Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani

Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani
Motto ज्ञानं परमं बलम्
(Sanskrit)
(jñānaṁ paramaṁ balam)
Motto in English
 Knowledge is Supreme Power
Type Private (Deemed university)
Established 1964 [1]
Chancellor Kumar Mangalam Birla[2]
Vice-Chancellor Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya [3]
Director Prof. Ashoke Kumar Sarkar[4]
Administrative staff
 280[5][6]
Undergraduates 2,698 annually[7]
Postgraduates 1897 annually[7]
Other students
 4840
Location Pilani, Rajasthan, 333031 [8], India
Campus 1,320 acres (5.3 km2)
Affiliations ACU,[9] UGC[10] NAAC,[11] PCI,[12] AIU[13]
Website www.bits-pilani.ac.in

Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani (shortened BITS Pilani or BITS) is an Indian institute of higher education and a deemed university under Section 3 of the UGC Act 1956.[14] The university has 15 academic departments, and focuses primarily on undergraduate education in engineering and the sciences and on its management programme.

The institute was established in its present form in 1964. During this period, the institute's transformation from a regional engineering college to a national university was backed by G.D. Birla. BITS has established centres at Pilani, Goa, Hyderabad and Dubai.

BITS administers the all-India computerised competitive entrance examination, BITSAT (BITS Admission Test),[15][16] Admission is merit-based, as assessed by the BITSAT examination.[17][18] The fully residential institute is privately supported.[19]

History

Inception

Large buildings surrounding green quadrangle
Aerial view, BITS Pilani (1978)
Aerial Image of the Pilani campus with the newly inaugurated Rotunda taken by RC club, BITS Pilani
Clock Tower, BITS Pilani

The Birla Education Trust was founded in 1929; the intermediate college became a degree college and later offered postgraduate courses. The masters programme in electronics began in 1955.[20]

Reacting to criticism about the project, Drew said:

In my judgment to attempt to develop an American institution in India would be like trying to graft apples on a pine tree. We have not been asked to make such an attempt. We were asked to help devise in India an Indian technological school to produce graduates with the know-how to produce knowledge pertinent for India…. In many respects they consider us immature, rude, hypocritical barbarians who in certain respects happened to hit it lucky. To be viable in India an institution must be framed with Indian values in mind.[21]

In 1964, the Birla Colleges of Humanities, Commerce, Engineering, Pharmacy and Science were merged to form the Birla Institute of Technology & Science. The board provided direction in developing a curriculum, selecting equipment, upgrading the library and recruiting (and training) an Indian faculty. To quicken the pace of reform he convinced C. R. Mitra to be the new director of the institute. Mitra advocated a "practice school" internship program as a requirement for faculty and students. The Practice School Program is still a requirement for students in BITS.

Low, gold-colored building seen from green space
Clock tower, BITS Pilani

According to Robert Kargon and Stuart Leslie:

BITS offered an opportunity 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.[21]

BITS Pilani became a deemed university established under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956 by notification No. F.12-23/63.U-2 of 18 June 1964.[22]

The acceptance rate of BITS Pilani is 1.47% based on the data of BITSAT 2012.[23]

Multi-campus expansion

Campuses Within India: Pilani, Goa, Hyderabad

In 1999, enrollment expanded from 2,500 to 4,000[24] and campuses were founded in Dubai (2000) and Goa (2004). In 2006, BITS Pilani acquired 200 acres (81 ha) of land from the Andhra Pradesh government through the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority for a new campus. The land is located in Jawaharnagar, Shameerpet Mandal in the Rangareddy district.[25] The BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus opened in 2008; the school also has a virtual university[26] and an extension center in Bangalore.[27]

Chancellor and academic head

BITS Pilani has a tradition of long-serving chancellors and vice-chancellors. Its founder, G.D. Birla, was chancellor from the college's inception until his death in 1983.[24] He was followed by his son, Krishna Kumar Birla, who was chancellor until his death in 2008.[28] Currently, Kumar Mangalam Birla is chancellor and Shobhana Bhartia is pro-chancellor.[2]

