Vellore Institute of Technology

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Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) University

Motto	A place to learn; A chance to grow
Established	1984
Type	Deemed University
Chancellor	Mr. G. Viswanathan
Staff	938 (Teaching=420)
Students	10722 (M=7765;F=2957)
Location	Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
Campus	Suburban, 250 acres (1 km²)
Website	http://www.vit.ac.in

Vellore Institute of Technology (formerly Vellore Engineering College), or popularly known as VIT, located in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India is one of the foremost private educational institutions in India. Shri. G. Viswanathan founded this institution in the year 1984 and is currently its chancellor. VIT currently holds the status of a deemed university but was affiliated to the University of Madras until the year 2000. In September 2006 it was renamed as VIT University.

VIT University's spearheads hope to make it the No.1 University in India by 2009, on the occassion of its 25th birth anniversary.

Contents 1 History 2 Departments and Curriculum 3 Recognition 4 Campus

[edit] History

The institution was founded in the year 1984 as Vellore Engineering College by Mr. G. Viswanathan, a former Member of Parliament and Minister in the Government of Tamil Nadu. The college was then affiliated to the University of Madras and functioned as a private self-financing institution. It was promoted by the North Arcot Educational and Charitable Trust. In the year 2001, the institute was awarded the deemed university status in recognition of its academic excellence by the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India in co-ordination with the University Grants Commission (UGC) and hence the name was changed to Vellore Institute of Technology, Deemed University. The university has been booming ever since. In late 2006, as per a decree by the UGC to all deemed universities, VIT was renamed as VIT University.

[edit] Departments and Curriculum

In the initial years of its existence only three undergraduate engineering courses were offered namely Civil, Mechanical and Electronics and Communication. The university grew rapidly during a boom in Indian technical education, as applications for admission went from 7,000 in 2003 to 44,000 in 2005. This year, 2006, the number of applications for the 1300 seats stands at staggering 87,000

The institute now houses five constituent colleges and interdisciplinary centers which offer about 25 specialized programs. These include the following:

• School of Computing Sciences
• School of Electrical Sciences
• School of Mechanical and Building Sciences
• School of Bio-Technology and Chemical Engineering
• VIT Business School
• School of Bio-Engineering and Bio-Sciences
• School of Science and Humanities

A typical college year consist of two semesters: the odd semester usually starts in June and lasts till November, while the even semester starts in mid-December and lasts till April end. The course structure offers less flexibility to choose the courses in the initial years of study but provides a greater number of electives to choose from during the later years.

[edit] Recognition

VIT is considered one of the best and most prestigious private universities in Tamil Nadu and India as a whole. The university has been able to hold on to and improve this reputation over the years by providing best quality of education and most importantly, by providing a cosmopolitan atmosphere for its students. The institute was in the news recently, following its accreditation by the famed IEE, hence becoming the first Indian university to achieve this honour. In spite of all these, the biggest chunk of VIT's success story is shared by most of the hundreds of thousands of students who have graduated out of the institute who have been placed in leading firms around the country. It is this content student population that carries on VIT's eduring legacy.

Some of the notable recognitions achieved by the institution include

• Obtained accreditation from the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE), London, for seven Bachelor's and sixteen Master's degree programs.
• Lost accreditation from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi, for excessive intake.
• Awarded the deemed university status by the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India. Now renamed as VIT University.
• First educational institution in India to be awarded the ISO 9002 certificate for three years by the Det Norske Veritas (DNV) of the Netherlands.
• First educational institution to obtain A grades for MBA, MCA and all the courses it has applied for by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, an autonomous institution under the University Grants Commission.
• First private engineering college in India, to obtain the highest possible accreditation grades from the National Board of Accreditation.
• Has several national and international MoU’s signed with reputed institutions and universities like the Hochschule fur Technik und Wirtschaft Dresden (FH), University of Applied Sciences, Germany,Consortium of Canadian Educational Institutions for Asia (CCEIFA)., etc.
• Organises a unique and superb cultural extravaganza called 'RIVIERA' in January every year, that has colleges and universities from all over India taking part, besides guest performances by leading music bands and personalities.

[edit] Campus

VIT has a beautifully landscaped campus spread over an area of about 250 acres (1 km²) with an architectural masterpiece for an entrance gate. The VIT campus is one of the greenest, most eco-friendly and award-winning college campuses in Asia. The lush green campus, as in other major university & financial campuses around the world, is said to bring down the temperature around 2 degrees in the hot and humid summer months in Vellore. The weather during the winter months is said to be one of the most pleasant in south India.

One of the interesting features of the campus is that of the Chennai – Banglore railway line that runs through the campus separating the men’s hostels from the women’s hostels and the main campus. The campus has undergone significant changes in the past few years with the construction of several striking new buildings, which in turn reflect the institute's dynamic growth.

The campus also has an open-air stadium where track and field events are held. There are regular teams that compete in table tennis, chess and badminton tournaments. There are also various flood-lights-lit volleyball courts, tennis courts, a state of the art gym facility and a swimming pool. In addition the hostels also contain several badminton courts for recreation.