Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani
Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani) is a Deemed university in Pilani, Jhunjhunu, India.[12] It focuses primarily on higher education and research in engineering and sciences.[13] After expansion to a campus in Dubai, it has become the first international deemed university, spearheading in science, engineering, management and research with five established campuses and 15 academic departments.
| Motto | jñānaṁ paramaṁ balam (Sanskrit) |
|---|---|
Motto in English | Knowledge is Supreme Power |
| Type | Deemed University (An Institute of Eminence) |
| Established | 1964[1] |
| Chancellor | Kumar Mangalam Birla |
| Vice-Chancellor | Prof. Souvik Bhattacharya [2] |
| Director | Prof. Sudhirkumar Barai (Pilani Campus)[3] |
| Students | 13,535 (2019) (all campus)[4] |
| Location | , 333031[5] , |
| Campus | 328 acres (1.33 km2)[6] |
| Affiliations | ACU,[7] UGC[8] NAAC,[9] PCI,[10] AIU[11] |
| Website | www |
The institute is backed by the Aditya Birla Group and is one of the first six institutes to be awarded the Institute of Eminence status in 2018.[14][15] BITS conducts the All-India computerized entrance examination, BITSAT (BITS Admission Test).[16][17] Admission is purely assessed by the BITSAT examination.[18][19] The fully residential institute is privately supported.[20]
The institute was established in its present form in 1964.[21] During this period, the institute's transformation from a regional engineering college to a national university was backed by G.D. Birla. The university has expanded its campuses from Pilani to Goa, Hyderabad, Dubai and Mumbai. Through its highly successful and widespread alumni network spanning globally across varied fields, BITS Pilani has made a significant impact on corporates, academia, research, entrepreneurship, arts and social activism.[22][23]
History
Inception
The Birla Education Trust was founded in 1929; the intermediate college became a degree college and later offered postgraduate courses. The masters programme in electronics began in 1955.[24]
Reacting to early criticism about the project, contemporary advisor Thomas Drew said:
In my judgment to attempt to develop an American institution in India would be like trying to graft apples on a pine tree. We have not been asked to make such an attempt. We were asked to help devise in India an Indian technological school to produce graduates with the know-how to produce knowledge pertinent for India…. In many respects they consider us immature, rude, hypocritical barbarians who in certain respects happened to hit it lucky. To be viable in India an institution must be framed with Indian values in mind.[25]
BITS Pilani became a deemed university established under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956 by notification No. F.12-23/63.U-2 of 18 June 1964.[26][27] In its formative years, the Institute tied up with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston, USA.[26] It adopted semester system, modular structure of courses, continuous and internal evaluation, letter grading and the likes. It also created linkages with the industries which yielded structured “Practice School” as an integral component of education.[26]
In 1964, the Birla Colleges of Humanities, Commerce, Engineering, Pharmacy and Science were merged to form the Birla Institute of Technology & Science. The board provided direction in developing a curriculum, selecting equipment, upgrading the library and recruiting (and training) an Indian faculty. To quicken the pace of reform he convinced C. R. Mitra to be the new director of the institute. Mitra advocated a "practice school" internship program as a requirement for faculty and students. The Practice School Program is still a requirement for students in BITS.
