100 foreign students deported from Pune

Since the Mumbai terror attacks, the Pune police have deported around 100 foreign students in the city for security reasons.

“We have deported around 100 foreign students of different nationalities during the drives conducted in the recent months for violating various norms like overstaying their visa limits, extending their student visa for years together, among other reasons,” confirmed Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh.

After the Mumbai terror attacks,the police had requested all colleges to send updated information of their foreign students.These included their addresses, attendance records, vehicle numbers and so on. Singh said that the police came across cases where many foreign students took admission into one institute, failed in that course and shifted to another institute or city. Several students also stayed back after their visas expired.

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One test, top faculty, extra perks: 14 ‘World Class University’ blueprint ready

An all-India common entrance examination, a student-count not exceeding 12,000, the best of faculty with incentives over and above regular pay, a curriculum revised every three years, a semester system, private sector funding, vice-chancellors with at least decade-long teaching experience, collaboration with universities and institutes in India and abroad, academic creativity free from red tapism — all this and more will go into the making of 14 World Class Universities (WCUs) very shortly.

And these sweeping changes are also likely to be applied to all existing universities and 16 Central universities that have recently been approved by the Cabinet. What will change, however, is the nomenclature for the 14 WCUs. Officials say these are now likely to be christened National Universities and the related legislation will be called the National Universities Act.

The basic blueprint for the WCUs has been formulated by the University Grants Commission(UGC) and the first round of discussions, held in New Delhi today, involved academicians, experts, officials from the Human Resource Development Ministry, UGC and Planning Commission.

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In Pune, a Defence institute gets a civilian makeover

Winds of change are blowing at the premier DRDO establishment, Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), as it opens its doors wide open to civilians and turns into a full-fledged university.

And among the first things on the cards at the Pune-based institute is nomenclature. The masters degree in Mechanical Engineering in Combat Vehicles has been renamed as Automobile Engineering, while another ME Mechanical degree course in Guided Missiles is now called Aerospace Engineering.

“We are trying to change the nomenclature of certain courses that are not linked exclusively with defence and broad base their curriculum so that eventually civilians can avail of admission into these courses,” says DIAT’s Vice-Chancellor Prof L M Patnaik, who assumed charge in March this year. Civilians can gain admission beginning sometime in 2009.

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