Rajya Sabha Member V. Vijaya Sai Reddy urged the Union government to upgrade the AU College of Engineering (AUCE) as Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology, as per the recommendations of the Anandakrishnan Committee.
Raising the issue through a special mention in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Mr. Reddy said that the government had constituted the Anandakrishnan Committee to identify institutions for upgradation to the level of Institutes of National Importance. These institutions were to be called the ‘Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology’. The committee submitted its Report and recommended that five institutions be upgraded to the level of IIEST. One such institution identified is the (AUCE) in Visakhapatnam.
The objective behind creating IIESTs is to have a new system of institutions in technical education and giving emphasis to research. The IIESTs were conceived to offer 5-year integrated dual degrees in engineering, 5-year integrated M.Sc., etc. to emphasise on specific research. The IIESTs also have specific provisions for international students and faculty.
But, unfortunately, the report was not implemented, even after 14 years after it was submitted by the committee.
Mr. Reddy appealed to the government to introduce and pass a Bill to upgrade the AUCE to IIEST with the addition of new departments like renewable energy, naval architecture, shipbuilding, water and environmental research as was done in the case of the Bengal Engineering College in 2014 and Institute of Technology, BHU, in 2012.