The first academic head of the institution was J. C. Stracliff (Principal) and V. Lakshminarayanan (Vice-Principal) for a period of 3 years during 1946-1949.[29] V. Lakshminarayan became Principal of Birla Engineering College in 1949 (served from 1946 to 1963 in Birla Engineering College), then becoming the first Director of BITS-Pilani in 1964 when it was formed and served till 1969.[30] He was succeeded by BITS directors C.R. Mitra (1969–1989)[31] and S. Venkateswaran (1989–2006). With the advent of multiple campuses the overall head was known as "vice-chancellor"; "director" denoted the head of a campus. Prof. L.K. Maheshwari became the first vice-chancellor in 2006 and kept office till 2010 when he was succeeded by Prof. Bijendra Nath Jain who held office till 2015. The director of BITS Pilani, Hyderabad campus, Prof. VS Rao took over in August 2015 as the 'Acting Vice chancellor' while the search was on for a suitable candidate to hold the top post in BITS Pilani. In April 2016, Chancellor Kumar Mangalam Birla announced that Prof. Souvik Bhattacharya of IIT Kharagpur / Jadavpur University was selected to take over as the new Vice chancellor of BITS Pilani. He is stated to take over in June 2016 to become the 6th academic head of the institute.[32]

Admission

Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad campuses

Before 2005, admissions were based on the candidates' score in the qualifying examination.[33] BITS had been moderating marks from various school boards since 1982.

Since 2005, admission to BITS has been offered on the basis of the student's performance in the all-India entrance examination, the BITS Admission Test (BITSAT). The test, for which applications are submitted in December, is conducted online in May and June in cities all over India. The exam tests the candidate's knowledge, reasoning and analytical abilities in physics, chemistry, mathematics, English and logical reasoning, and is based on higher secondary curricula in India and abroad. A 2012 news report showed that BITSAT had become more competitive than the IIT-JEE, in terms of the ratio of the number of aspirants to the number of seats available.[33] To be eligible for admission, students are required to obtain a minimum of 75% marks in physics, chemistry and mathematics (with a minimum grade of 60 percent in each subject) in their higher secondary examination. Since 2011, number of applicants for BITSAT has been increasing steadily from 123,000 in 2011 to 180,000 in 2014.

Dubai campus

Admission to Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani – Dubai Campus is solely based on scores in the 12th standard qualifying exam. Although the BITS Pilani-Dubai campus was established for the educational requirements of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, admission is open to students of all nationalities.[34]

Campuses

Pilani campus

Pilani is located 220 kilometres (140 mi) west of Delhi and 217 kilometres (135 mi) north of Jaipur; the BITS campus is south of the bus stand. The area of the campus (which includes the Birla Education Trust) is over 990 acres (400 ha); its developed area is 49 acres (20 ha), of which 60,769 square metres (15.016 acres) is used for the BITS building.[35] The campus has 11,245 square metres (121,040 sq ft) of classrooms and 7,069 square metres (76,090 sq ft) of laboratories.

Temple with four rounded step levels, illuminated at night
Saraswati temple, BITS Pilani

BITS has a Birla Mandir dedicated to the goddess Saraswati, Sharda Peeth, built by G. D. Birla. The white marble temple is built on a 7-foot (2.1 m)-high foundation, with 70 pillars for support. It covers an area of 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2).[36] The Pilani campus has India's first technological museum, the Birla Museum. Built in 1954, it showcases technological achievements.[37][38] BITS has a 2,535-square-metre (27,290 sq ft) auditorium decorated with paintings by students from the department of art and decoration.[35]

Residential and dining facilities

Two-story building around quadrangle, with two large trees
Student hostel on foggy winter morning

The institute has fourteen hostels in total. Each hostel is referred as a "Bhawan", the Hindi word for hostel. Thirteen of them - Krishna Bhawan, Vishwakarma Bhawan, Rana Pratap Bhawan, Bhagirath Bhawan, Ashok Bhawan, Gandhi Bhawan, Shankar Bhawan, Vyas Bhawan, Budh Bhawan, Ram Bhawan, Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Bhawan, CV Raman Bhavan and Srinivasa Ramanujan Bhawan are for male students. There is a single hostel for female students called Meera Bhawan.The institute also has one more hostel for parents and guests[39] The hostels are named after saints, scientists, and historical and religious figures.

