Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology

Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur

विश्वेश्वरय्या राष्ट्रीय प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान, नागपुर
Former names	Regional College of Engineering, Nagpur (REC) Visvesvaraya Regional College of Engineering, Nagpur (VRCE)
Motto	योगः कर्मसु कौशलम् Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam
Motto in English	Excellence in action is yoga.
Type	Public
Established	1960
Chairman	Mr. Vishram Jamdar
Dean	Dr. Rajendra Yerpude (Planning & Development), Dr. V.K.Deshpande (Academic), Dr. P.M.Padole (Faculty Welfare), Dr. Animesh Chatarjee (Research & Consultancy), Dr. V.B.Borgate (Students' Welfare)
Director	Dr. Narendra S. Chaudhari
Academic staff	250
Undergraduates	3,071
Postgraduates	681
Doctoral students	387
Location	Nagpur, Maharashtra, India 21°07′24″N 79°03′05″E / 21.12333°N 79.05139°E / 21.12333; 79.05139
Campus	Urban 215 acres (87 ha)[1]
Acronym	VNIT
Website	vnit.ac.in

Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur (abbreviated VNIT Nagpur), also referred to as NIT Nagpur, formerly Regional College of Engineering, Nagpur (REC) and Visvesvaraya Regional College of Engineering, Nagpur (VRCE), is a premier public engineering and research institution in India. It is located in Nagpur, Maharashtra, in central India.^[2] The institute has been consistently ranked among the best fifteen engineering colleges in India. It was established in June 1960 by the Government of India and later named in honor of engineer, planner and statesman, Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya.

VNIT Nagpur is centrally-funded and belongs to the National Institutes of Technology (NIT) system. In 2007, the institute was conferred the status of Institute of National Importance (INI) alongside other NITs and IITs by an Act of Parliament of India. The institute awards bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in engineering, technology and architecture.

History

The Government started fourteen Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs) between 1959 and 1965 at Allahabad, Bhopal, Calicut, Durgapur, Kurukshetra, Jamshedpur, Jaipur, Nagpur, Rourkela, Srinagar, Surathkal, Surat, Trichy and Warangal. The institute at Nagpur was established as the Regional College of Engineering, Nagpur in 1960, under an educational program of the Government of India. The State College of Engineering, established in 1956 in the same city, was then merged with the institute.

The first academic session at REC Nagpur started in June 1960, with classes temporarily being held at the Government Polytechnic, Nagpur. Subsequently, the Maharashtra Government granted 200 acres (81 ha) to the college for building its campus.

In 1962, the Board of Governors of the college resolved to name the college VRCE Nagpur after Sir Visvesvaraya.

In 2002, MHRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi decided to upgrade all RECs to "National Institutes of Technology" (NITs). The upgrade was designed along the lines of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). The central government controls NITs and provides all funding.

In 2002, the institute was made a National Institute of Technology under the NIT Act and renamed as VNIT Nagpur. In 2007 it was conferred the status of Institute of National Importance.

VNIT Nagpur faculty and staff mentored the newly established National Institute of Technology Mizoram during the academic year 2010-11. VNIT Nagpur is currently the mentor institute for the newly established Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Nagpur.^[3]

Indian Institute of Management Nagpur

Indian Institute of Management Nagpur will be temporarily located within the campus of VNIT Nagpur till it moves to its own campus of approx. 200 acres in about 9 years time.^[4][5]

Campus

The VNIT Nagpur campus is located in the western part of Nagpur city near Ambazari Lake, about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) from Nagpur Railway Station and 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur. There are three main entrances to the 225 acres (91 ha) campus: the Main Gate on South Ambazari Road, the Bajaj Nagar Gate and the Yashwant Nagar Gate.

Most students live on the campus, which has over 12 men's hostels and 2 women's hostels.^[6] On-campus housing for faculty is also available as an option. The campus is fully networked using fiber optic cables.