According to Robert Kargon and Stuart Leslie:
BITS offered an opportunity to build a leading technological university in India responsive to India's goals, to produce practising engineers who will be in a position to graduate and to build industries in India, under Indian conditions. With its emphasis on the Practice School and ties to Indian industry, it helped educate Indian industrialists along with Indian engineers who would remain in India, in contrast to many other engineering colleges in India, most of whose graduates would leave the country after obtaining their basic engineering education. The Ford Foundation Evaluators...proudly noted that the Indian government, despite having given no direct financial support, was looking to BITS to provide a model for future development in education in engineering and science in India.[25]
The acceptance rate of BITS Pilani is 1.47% based on the data of BITSAT 2012.[28]
Like Berkeley, BITS Pilani has also experienced student activism. BITS Pilani had to be shut down multiple times because of student strikes during 1973, 1980, and 1985.[29][30]
Multi-campus expansion
In 1999, enrollment expanded from 2,500 to 4,000[31] and campuses were founded in Dubai (2000) and Goa (2004). Upon invitation by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, BITS Pilani acquired 200 acres (81 ha) of land from the Andhra Pradesh government through the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority for a new constituent campus in 2006. The land is located in Jawaharnagar, Shameerpet Mandal in the Rangareddy district.[32] The BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus opened in 2008; the school also has a virtual university[33] and an extension center in Bangalore.[34] BITS School of Management (BITSoM) was established in January 2021 and offers a 2-year full time residential MBA. BITSoM has its interim campus in Hiranandani Knowledge Park, Powai, Mumbai while the 60-acre permanent campus is being set up in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.[35]
Chancellor and academic head
BITS Pilani has a tradition of long-serving chancellors and vice-chancellors. Its founder, G.D. Birla, was chancellor from the college's inception until his death in 1983.[31] He was followed by his son, Krishna Kumar Birla, who was chancellor until his death in 2008.[36] Currently, Kumar Mangalam Birla is chancellor and Shobhana Bhartia is pro-chancellor.[37]
The first academic head of the institution was J. C. Stracliff (Principal) and V. Lakshminarayanan (Vice-Principal) for a period of 3 years during 1946–1949.[38] V. Lakshminarayan became Principal of Birla Engineering College in 1949 (served from 1946 to 1963 in Birla Engineering College), then becoming the first director of BITS-Pilani in 1964 when it was formed and served until 1969.[39] He was succeeded by BITS directors C.R. Mitra (1969–1989)[40] and S. Venkateswaran (1989–2006). "director" denoted the head of a campus.
In April 2016, Chancellor Kumar Mangalam Birla announced that Prof. Souvik Bhattacharya of IIT Kharagpur / Jadavpur University was selected to take over as the new Vice chancellor of BITS Pilani. He took over in June 2016 to become the 6th academic head of the institute.[41] Prof. Ranendra N. Saha became Acting Vice Chancellor since June 13, 2021 after the expiration of Prof. Bhattacharya's term.
Campuses
Pilani campus
Pilani is located 200 kilometres (120 mi) west of Delhi and 220 kilometres (140 mi) north of Jaipur;[6] the BITS campus is to the west of Pilani bus stand. The area of the campus is 328 acres (1,330,000 m2);[6] its developed area is 49 acres (200,000 m2), of which 15 acres (61,000 m2) is used for the BITS building.[42] The campus has 11,245 square metres (121,040 sq ft) of classrooms and 7,069 square metres (76,090 sq ft) of laboratories.
BITS has a Sharda Peeth dedicated to the goddess Saraswati, Sharda Peeth, built by G. D. Birla. The white marble temple is built on a 7-foot (2.1 m)-high foundation, with 70 pillars for support. It covers an area of 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2).[43] The Pilani campus has India's first technological museum, the Birla Museum. Built in 1954, it showcases technological achievements.[44][45] BITS has a 2,535-square-metre (27,290 sq ft) auditorium decorated with paintings by students from the department of art and decoration.[42]
Residential and dining facilities
The institute has fourteen hostels in total. Each hostel is referred as a "Bhawan", the Sanskrit word for hostel. Thirteen of them – Krishna Bhawan, Vishwakarma Bhawan, Rana Pratap Bhawan, Bhagirath Bhawan, Ashok Bhawan, Gandhi Bhawan, Shankar Bhawan, Vyas Bhawan, Budh Bhawan, Ram Bhawan, Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Bhawan, CV Raman Bhavan and Srinivasa Ramanujan Bhawan are for male students. There is a single hostel for female students called Meera Bhawan. The institute also has one more hostel for parents and guests[46] The hostels are named after saints, scientists, and historical and religious figures.
Every two hostels share a mess hall except Meera Bhawan, Srinivasa Ramanujan Bhawan and Sir C V RAMAN Bhawan which have their own mess halls. All dining areas are student-managed.[47] Students may also eat at a "Redi" (a small canteen near every hostel), Institute Canteen (IC), the All-Night Canteen (ANC) and the Student Activity Centre (SAC) cafeteria (Talk of the town and Mr. Idli), LOOTERS . The ANC is also student-managed.[48] Moreover, there is a small area inside campus called "Connaught" which has many restaurants, cafes, etc.[49] and has shops for general daily needs as well.
Vision 2020, Mission 2012
In 2010 the institute launched a renewal project, "Vision 2020, Mission 2012,"[50] to identify and implement measures establishing BITS Pilani as one of India's top three research-led universities by 2015 and among the leading 25 technical universities in Asia by 2020. As a part of this initiative, Kumar Mangalam Birla visited the Pilani campus on 13 November 2011[citation needed] with pro-chancellor Shobhana Bhartia[citation needed] and other members of the board of governors. At this meeting, Birla announced a Rs. 600 crore fund[citation needed] for renovation and construction of new academic buildings and student hostels on the Pilani campus.[citation needed] The project was planned for completion in 2014.[51]
Academics
Academic programmes
The institute has a three-tier academic structure.
