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VIT University-Hallmark for quality Higher Education

Introduction

Founded as a self-financing institution in 1984, by Dr. G. Viswanathan, a former Parliamentarian

and a Minister in the Tamil Nadu Government, the Vellore Engineering College, thanks to its
rapid growth of excellence, received the status of a University in 2001 from the Union Ministry
of Human Resource Development.

VIT Today

To-day, the VIT offers 15 undergraduate and 30 postgraduate programmes in the field of
Technical and Management education. Known for its dynamic environment to facilitate
interaction and dialogue, the VIT has not only consolidated different disciplines into nine
Schools of Excellence but also ensured synergy in the teaching and learning process. VIT is the
first educational institution in India to receive International accreditation-the Institute of
Engineering and Technology and the Energy Institute from United Kingdom, the Accreditation
Board for Engineering and Technology of USA, our own NAAC have all assured that the VIT
Programmes meet the quality standards established by the profession for which it prepares its
students. Having received Most Favored Status by TCS, Wipro, Infosys, Cognizant, etc., VIT
finds a place in the Limca Book of Records for Campus Recruitment. Our alumini are today
recognized individuals such as senior scientists at ISRO, and top executives at reputed
companies like IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, and Deutsche Bank.

We are best known for quality of education and educational infrastructure having focus on
continuous tie-ups with strong international and domestic situations besides student engagement
and research. We partner with over 80 universities abroad and have dual degree, twining
programmes and academic partnerships with universities in Germany, UK, USA, Russia, the
Netherlands, China, France, Australia, Canada, and Korea.
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Admission policy

VIT follows a transparent mechanism for admission. With its own entrance examination at
around 200 centres in more than 70 cities in the country, normally nearly 1.50 lakh candidates
appear for the entrance examinations from over 40 countries and at any given point over 15,000
students have been getting quality education with the assistance of more than 850 richly qualified
faculty, of whom a little over third are Ph.D holders, and 1500 staff members.

Research in VIT

VIT is also well known for carrying out research, both academic as well as sponsored. Our six
Centres- (i) for Bio Separation Technology, (ii) for Nano Technology, (iii) for Automotive
Electronics, (iv) for Bio-Medical Research, (v) for Disaster Mitigation & Management besides
(vi) the Energy Research Centre have during the last five years produced more than 1300
publications; more than one-third of the have been published in international journals and one-
half of them presented in national and international conferences.

Considered a ‘most preferred institute’ for engineering studies, the emphasis placed on research a
little over 400 students from within and abroad have registered for Ph.D under different streams,
the focus being on publishing research papers in standard international journals and on getting
patents based on research findings.

The Library

The VIT library is a repository of more than two lakh documents and 1.60 lakh books. The
periodicals run in to more than 17,650 volumes of scientific and technical journals. The reference
section has to its credit more than 15,000 books. The digital library subscribes to more than
7,500 on line journals and e-resources. Equipped with video conferencing hall, a media resource
centre facility is also made available with more than 10,600 educational CDs.

Shouldering Social Responsibility

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The Social Responsibility that the VIT has undertaken has generated immense interest and
received special attention in the country. Few of the special programmes that we involve
ourselves in have been:-

(a) Students who are toppers in rural government schools

Are given free admission, boarding and lodging; this scheme
Benefits one boy and one girl student of every district;

(b) Contribution to academic progression of educational

Institutions in those villages adopted;
© Periodical free training programme to upgrade the teaching
skills of school teachers and Headmasters;
(d) Assist the consortium of colleges to get placement through
VIT placement centres.

VIT motivates talented youngsters by giving scholarships and awards to a tune of Rs.13
millions every year. Merit scholarships are awarded to class toppers while economically
disadvantaged students are provided need-based financial assistance. In addition, scholarships
are given to those who excel in sports and games. Financial assistance is also provided to
students who pursue their project work in partner universities and institutions abroad.

