Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences

Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences

Seal of the University
Motto	'Serve the land; Feed the hungry'
Type	Public
Established	1910
Chancellor	Jetti A. Oliver
Vice-Chancellor	Rajendra B. Lal
Visitor	Ram Naik
Academic staff	454[1]
Students	12331[1]
Undergraduates	8068[1]
Postgraduates	4263[1]
Location	Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India 25°24′49″N 81°50′57″E / 25.4137°N 81.8491°E / 25.4137; 81.8491Coordinates: 25°24′49″N 81°50′57″E / 25.4137°N 81.8491°E / 25.4137; 81.8491
Campus	900 acres (3,600,000 m2) Sub-Urban
Colors	Red, Green and Yellow
Affiliations	ACU[2] AIU[3] IAU[4] IAUA[5]
Website	shuats.edu.in

Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHUATS), formerly Allahabad Agricultural Institute, is an autonomous state government university in Allahabad, India.^[6][7][8]

It was established in 1910 by Dr. Sam Higginbottom as "Allahabad Agricultural Institute" to improve the economic status of the rural population. It became the first institute in India to offer a degree in Agricultural Engineering in 1942.^[9][10]

In December 2016 the Uttar Pradesh State cabinet announced their decision to elevate the institution from the status of Deemed University to full-fledged State Government University by passing the SHUATS Act operational from 29-12-2016, thus renaming it to SHUATS.^[11]

As a tribute to its founder, the institution submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Human Resource Development in 2009 to re-christen Allahabad Agricultural Institute as Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences.^[12] The institute was conferred deemed university status on 15 March 2000^[13] and got certified as a Christian Minority Educational Institution in December 2005.^[14][12] Earlier the MHRD has placed SHUATS in the list of elite category 'A' deemed universities on the basis of the expert committee recommendation.^[15]

The academic infrastructure of the university is organized into seven faculties^[16] — Agriculture, Engineering and Technology, Science, Theology, Business Studies, Humanities and Social Science, Health Sciences — which consist of 17 constituent schools, 55 academic departments and four advanced research centres with emphasis on scientific, agricultural, technological education and research.^[1][17] Since its inception, the institute has produced many notable scientists, geneticists and agricultural engineers.^[18]

While having completed its own hospital, Hayes Memorial Mission Hospital, the university is in the process of starting a medical college as per Medical Council of India (MCI) norms.^[19]

Accreditation and affiliations

SHUATS is a recognized member of Association of Indian Universities,^[20] Association of Commonwealth Universities,^[21] Indian Agricultural Universities Association^[22] and International Association of Universities.^[23] The university has been re-accredited with a CGPA of 3.14 on a four-point scale and has received an ‘A’ grade from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).^[24] SHUATS was accredited in 2009 by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and in 2010 by Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE).^[7][25]

History

Mahatma Gandhi interacting with students at the Agricultural Institute^[9]

The institute was established by Dr. Sam Higginbottom, an English-born Presbyterian missionary in 1910 as a Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension of Ewing Christian College, Allahabad.^[26] The institute was declared as a separate entity from the college in 1918. In 1932 it was formally affiliated with the University of Allahabad. About the same time the institute was recognized by the government for a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture. Another landmark came in 1942 when it became the pioneer institute to offer an Agricultural Engineering degree in India. In November 1947, the institute was brought under an independent "Board of Directors of the Allahabad Agricultural Institute" which was sponsored as an ecumenical body by a number of churches and missions. During this phase the institute was taken up by Arthur T. Mosher and he is largely credited with major expansion of infrastructure and the introduction of famous "Jamuna Par Punar yojna", the extension project of recruiting workers at the village level.^[27]

Between 1950 and 1957 Albert Mayer, an American architect, was assigned for developing the major buildings of the institute.^[28][29] In 1951, Ford Foundation granted $940,000 to the institute for carrying out the research and development projects.^[30][31] In 1952 the University of Illinois signed a contract with United States Agency for International Development for assisting the institute in improving its educational programs.^[32] Between 1950 and 1980, John B. Chitamber led the institute successfully and made Agricultural extension a very well known programme of the institute.^[33] To obtain more academic freedom and to strengthen the specialized programmes of teaching, a research and extension a proposal was submitted to the Ministry of Human Resource Development in August 1994, that the institute be granted the status of a deemed university. The institute was conferred deemed university status on 15 March 2000 and Dr. Rajendra B. Lal was appointed as the first vice-chancellor of the university.^[12]

Campus

The campus is in Naini, a satellite neighborhood of Allahabad on the banks of river Yamuna. The university is spread over an area of 900 acres lush-green campus, which includes 300 acres of research farms. The campus is divided into clusters of constituent schools and separate blocks for administration. The academic area chiefly comprises the main building, departmental annexes and auditoria. The university has 11 hostels on campus, six women's, three men's and two international hostels.^[16]

The campus has an open-air theatre for cultural events. Several football, hockey and cricket grounds; and tennis, basketball, squash and volleyball courts are there. The university has a Primary School, Middle school two Inter Colleges housed in independent buildings, to meet the education requirements of the employees’ children and for children of neighbouring areas. In addition to these facilities, the campus houses a full-fledged post office and a branch of the State Bank of India.^[34]

SHUATS Campus
Administrative Block - I  Registrar's Office  Institute of Bioengineering  Institute of Agriculture  School of Humanities and Social Science  Men's UG Hostel  Women's Hostel  Agroforestry Farmland  The Arboretum at SHUATS  University Central Park

Academics

SHUATS is a multi-faculty residential academic institution. The university offers 42 undergraduate programmes, 101 postgraduate programmes, 16 diploma programmes and doctoral programmes with over 10,000 students enrolled on campus.^[35]

Research and collaboration

The university provides an adequate infrastructure for interdisciplinary collaborative research and interaction between students and faculty. The major research areas include agronomy, mechanised agriculture, food processing, silviculture, genetic engineering, bioprocess engineering and computational biology among others. The research activities are well-funded through extramural research funding from government agencies such as ICAR, DBT, NRSC, DST, MHRD, MRD, UPCAR and EU.^[40]

The university increased its appeal among international students and attracts students from Afghanistan, Iraq, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Guyana and several African nations.^[41] SHUATS has currently signed MoUs with more than 14 countries for academics and research. The university has been in collaboration with a Thailand-based Asian Institute of Technology for academics since 2011.^[42] Recently, SHUATS has collaborated with University of Missouri to explore the potential of green nanotechnology on agricultural economy.^[43][44]

Career and placement

The university has established a Career Planning & Counselling Centre (CPCC). The CPCC invites companies for campus recruitment and placement assistance. Besides, the centre facilitates soft skills training, summer internships, career counselling and other personality development programs to the students. Some of the major recruiters of the institute are Indian Army, Infosys, HCL, Amdocs, ThoughtWorks, Union Bank of India, Hindustan Construction Company, Escorts Tractors, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, ITC Limited, Jain Irrigation, IFFCO, SABMiller and Lupin Limited.^{[45][46][47][48]}

Student activities

Co-curricular activities such as sporting events, festivals, and cultural functions are organized throughout the year.^[49][50][51] The academic societies and cultural clubs on the campus organize national and international competitions, symposiums, conferences and workshops.^[52][53] Students can join the National Cadet Corps or enroll in National Service Scheme for overall personality development.^[54][55]

Co-Curricular activities at SHUATS
Annual Cultural Festival  SHUATS Chapel Choir  NCC unit of the University  Convocation Ceremony  Expression Film Festival

Notable people

References

External links

• Official Website