First degrees
BITS Pilani offers four-year integrated first-degree programs (so called because several courses, involving mathematics and science, are common to each degree) in engineering, technology and pharmacy, and integrated Master of Science programs in science and technology.[52]
BITS Pilani is noted for its unique Dual-Degree program, wherein students are allowed to pursue two degrees, namely a Masters in Science (as determined by their BITSAT score or their first-year performance) and a Bachelors in Engineering (as determined by their performance in their first-year) simultaneously for a time duration of five-years, a program that is unique to a top-level university in India. The dual-degree program is part of the first-degree programs and is offered to students taking the BITSAT examination.[53]
Master's Degrees
BITS Pilani offers master's in engineering, pharmacy, public health and business administration.[54]
Doctoral degrees
BITS Pilani offers Ph.D. in engineering, pharmacy, natural sciences, public health and business administration.[54]
Off-campus program [WILP]
BITS Pilani offers off-campus program (WILP) in which students receive work experience in industry. Enrollment has increased from 30 in 1979 to over 10,000 in 2005. More than 19,500 students were registered in off-campus Work Integrated Learning Program (WILP) in 2008–09.[55]
Admission
Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad campuses
Before 2005, admissions were based on the candidates' score in the 12th board examination. Earlier many students used to switch to State board schools for their 12th standard, in order to grab more marks easily and gain admission at BITS Pilani.[56] BITS had been moderating marks from various school boards since 1982.
Since 2005, admission to BITS has been offered on the basis of the student's performance in the all-India entrance examination, the Birla Institute of Technology and Science Admission Test (BITSAT). For foreign students, BITS has a separate admission scheme called International Student Admissions (ISA) category. To gauge the merit of these ISA students, BITS accepts the SAT and SAT Subject Tests in chemistry, physics, and Math 2C.[57] BITSAT, for which applications are submitted in December, is conducted online in May and June in cities all over India. The exam tests the candidate's knowledge, reasoning and analytical abilities in physics, chemistry, mathematics, English and logical reasoning, and is based on higher secondary curricula in India and abroad. A 2012 news report showed that BITSAT had become more competitive than the IIT-JEE, in terms of the ratio of the number of aspirants to the number of seats available.[56]
Dubai campus
Admission to Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani – Dubai Campus is based on scores in the 12th standard qualifying exam along with BITSAT. Although the BITS Pilani-Dubai campus was established for the educational requirements of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, admission is open to students of all nationalities.[58]
International projects
BITS Pilani is a partner in developing the JournalServer[59] open-access digital library, Project IPV6[60] and the MIT iCampus[61] initiative.
Rankings
| University and college rankings | |
|---|---|
| General – international | |
| QS (World) (2023)[62] | 1001–1200 |
| QS (Asia) (2023)[63] | 175 |
| Times (World) (2023)[64] | 801–1000 |
| Times (Asia) (2022)[65] | 251–300 |
| Times (Emerging) (2022)[66] | 301–350 |
| General – India | |
| NIRF (Overall) (2020)[67] | 27 |
| NIRF (Universities) (2020)[68] | 15 |
| Engineering – India | |
| NIRF (2020)[69] | 30 |
| India Today (2020)[70] | 7 |
| Private colleges: | |
| Outlook India (2022)[71] | 2 |
| Business/Management – India | |
| Private colleges: | |
| Outlook India (2020)[72] | 10 |
| Pharmacy – India | |
| NIRF (2020)[73] | 6 |
Internationally, BITS Pilani was ranked 1001–1200 in the QS World University Rankings for 2023[62] and 188 in Asia.[63] It was ranked 801–1000 in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2023,[64] 251–300 in Asia in 2022[65] and 301–350 among emerging economies.[66]
In India, BITS Pilani was ranked 27 overall in 2020 by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF),[67] 15 among universities,[68] 30 in the engineering ranking[69] and 6 in India in the pharmacy ranking.[73] It was ranked 7th among engineering colleges by India Today in 2020[70] and second among private engineering colleges by Outlook India in 2022.[71]
The Department of Management was ranked 10 among private management schools in India by Outlook India in 2020.[72]
Student life
Events
OASIS
Oasis is the annual cultural festival of the BITS, Pilani. It hosts a variety of events in various categories like dance, drama, literature, comedy, fashion and music.[74]
BOSM
BOSM (BITS-Pilani Open Sports Meet) is the annual sports competition at the Pilani campus. BITS-Pilani invites colleges throughout India to participate in events including carrom board, hockey, cricket, basketball, football, volleyball, track and field, badminton, tennis, table tennis, squash and weightlifting. Since its 2010 silver jubilee (25th) anniversary, BOSM has invited a team from Moratuwa University in Sri Lanka.[75]
APOGEE
APOGEE (A Professions Oriented Gathering over Educational Experiences) is an international annual technical festival at the Pilani campus.[76] Since its inception in 1983, APOGEE has hosted students and researchers from across the country. The guest lecture series of the fest, Think Again Conclave has received eminent speakers in the past which include A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Richard Stallman, Jimmy Wales, Kailash Satyarthi, Walter Lewin and A. S. Kiran Kumar.[77] Other events include the Paper Presentation Event, which is one of the oldest research paper presentation platforms in the country, and Project Presentation, which exhibits over 550 projects in various fields of science and engineering.
