20 August,2009 07:14 AM IST | | Amit Singh
As homegrown universities gear up for a nerve-racking rivalry with their international counterparts, PK Gupta, chairman, Sharda University puts forth his plan of action
A decade back, premier educational institutes were confined to a few metros, but slowing things began to change when universities mushroomed at every nook and corner of the country something that was a cause of concern. But now the scene is completely different as private universities are fast heading towards international standards. No more do they compete with domestic universities, institutes and colleges. Over to PK Gupta for more dope.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0
Does competition discourage or motivate?
From competition comes motivation to flourish. It's this that's pushing all the players to improve their delivery standards and further innovate new teaching methodologies. We have ensured that we provide education as per international standards by bringing blend of international faculty, their experience and application-based learning. This will provide students a right platform to go through self-discovery process.u00a0
Your group already has campuses in Mathura and Agra. What encouraged you to start Sharda University in Greater Noida?u00a0
There was always a need to have a world-class university in the heart of Delhi/NCR, which is fast becoming the economic capital of our country. This prompted me to establish Sharda University right here in Greater Noida.u00a0
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How has the response been till date and which courses are in demand?
The response of the students and parents has been overwhelming. More than 15,000 students have shown interest in the very first year of our establishment. B.tech (Electronics and Communication) is in demand.u00a0
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Recently the university signed a memorandum of understanding with Cinvestav Mexico. How will that help your students?
Cinvestav has tie-ups with leading research institutes of the world and provides top-notch research facilities especially in nanotechnology and material science. This association will provide ample opportunities to the students of our postgraduate programmes. Plus, meritorious students will undergo one year of extensive training with Cinvestav.
What was the idea behind your fully flexible credit-based system?
We are focusing on building one of the best and most flexible education systems based on credit based system as followed in UK, US and Singapore. This system will offer students with the flexibility to choose subjects from other streams, which will give them opportunity to get exposure of various domains offered by the university which in turn will help them to develop analytical, logical and reasoning skills.
Which other institutes do you have tie-ups with internationally?
Our primary focus is to tie-up with the industries and universities that offers a lot of research work. We have tie-ups with Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Banaras Hindu University in the field of material research and engineering and Cinvestav. Through these agreement students of engineering, biotechnology, as well as futuristic technologies streams like nano and micro mechanical systems will get hands on experience.