Every two hostels share a mess hall except Meera Bhawan which has its own mess hall. All dining areas are student-managed.[40] Students may also eat at a "Redi" (a small canteen near every hostel), Institute Canteen (IC), the All-Night Canteen (ANC) and the Student Activity Centre (SAC) cafeteria (Food King). The ANC is also student-managed.[41] more over there is a small area inside campus called "Connaught place" (fondly referred as just "Connaught") which has many restaurants, cafes, etc.[42] and has shops for general daily needs as well.

Vision 2020, Mission 2012

In 2010 the institute launched a renewal project, "Vision 2020, Mission 2012,"[43] to identify and implement measures establishing BITS Pilani as one of India’s top three research-led universities by 2015 and among the leading 25 technical universities in Asia by 2020. As a part of this initiative, Kumar Mangalam Birla visited the Pilani campus on 13 November 2011 with pro-chancellor Shobhana Bhartia and other members of the board of governors. At this meeting, Birla announced a Rs. 600 crore fund for renovation and construction of new academic buildings and student hostels on the Pilani campus. The project was planned for completion in 2014.[44]

Goa campus

Hyderabad campus

Dubai campus

Student life

The Students' Union is the elected administrative body for students. Elections are supervised by a student commission. The student-run Corroboration and Review Committee handles financial transactions for the Students' Union. The Student Mess Council manages dining issues.

BITSMUN

BITS Model United Nations Conference (BITSMUN) is one of the largest MUN conferences in the country. Organized annually in Pilani, BITSMUN attracts experienced and first time MUN participants from colleges and schools all over the globe. The conference was founded in 2007 as a grassroots project aimed at introducing Model UN to students who otherwise would not have the opportunity to participate in this experience. It has in the current past been expanding to an increasing number of colleges and schools from all parts of the world to encourage greater participation in an activity that brings together knowledge in international relations and interpersonal skills.[45]

BOSM

BOSM (BITS-Pilani Open Sports Meet) is the annual sports competition at the Pilani campus. BITS-Pilani invites colleges throughout India to participate in events including carrom board, hockey, cricket, basketball, football, volleyball, track and field, badminton, tennis, table tennis, squash and weightlifting. Since its 2010 Silver Jubilee (25th) anniversary, BOSM has invited a team from Moratuwa University in Sri Lanka.[46]

TechBazaar

Techbazaar is a technical-innovation competition at BITS Pilani for talented inventors to showcase their ingenuity, using technology to solve problems in a commercially viable way and fostering technology-based entrepreneurship. The first TechBazaar was held on 19 August 2012 as a joint venture of Project Embryo and BITS Pilani, with the participation of engineering colleges including BITS, IIT and NIT.

Spark

BITS Spark programme was launched in 2012. The programme promotes entrepreneurship courses and workshops, offers mentorship, and provides angel funds.[47]

Academics

The institute has a three-tier academic structure.

First degrees

BITS Pilani offers four-year integrated first-degree programs (so called because several courses, such as mathematics and science, are common to each degree) in engineering, technology and pharmacy, a Master of Arts program and Master of Science programs in science and technology. The programs are divided into three groups:[48]

Group A
Group B

Advanced degrees

BITS Pilani offers master's degrees in engineering, pharmacy, public health and business administration.[49] The Department of Management at BITS Pilani was established in 1971. Its objective is to improve management for engineers seeking to work in the emerging industrial world. BITS-Pilani has also started a 3-year Integrated Master of Engineering program in Computer Science with specialization in Information Security in their Hyderabad campus. This program targets Bachelor of Science students who have majored in Physics, Mathematics or both.