Spark
BITS Spark programme was launched in 2012. The programme promotes entrepreneurship courses and workshops, offers mentorship, and provides angel funds.[78]
Alumni
The BITS Alumni Association is an international organisation with chapters throughout the world, connecting alumni in networking, social events and fundraising.[79]
See also
References
- ^ "International Relations Unit, BITS Pilani" 8 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Discovery.bits-pilani.ac.in.
- ^ "Office & Administration". www.bits-pilani.ac.in.
- ^ "IISc - Alumnus Prof. Sudhirkumar Barai appointed as Director of BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus ." www.alumni.iisc.ac.in. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
- ^ "Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani". Times Higher Education (THE). 9 September 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ "Visit BITS". www.bits-pilani.ac.in.
- ^ a b c "Visit BITS". www.bits-pilani.ac.in. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
- ^ Association of Commonwealth Universities. . Archived from the original on 5 September 2009. Retrieved 21 October 2009.
- ^ Pharmacy Council of India. "Pharmacy Council of India: Recognized Institutes". Retrieved 21 October 2009.
- ^ University Grants Commission, India. . Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2009.
- ^ National Assessment and Accreditation Council. . Archived from the original on 9 April 2009. Retrieved 21 October 2009.
- ^ Association of Indian Universities. "AIU Member Universities". Retrieved 28 October 2009.
- ^ "UGC Act-1956" (PDF). mhrd.gov.in/. Secretary, University Grants Commission. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- ^ "UGC approves BITS-Pilani off-campus centres". The Indian Express. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
- ^ "Institute of Eminence tag: BITS Pilani misses out for now, Letter of Intent only after campuses regularised by UGC". Financial Express. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
- ^ "BITS Pilani, IIT Delhi, Bombay, are now among six Institutes of Eminence". 9 July 2018.
- ^ . The Hindu. Chennai, India. 21 February 2005. Archived from the original on 1 March 2005.
- ^ "BITSAT HomePage".
- ^ S.S.Vasan (27 November 2006). . Archived from the original on 3 August 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ^ Subhajit Roy (27 October 2006). "7 private universities say yes to OBC share". The Indian Express. Retrieved 22 February 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ . Archived from the original on 5 April 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
- ^ "BIT Pilani Inception". Grad Prospect. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ "BITS, Pilani - A Cradle for many Indian Startups". 16 November 2016.
- ^ "BITS Pilani Alumni ring NASDAQ Opening Bell".
- ^ . India PR Wire. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- ^ a b Leslie, Stuart; Kargon, Robert (26 March 2004). "History of BITS Pilani" (PDF). OSIRIS Workshop 2004. Georgetown University. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- ^ a b c "Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani)". www.bits-pilani.ac.in.
- ^ Chandirimani, G. K. (27 June 1964). "Ministry of Education" (PDF). Gazette of India (26): 223. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
No. F. 12-23/63-U2.—In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 (3 of 1956), the Central Government, on the advice of the Commission, hereby declares that the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, which is an institution for higher education, shall be deemed to be a University for the purposes of the said Act.
- ^ "Birla Institute of Technology & Science entrance more competitive than JEE".
- ^ Chawla, Prabhu (29 January 2014). "Birla Institute of Technology and Science finds itself suffering from strike-syndrome". India Today. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- ^ Sandhya Krishnan, Sandpaper, BITS Pilani Alumni Magazine, Summer 2008
- ^ a b (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 December 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 27 July 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- ^ "BITS Pilani Professional Development Centre Bangalore".
