme of International Centre for Applied Sciences (ICAS) was inaugurated at Chaitya Hall in Fortune Inn Valley View in the city recently.

Representatives from 17 partner universities including those in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia participated in the programme.

The ICAS is an engineering programme where students study two years in Manipal University and then carry their credits to one of the partner universities to complete their graduation in another two years.

The students get their degrees from that particular university at the end of the four-year course.

The Manipal University Pro Chancellor Dr H S Ballal said “We in the Manipal University don’t compromise on quality. This is of paramount importance to us.

We have about 25 institutions under the University and most of them are among the top 10 in the country. What is more important is that we continue to be among the top 10 year after year.

“We are able to do that because of the quality of the faculty we have. The reputation of an institution depends on the quality of the faculty and of course, the students. Our admissions are purely based on merit and there is no other criteria for selecting students. We also believe in holistic development, so we encourage students to take part in extra-curricular activities, and that is why we have exquisite infrastructure for sports,” he said.

Prof Ramana Grandhi from Wright State University, Ohio, US said “Today, technology plays a very important role and you have access to every information in your palm. Previous generations worked without it and did well,” he said.

Prof Dr Alapati Vittaleshwar, director ICAS, said that the ICAS, which was started in 1994 with just six students, today had grown considerably. “This year over 200 students have joined us. It shows how important the programme is,” he said.