Off-campus programs

BITS Pilani offers off-campus programs in which students receive work experience in industry. Enrollment has increased from 30 in 1979 to over 10,000 in 2005. More than 19,500 students were registered in off-campus work-integrated learning programs in 2008–09.[7] Work-related learning programs accommodate industry professionals who wish to pursue an advanced degree while remaining employed.

International projects

BITS Pilani is a partner in developing the JournalServer[50] open-access digital library, Project IPV6[51] and the MIT iCampus[52] initiative.

Rankings

University and college rankings
General – international
QS (World)[53] 801-1000
QS (BRICS)[54] 101-110
QS (Asian)[55] 178
Times[56] 601-800
Times (BRICS)[57] 196
Times (Asia)[58] 181-190
General – India
Careers360[59] 42
Engineering – India
NIRF[60] 16
India Today[61] 4
Outlook India[62] 6
Careers360[63] AAAA+
Business – India
Outlook India[64] 16

Internationally, BITS Pilani was ranked 801-1000 in the QS World University Rankings of 2018.[53] The same institute ranked it 178 in Asia[55] and 101-110 among BRICS nations[54] in 2016. It was ranked 601-800 in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings in 2016-2017,[56] 181-190 in Asia[58] and 196 among BRICS & Emerging Economies.[57] Among all universities in India it was ranked 42 by Careers360 in 2017, 3rd among private institutes.[59]

Among Engineering Colleges in India, BITS Pilani was ranked 16 in the 2017 National Institutional Ranking Framework in engineering category published by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.[60] It ranked 4th by India Today in 2017[61] and 6th by Outlook India in 2016.[62] Careers360 has given it the second best rating, "AAAA+", among engineering colleges in 2017.[63]

The Department of Management was ranked 16 among management schools in India by Outlook India's "Top 100 Management Schools" of 2016.[64]