An Institute Par Excellence

It is little wonder that today VIT is regarded as an Institute par Excellence in the field of higher
education. Our mission is to continuously improve quality, set new standards in education and
provide world class education across the country.

VIT University at Bangalore

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Government of Karnataka are today focusing more on emerging new dynamics in the sector of
higher education and have been taking a critical look at the role of higher education in meeting
the challenges from poverty eradication to sustainable development. The Government has
recognized the historic realities which impact the need for investments in quality higher
education viz., the reality of global economies being truly interdependent and becoming
increasingly integrated and the tremendous advancement in technology. Accordingly, the
Honb’le Chief Minister in his budget speech 2010-2011 has declared that “the objective of
the Government in the 21st century is to provide opportunity for making every citizen not
only literate but also adequately educated” and therefore” it is necessary to give priority to
higher education for building an educated society, and for expansion of a knowledge based
economy”.

At present only 12 per cent of the youth are studying for higher education in Karnataka. The
State has proposed to increase this to 25 per cent in the coming years. This means establishment
of more number of Universities and opening of more colleges. As emphasized by the Union
Ministry of Human Resource Development, “the public institutions may not keep pace with the
rising demand and are being forced to look at alternative options besides public funding. The
importance of private sector in making investments in higher education needs to be realized”.
The linkage between learning, research and innovation within higher education is the key to
building of sustainable knowledge societies. It is in this backdrop that the Government of
Karnataka has allowed Azim Premji Foundation to set up the first private university not only in
Karnataka but in the whole of South India.

The admirable state of Karnataka is the technology capital. Based on the growth aspirations and
projections of the private and public sector of the golden state, large short-fall in employable
talent is expected in the upcoming decades unless we establish more universities working
towards excellence.

We envisage the following benefits to Karnataka through our university:

• Excellence in higher education

• Meeting the Industry needs and GER targets

• Research which aids future growth and current education

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• Large investment in construction and equipment

• Local Employment

o Over 1500 direct employees

o Contractors and Indirect employment (ongoing) – 4000 persons in Construction, Canteens,

Gardening, Maintenance, Security etc.

• Ongoing contribution to Economy

We believe that our University has better chances at realizing its vision by setting up its third
campus in the golden state of Karnataka due to the encouraging government, admirable
industries and private sector and potential for outstanding research and collaborations with
industries in Karnataka.

Our vision and proposal for the Private University

We aspire to setup a university par excellence with remarkable faculties and facilities, on a
sprawling green campus offering outstanding education in Technology, Business, Science,
Humanities and Language studies. We envision our university to set national standards and gain
international repute in the first decade, and become a world-class university in three decades. We
will depend on creativity, out-of-box thinking, strong partnerships, team-work, commitment and
outstanding work ethic. We will build on the VIT brand, values, intellectual property, academic
excellence and governance efficiency.

Much like VIT University’s Vellore campus, the new private University will be student centric
with excellence in education and research as the primary goals. We will foster strong ties with
industries and partnerships with leading universities and research centres across the world.

We estimate an investment of Rs.700 crores in the first 10 years. We will offer UG, PG and Ph.
D programs in many disciplines of Technology, Business, Science, Humanities and Language
studies in the first several years and will expand into other disciplines in future.

We plan to start off with an initial intake of 1000 students and grow to student strength of
18,000 by the tenth year. We propose to build 2.5 lakh square feet in phase I and 40 lakh square
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feet by the tenth year. We need 200 to 300 acres of land for our vision and would deeply
appreciate your help in the matter.

Our facilities will include outstanding academic buildings with modern classrooms, labs and
research centres, sports and fitness, libraries and auditoriums, hostels, medical centre, canteens
and convenience stores. We aspire to build a truly environment friendly campus that will set an
example with energy conservation, waste treatment, fire protection and safety measures. We
shall focus equally on excellence in education and character building.

(Dr.G.Viswanathan)

Chancellor, VIT University

Managing Trustee, Vellore Institute of Technology Trust