On India’s 78th Independence Day, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hyderabad (UoH), Prof. B J Rao, hoisted the National Flag at Prof. Gurbaksh Singh Maidan in the University campus, in the presence of Deans, Heads, Faculty, Registrar, Officers, students and staff.
The Vice-Chancellor congratulated the University fraternity for organising and participating in various events on campus.
Prof. B J Rao paid rich tributes to the leaders who brought independence, and to the institutional leaders, who laid the foundation to the excellence of the University, which is now among the Top in India and abroad.
Prof. T.P. Radhakrishnan, hoisted the National Flag at the Golden Threshold campus of the University.
Later Prof. BJ Rao, Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Devesh Nigam, Registrar and other officials planted saplings on the occasion of Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam (एक पेड़ माँ के नाम) organized by the Horticulture Department near I & L Hostel, South Campus.
The full speech of the Vice-Chancellor can be read below:
Dear faculty colleagues, officers, staff, students, children and invited guests: Greetings to everyone assembled here for the 78th Independence Day celebrations.
As we celebrate our nation’s independence, let us pay tributes to the visionary leaders who fought tirelessly for our freedom. Their legacy continues to inspire us, due to which we have also gained respect and admiration among the league of nations of the world for our continued upholding of the principles of democracy and freedom.
As we are in our institution’s Golden Jubilee year, let us come together as a “cohesive team” to mark this milestone occasion collectively. By doing so, we will make our institution’s golden jubilee year a memorable one.
Let me highlight the University’s accomplishments in the past few months, very briefly.
The University began implementing the National Education Policy-2020 from 2022 onwards. All the Academic Units have created their curriculum as per the NEP Guidelines. While the College for Integrated Studies started implementing NEP for the Integrated Programmes since 2022, the other PG programmes have started to do so from 2024. I applaud the sustained efforts of NEP implementation committee and request all of you to work together collaboratively towards the successful implementation of NEP-2020. Let us reap the benefits of the same together.
It is my pleasure to highlight the exceptional research and development achievements of the University of Hyderabad as we celebrate our progress on this Independent Day.
Our faculty members are actively engaged in high-impact, high-quality research. Continuously, as a result, in 2024 so far, we have published approximately 600 high-quality research papers in journals of international repute, as per the Scopus database. Our faculty members are currently executing around 185 projects on campus, with a total funding of approximately 128 crores as of July 2024. This remarkable achievement reflects our commitment to advancing knowledge and solving real-world problems through innovative research. So far, 42 patents have been granted to the University of Hyderabad, and 34 more are in different stages of the process. Let us applaud the efforts of our faculty & students who have achieved this success.
Association for Scientific Pursuits for Innovative Research Enterprises- ASPIRE in its sixth year of unwavering commitment to fostering innovation and excellence in deep tech start-ups has done exceptionally well in the first half of 2024. ASPIRE celebrated its foundation day on 1st of March 2024 – an event that witnessed the convergence of brilliant minds, industry experts, and stakeholders, of innovation ecosystem. Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar, Chairman, University Grants Commission was the chief guest for the event. During the facility tour, he interacted with some of the start-ups incubated at the centre and applauded the efforts of team in nurturing the ecosystem. He inaugurated the Centre of Excellence supported by Thermo Fischer Scientific at ASPIRE-BioNEST. As a part of innovation, a new entity named VIVIGEN Bio Labs has been established and incubated at ASPIRE-BioNEST whose collaborative effort aims to provide highly affordable cancer diagnostics and significantly improve global health outcomes in oncology domain. Any affordable cost-effective diagnostic tool will greatly democratise the clinical care in the country.
During the academic year 2023-2024, the Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Centre (MMTTC) at the University of Hyderabad conducted a diverse array of programs designed to align with the objectives of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and beyond. These included Refresher Courses in Education and Education Technology, Research Methodology, Commerce & Management, English Language Studies, Computational Social Sciences, Information and Communication Technology, Data Analytics, E-content Development and MOOCs, Academic Writing, Gender Sensitization, Disaster Management, Leadership Development, Building Competencies of Teachers in Blended Learning modes, and SDGs etc. In addition, several spl programmes, beyond the mandate of UGC were also conducted, namely, Training Program for Knowledge Resource Persons, Teacher Orientation Programme in Undergraduate Physics (HBCSE & TIFR), Industrial training Programmes, Training programme for Admin staff, Computational Tools for Teaching and Learning Sanskrit and High content Exposure Visit for CBSE Principals etc. Thank you MMTTC-UoH for making us proud.
