Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering (SJCE) has been accorded university status and will now be called JSS Science and Technology University. Vice-President Hamid Ansari will inaugurate the new university on July 23 during his visit to the city to participate in the valedictory function of Mysore University’s centenary celebrations.
B.G. Sangameshwar, who was earlier the principal of SJCE, took over as the first Vice-Chancellor of the university on Thursday. Sources told The Hindu that preparations are afoot for the formal inauguration next month. The university governing body, academic council and the board of studies are expected to take shape over the next few weeks.
All the students to be admitted from the 2016-17 academic year will receive their degrees from the university, while the current crop of students pursuing BE courses will get their degrees from Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), an official said.
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SJCE, which was established in 1963, celebrated its golden jubilee in 2013 and had enjoyed autonomous status within VTU. “But with university status, we have more academic freedom and can shore up the standards further, which was one of the objectives,” a faculty member said.
SJCE offers BE in 12 disciplines. The authorities have plans to zero-in on four to six areas for research and development. “While under-graduate courses will retain all the importance due to them, the varsity has plans of undertaking R&D in the emerging fields to carve out a niche for itself among engineering institutions,” a senior official said.
Besides this, industry-academic interaction will receive greater thrust to help make students industry-ready in emerging areas of technology. Also in the offing is greater collaboration with pre-eminent engineering institutions and universities from across the world. Also, new management courses, including corporate finance, will be rolled out this year.
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