The campus health-care center caters to primary and urgent care requirements of students and staff.^[7] The campus has facilities for auditoriums, a computer center, sporting facilities, a State Bank of India branch, a Canara Bank branch, cafes, coffee shops, a co-operative store and a post office.

The campus has on display a Mikoyan MiG-27, a ground attack aircraft decommissioned from the Indian Air Force.

Chandrama is an on-campus all night canteen, open since 1978. The India Coffee House also operates a day canteen inside the campus.

The institute campus has been declared a green zone, which includes a ban on the usage of powered vehicles.

Administration

The NIT Council is the supreme governing body of India's National Institutes of Technology (NIT) system. VNIT Nagpur is a deemed university under the University Grants Commission (India). As an institute with university status, it operates with complete autonomy in financial, academic and administrative matters. The institute's Board of Governors governs the institute. The board has representatives from the Government of India, Government of Maharashtra, All India Council for Technical Education, University Grants Commission (India), the institute's faculty, and illustrious Indian scientists and technologists.

The Student Council, composed of selected student representatives, plays an active role in various student affairs such as academics, training & placement, technical affairs, sports and cultural activities.

Academics

Departments, Laboratories and Research Centers

VNIT Nagpur has various academic departments, with over 30 specialized laboratories and research centers.^[1]

Departments and Laboratories

• Applied Chemistry
• Applied Mathematics
• Applied Mechanics
• Applied Physics
• Applied Statistics
• Applied and Environmental Microbiology
• Architecture and Planning
• Biomechatronics
• Biomedical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Computer Science and Engineering
• Computational Physics
• Electrical and Electronics Engineering
• Electronics and Communication Engineering
• Geoscience and Technology
• Geobiology
• Humanities and Social Sciences
• Hydrologic Engineering
• Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
• Mining Engineering
• Urban Design & Planning

Centers^[8]

• Center of Excellence for Commbedded Systems
• Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing(CAD/CAM) Center
• Material Engineering Center
• Center for Remote Sensing
• Center for Water Resources
• Center for VLSI and Nanotechnology
• Incubation Center (CIVN: Center for Innovation)
• Computer Center
• Network Center
• Library and Information Center
• Students and Sports Activity Center

Programmes

Undergraduate programs are offered in Architecture (B.Arch) and 8 Engineering (B.Tech) disciplines:

• Chemical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Computer Science and Engineering
• Electrical and Electronics Engineering
• Electronics and Communications Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
• Mining Engineering

The Engineering undergraduate programs are usually of four-year duration, while Architecture has a five-year program. The institute accepts an incoming freshman class size of up to 798 students.^[9]

Graduate and research programs, leading to Master's (M.Arch and M.Tech) and Ph.D. degrees, are offered by the Architecture and all 8 Engineering departments. A range of special fields of study are available in graduate and research programs in each discipline. The institute will soon offer Aeronautical Engineering. Up to 350 students are admitted to the Master's program each year.^[10][11]

The institute uses relative grading on a 10-point scale.

Admissions

Till 2012-13, admission to the undergraduate courses (B.Tech) at NITs was through the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE), which according to the number of applicants was the largest single-day exam in the world. From the year 2013-14, admission to the undergraduate courses (B.Tech) is through the highly competitive Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Mains.^[9] The National Institutes of Technology (NITs) have one of the lowest acceptance rates for engineering institutes, of around 2 to 3 percent, second only to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in India.^[12][13]

From 2015, Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSSA) conducts common counselling and allocates seats jointly for all Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs). In 2015, over 1,300,000 candidates appeared for the JEE exam for admission to 28,000 undergraduate engineering seats (B.Tech) in 68 centrally-funded technical institutes that included all 19 IITs (10,000 seats), 31 NITs (15,500 seats) and 18 IIITs (2,500 seats).^[14][15][16]

For B.Tech at VNIT Nagpur in 2015, the acceptance rates were as following:^[17][18]

• Computer Science and Engineering: 0.33 percent
• Electronics and Communication Engineering: 0.58 percent
• Mechanical Engineering: 0.67 percent
• Electrical and Electronics Engineering: 0.82 percent
• Civil Engineering: 1.23 percent
• Chemical Engineering: 1.50 percent
• Metallurgical and Materials Engineering: 2.18 percent
• Mining Engineering: 2.61 percent

Undergraduate admissions for foreign students and NRIs are done through Direct Admission of Students Abroad (DASA) scheme which considers SAT scores.