The University of Hyderabad – an Institution of Eminence (IoE) – continues to occupy the top ranks in QS World University Subject Rankings 2024. It has been named one of the world’s top universities for studying seven subjects, including – the Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Economics and Econometrics, English Language Literature, Linguistics, Performing Arts and Physics & Astronomy. This year, Economics and Econometrics, Linguistics, and Performing Arts have found a place in the rankings, with Performing Arts ranked in the 101-120 category. One round of applause to these winners.
In the Nature Index 2024 Research Leaders in Leading Academic Institutions, we have topped the list of all Universities in India (with 16th rank in the country among all National Institutes), maintaining pre-eminence in the fields of Natural and Physical Sciences, where publications from UoH in these areas appeared in top rated Nature Index Journals. This being so, we have badly slipped in NIRF ranking this year. NIRF ranking Metrix encompasses parameters across all subject fields encompassing broad areas such Teaching Learning Resources, Research & Professional Practice, Graduation Outcomes, Outreach & Inclusivity and FINALLY Perception. Each of us (faculty & students) have to analyse these carefully and introspect deeply. There are areas such as Student numbers, Diversity of students that we are able to attract and the number of PhD graduates that we successfully produce and the positive perception we create in the system are the markers that will push us further in the dynamic world of NIRF rankings. All this calls for a strong COLLECTIVE EFFORT!
The Office for International Affairs has been engaging with several foreign delegates, including representatives from University of Gottingen, Germany, Asia University, Taiwan, Singapore Management University and Monash University, some with whom we already have collaborations and are further strengthening our ties. The list is too large to elaborate on here. It is really high time that we need to go beyond MOUs and achieve tangible and significant collaborative benchmarks internationally.
We have had a good number of foreign visitors this year in Golden Jubilee conferences one of which was Nobel laureate Sir Prof Richard J Roberts who delivered a thought-provoking talk on “The Path to Nobel Prize” in the four-day conference “Bioanveshana 2024” organized by Life Sciences from 15-18 February 2024. He advised researchers “to do the best science they can, and if they are lucky, they may win a Nobel, But, he advised, you can’t make it your life’s goal to win a Nobel prize!”
As part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations, the IQAC, in collaboration with the Institution of Eminence Directorate, organised an International Conference on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from 18 to 20 January 2024. The Conference was titled “Knowledge for Sustainable Development: Dialogues Across Disciplines to Implement Sustainable Development.”
All SDGs were discussed under three broad themes:
- Sustainable Economy towards No Poverty, Clean Energy, and Clean Water
- Good Health and Well-being, Climate Change and Biodiversity
- Social Inclusivity, Education and Innovation
Several other Golden Jubilee conferences are in the offing. I feel immensely joyful in mentioning the School of Social Sciences-IoE Golden Jubilee Distinguished Lecture series which were started this year. As Series 1 from Jan-April’24, SSS invited about 10 notable scholars from across the country who lectured on varied thought-provoking themes. The talks celebrated our diversity, plurality, beauty, courage, and the wisdom in its true sense. Thank you SSS.
The University is committed to improving its standards and actively discourages publications with undesirable publication etiquette and unfair practices. Only journals that follow good peer-review and research practices will be counted towards academic credit. Our recent recruitments and promotions have followed the strict guidelines we have set for ourselves. We hope that this will strengthen the University’s research culture. As a world class institution, we should look beyond the UGC-CARE list and focus on publishing in journals in the higher quartiles Q1 and Q2. This will give greater visibility and better recognition to UoH and obviously better NIRF ranking.
The present tenure of Institution of Eminence programme is likely to end by 31st March, 2025. There is visible improvement in the basic infrastructure of the University such as buildings, road networks, hostels, research labs of faculty members and the campus network facility. The average number of publications per faculty has increased from 1 per year to almost 3 per year. The number of quartile 1 publications is also increasing. More than 100 national and international conferences have been organized in the last two years, several of them under the aegis of Golden Jubilee year of UoH, all due to IoE.