- ^ Nanda, Prashant K. (28 January 2021). "BITS Pilani to invest ₹1,500 cr to set up B-school in Mumbai". mint. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
- ^ "BITS Pilani mourns the death of Chancellor Dr KK Birla". Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- ^ "Kumar Mangalam Birla Chancellor and Shobana Bhartia Pro Chancellor BITS Pilani".
- ^ Sukhdev Pande. Mere Pilani Ke Sansmaran.
- ^ "Prof Lakshminarayan Memorial Lecture". Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- ^ "Announcement for new VC" (PDF). Retrieved 18 May 2016.
- ^ a b BITS Pilani. . Archived from the original on 30 November 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
- ^ Temple Net. "Sharda Peeth". Retrieved 27 October 2009.
- ^ BITS Pilani. "Birla Museum". Retrieved 27 October 2009.
- ^ "Birla Museum at BITS Pilani" 22 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Rajasthantour4u.com (7 July 2009).
- ^ BITS Pilani. "BITS Campus Facilities". bits-pilani.ac.in. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ^ . www.bits-pilani.ac.in. Archived from the original on 14 August 2010.
- ^ "ANC at BITS Pilani"[permanent dead link]
- ^ . Archived from the original on 26 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ^ |url = http://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/dcd/Default.aspx 5 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ . Discovery.bits-pilani.ac.in. Archived from the original on 4 May 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 29 May 2010.
- ^ "Dual degree". www.bits-pilani.ac.in. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ a b . bits-pilani.ac.in. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
- ^ BITS, Pilani. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
- ^ a b "Birla Institute of Technology & Science entrance more competitive than IIT". The Times of India. 10 May 2012.
- ^ "BITS International Admissions". BITS website. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
- ^ "BITS Dubai Admissions". Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 3 January 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2007.
- ^ BITS Pilani. . bits-pilani.ac.in. Archived from the original on 3 April 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2007.
- ^ . bits-pilani.ac.in. Archived from the original on 19 December 2006. Retrieved 18 April 2007.
- ^ a b "QS World University Rankings 2023". QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 8 June 2022.
- ^ a b "QS Asia University Rankings 2023". QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 8 November 2022.
- ^ a b "World University Rankings 2023". Times Higher Education. 2022.
- ^ a b "Asia University Rankings 2022". Times Higher Education. 2022.
- ^ a b "Emerging Economies University Rankings 2022". Times Higher Education. 2022.
- ^ a b "National Institutional Ranking Framework 2020 (Overall)". National Institutional Ranking Framework. Ministry of Education. 11 June 2020.
- ^ a b "National Institutional Ranking Framework 2020 (Universities)". National Institutional Ranking Framework. Ministry of Education. 11 June 2020.
- ^ a b "National Institutional Ranking Framework 2020 (Engineering)". National Institutional Ranking Framework. Ministry of Education. 11 June 2020.
- ^ a b "Best ENGINEERING Colleges 2020: List of Top ENGINEERING Colleges 2020 in India". indiatoday.in. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- ^ a b Outlook-ICARE Rankings 2022:
- Positions 1-100: "Outlook-ICARE Rankings 2022: Top 100 Private Engineering Colleges In India". Outlook India. 13 July 2022.
- Positions 101-160: "Outlook-ICARE Rankings 2022: Private Engineering Colleges In Alphabetical Order". Outlook India. 8 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Outlook-ICARE MBA Rankings: Top 150 Private MBA Institutions Outlook India Magazine". Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- ^ a b "National Institutional Ranking Framework 2020 (Pharmacy)". National Institutional Ranking Framework. Ministry of Education. 11 June 2020.
- ^ "Annual Cultural Festival of BITS Pilani: Oasis 2014". careerindia.com. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
- ^ BOSM Goes International 23 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Indiaprline.com.
- ^ "Attractions of APOGEE 2018 (BITS Pilani Techfest) – Ignite Engineers". www.igniteengineers.com. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
- ^ . festpav.com. Archived from the original on 16 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
- ^ Guru, Vemuri. . entrepreneursdesk.org/fifth-edition-of-bits-spark-programme/. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- ^ "BITS Alumni Association". Bitsaa.org.
External links
- Official website
Coordinates: 28°21′49.96″N 75°35′13.26″E / 28.3638778°N 75.5870167°E