Alumni

The BITS Alumni Association is an international organisation with chapters throughout the world, connecting alumni in networking, social events and fundraising.[65]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "International Relations Unit, BITS Pilani". Discovery.bits-pilani.ac.in.
  2. 1 2 "Kumar Mangalam Birla Chancellor and Shobana Bhartia Pro Chancellor BITS Pilani".
  3. ↑ "Abhishek Gupta(Gupta Ji) - Vice Chancellor".
  4. ↑ "Administrative Contacts".
  5. ↑ BITS, Pilani. "Faculty information". Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  6. ↑ BITS, Pilani – Dubai. "Faculty Information (Dubai Campus)". Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 BITS, Pilani. "Student information" (PDF). Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  8. ↑ http://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/visitbits. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ Association of Commonwealth Universities. "Institutions affiliated to ACU". Retrieved 21 October 2009.
  10. ↑ Pharmacy Council of India. "Pharmacy Council of India: Recognized Institutes". Retrieved 21 October 2009.
  11. ↑ University Grants Commission, India. "Approved Deemed Universities". Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2009.
  12. ↑ National Assessment and Accreditation Council. "Accredited Universities". Retrieved 21 October 2009.
  13. ↑ Association of Indian Universities. "AIU Member Universities". Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  14. ↑ "UGC Act-1956" (PDF). mhrd.gov.in/. Secretary, University Grants Commission. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  15. ↑ "BITS test all set to go online". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 21 February 2005.
  16. ↑ "BITSAT HomePage".
  17. ↑ S.S.Vasan (27 November 2006). "BITS Pilani Says Merit First, No to reservation". Retrieved 28 November 2009.
  18. ↑ Subhajit Roy (27 October 2006). "7 private universities say yes to OBC share". Indian Express. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  19. ↑ "BITS Pilani History on BPHC Homepage".
  20. ↑ "Prof V Lakshminarayanan – a Legend for BITS Pilani". India PR Wire. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  21. 1 2 Leslie, Stuart; Kargon, Robert (26 March 2004). "History of BITS Pilani" (PDF). OSIRIS Workshop 2004. Georgetown University. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  22. ↑ "Home Page of BITS Pilani".
  23. ↑ "Birla Institute of Technology & Science entrance more competitive than IIT".
  24. 1 2 "Chancellor KK Birla's Speech" (PDF). Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  25. ↑ "Campuses of BITS- Hyderabad Campus Website".
  26. ↑ "BITSVirtual University". Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  27. ↑ "BITS Pilani Professional Development Centre Bangalore-Mrcollegehub.com".
  28. ↑ "BITS Pilani mourns the death of Chancellor Dr KK Birla". Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  29. ↑ Sukhdev Pande. Mere Pilani Ke Sansmaran.
  30. ↑ "Prof Lakshminarayan Memorial Lecture". Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  31. ↑ "C.R.Mita". Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  32. ↑ "Announcement for new VC" (PDF). Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  33. 1 2 "Birla Institute of Technology & Science entrance more competitive than IIT". Times of India. May 10, 2012.
  34. ↑ "BITS Dubai Admissions". Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  35. 1 2 BITS Pilani. "BITS Pilani statistics". Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  36. ↑ Temple Net. "Birla Mandir". Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  37. ↑ BITS Pilani. "Birla Museum". Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  38. ↑ "Birla Museum at BITS Pilani". Rajasthantour4u.com (7 July 2009).
  39. ↑ BITS Pilani. "BITS Campus Facilities". www.bits-pilani.ac.in. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
  40. ↑ "Hostels and Mess at BITS Pilani" Archived 14 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
  41. ↑ "ANC at BITS Pilani"
  42. ↑ http://discovery.bits-pilani.ac.in/campuslife/body_studentmisc.html
  43. ↑ |url = http://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/dcd/Default.aspx
  44. ↑ "BITS, Pilani – The Official Home Page". Discovery.bits-pilani.ac.in.
  45. ↑ "BITSMUN". "BITSMUN".
  46. ↑ BOSM Goes International. Indiaprline.com.
  47. ↑ Guru, Vemuri. "BITS Spark programme was launched in 2012.". http://entrepreneursdesk.org/fifth-edition-of-bits-spark-programme/. Retrieved 4 July 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  48. ↑ "Academics@BITS PILANI". Archived from the original on 29 May 2010.
  49. ↑ "BITS, Pilani – [ Academics ]". bits-pilani.ac.in. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  50. ↑ "Journal Server, BITS Pilani". Retrieved 18 April 2007.
  51. ↑ BITS Pilani. "IPV6". www.bits-pilani.ac.in. Retrieved 18 April 2007.
  52. ↑ "iCampus, BITS Pilani". www.bits-pilani.ac.in. Retrieved 18 April 2007.
  53. 1 2 "QS World University Rankings 2018". QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  54. 1 2 "QS BRICS University Rankings 2016". QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  55. 1 2 "QS Asian University Rankings 2016". QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  56. 1 2 "Top 400 - The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2016-2017". The Times Higher Education. 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  57. 1 2 "Top 400 - Times Higher Education BRICS and Emerging Economies University Rankings (2017)". The Times Higher Education. 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  58. 1 2 "Top 400 - Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings (2017)". The Times Higher Education. 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  59. 1 2 "Top Universities in India 2017". Careers360. 2017.
  60. 1 2 "National Institutional Ranking Framework 2017 (Engineering)". National Institutional Ranking Framework. Ministry of Human Resource Development. 2017.
  61. 1 2 "India's Best Colleges 2017: Engineering". India Today. 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  62. 1 2 "Top 100 Engineering Colleges In 2017". Outlook India. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  63. 1 2 "Top Engineering Colleges in India 2017". Careers360. 2017.
  64. 1 2 "Fits And Start-Ups: The A+ Schools". Outlook India. 3 October 2016.
  65. ↑ "BITS Alumni Association". Bitsaa.org.
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