It is also noteworthy that almost 100 non-NET PhD students are receiving the publication-based performance incentive, above 140 students have received the IoE student achievers award for being the topper in a semester and more than 350 research scholars and faculty members have received the travel grant to attend and present papers in conferences across the world. This has enhanced the visibility of the University globally and many internationally renowned institutions are interested in formal collaborations with our University. The construction of at least three buildings, the Interdisciplinary Research centre, HRDC building and the Guest House are expected to be completed by January 2025. The successful implementation of the IoE programme would not have been possible without the active support of the officers and administrative staff of the University who deserve an applause.
The University has made good progress on most of the metrics laid down by the Ministry while granting the IoE status but the real impact will be felt in the years to come.
Since its establishment in 2022, the Alumni Cell has been dedicated to fostering connections between alumni and their alma mater. This year, we are excited to organize an alumni meet and are also working to establish an Alumni Endowment Fund. Currently, our Alumni Portal boasts of approximately 8,500 verified members, many of whom are desirous of contributing back to the university, both financially and through other means.
Additionally, the Alumni Cell facilitated the Silver Jubilee reunion for the 1998-99 MTech (CSE) batch on August 10, 2024, held on the university premises. Looking ahead, we anticipate that the alumni community will increasingly become a significant support base for the university.
Our university campus is undergoing a transformative development phase, with state-of-the-art infrastructure and modern facilities being added to enhance the learning experience. I am listing a few development related activities:
Thirteen of the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) & Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) buildings have been completed and are in the process of being occupied. Seven IoE works are progressing well and by mid next year all the buildings will be operational which includes new Men’s and Women’s hostels. The Golden Threshold renovation will commence very soon.
A number of initiatives are also being taken in consultation with ASCI on issues such as Green Energy, Sewage Disposal and Ground Water Management. A number of repair and renovation works for various Schools, Hostels and Quarters are in progress & more are in the pipeline. Initiatives have been taken up in coordination with ASCI, GHMC, HMWS&SB, TSREDCO and NGOs such as WaterAid India in this direction.
Our institution which is multi-disciplinary in nature has a good placement record, with a high percentage of students securing decent jobs in top companies. The dedicated placement guidance advisory bureau (PGAB) ensures seamless connections between the students and industry leaders, fostering meaningful career opportunities. The institution’s strong industry ties have resulted in good placement outcomes. For the year 2023-24, 128 companies visited the campus and selected 345 students with packages up to a maximum of Rs:47.47 lakhs per annum. Let us thank PGAB for these excellent efforts.
The University has been conducting the Selection Committee meetings (s) continuously now for direct recruitment of faculty as well as promotion of teachers under the provisions of UGC-CAS during 2024. About 27 faculty candidates were appointed under Direct recruitment and 32 teachers were promoted to the next academic level under Career Advancement Scheme. For the recruitment of 52 administrative positions (Group A, B and C), a notification was issued and the recruitment process is expected to be completed soon.
In the month of February 2024, the first sub-committee of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language visited Hyderabad and inspected our university along with 11 other offices of Hyderabad. This committee reviews the progress made in the use of Hindi for the official purposes of the Union. It is noteworthy to mention here that the University of Hyderabad was the nodal institution to coordinate the entire process of inspection at Hyderabad. I am happy that our team did a great job with the assigned responsibility and the inspection went on well too.
Educational institutions play a vital role in shaping the future and driving the development of a nation and towards this our University has been making constant efforts in the areas of Knowledge and Skills; Human Capital Development, Research and Innovation, Social Mobility, Civic Engagement, Global Competitiveness, Addressing Societal Challenges and Fostering Critical Thinking. UoH has just adapted its FIRST POLICY ON SUBSTANCE ABUSE in the campus which comes into effect from today. As part of GoI INITIATIVE, we are going to celebrate EK PED MAA KE NAAM tomorrow in the campus.
Students, faculty, officers and administrative staff, Alumni; let us all join hands together to elevate our institution to unprecedented heights, making it not only the best in our country but also a global leader in education and innovation. While most of our struggles are individual-centric, ONLY our collective working brings us a lasting GLORY. Otherwise, even with progress here at UoH, our neighbours and competitors running faster than us will make us look sluggish! Please note. Thank you.
Warm greetings, once again, on this 78th Independence Day to everyone present here. JAI HIND & JAI BHARATH !