80% of students to the postgraduate programs (M.Tech) are admitted based on performance in the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) conducted by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). These students receive stipends and tuition assistance from the institute and the Indian government. Another 20% of students are admitted based on industry or other research organization sponsorship, with full tuition typically paid by the sponsoring institution.^[10]

The institute invites applications for PhD degree admissions in all departments, every academic year.

Rankings

University and college rankings
Engineering – India
NIRF[19][20]	18
Business – India

VNIT Nagpur has been ranked the 14th best Engineering College in India in the Edu-Rand Rankings of 2015.^[21] The survey was done jointly by Edu, an Indian company and Rand Corporation, a non-profit American think-tank.^[22]

In 2015, VNIT Nagpur was also ranked 11th in India by Times^[23] in its Engineering Institute Rankings.

Recently, VNIT Nagpur has been ranked 18th nationally in the engineering schools ranking conducted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India, under the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIFR).^[24][25]

Academic Collaboration and Sponsored Research

VNIT Nagpur regularly hosts conferences, exhibitions and conducts workshops. The institute organized more than 60 conferences, short term training programs and workshops in the year 2015 in which distinguished personalities including Honorable Ex-President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam visited the institute.

The 18th National Seminar on Aerospace Structures (NASAS) was organized by VNIT Nagpur in association with Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC) Nagpur, Aeronautical Research and Development Board (AR & DB), Ministry of Defence, Government of India, New Delhi and Maintenance Command, Indian Air Force, Nagpur.^[26]

The institute has academic collaboration with the many universities in India and abroad. During the year 2015 alone, VNIT Nagpur signed 7 MoUs with International Universities and 21 MoUs with National Institutions, Laboratories and Industries.^[27][28] These collaborative programmes include student and faculty exchange, internships for students and joint research activities among others. Some of the major universities which have a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with VNIT Nagpur are:

• Indian Institute of Technology Bombay^[29]
• National Institute of Technology, Warangal^[30]
• National Institute of Technology Raipur^[31]
• National Institute of Technology, Uttarakhand^[32]
• College of Engineering, Pune^[29]
• Aichi Gakuin University, Japan^[33]
• ESIEE Paris, France^[34]
• Belarusian National Technical University, Belarus^[35]
• Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, Belarus^[35]
• New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA
• Beijing Normal University, China^[36]
• Hunan University, China^[36]
• Southwest University for Nationalities, China^[36]
• Jiangshu University, China^[36]
• ISAN Medical Institute, South Korea^[32]

VNIT Nagpur was one of 12 institutes selected by the MHRD, Government of India, for the BRICS Network University on behalf of India. The institute was identified for the knowledge field ‘Ecology and Climate Change’ and participated in the Indian delegation that attended the Conference of the BRICS held at Ekaterinburg, Russia. A special protocol to the MoU on the establishment of the BRICS Network University was signed by Dr Narendra Chaudhari, Director, VNIT Nagpur.^[37]

Departments of the institute are involved in various research projects funded by the Department of Science and Technology (India) and other public and private corporations. VNIT Nagpur has been granted World Bank assisted technical project for Applied Research in Combedded Systems with the status of Center of Excellence (CoE) under the Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme Phase-II (TEQIP-II).^[38] This program includes a grant of Rs. 5 crore. Such a center at VNIT Nagpur is one among six National Institutes of Technology centers which have got the status of Center of Excellence.

VNIT Nagpur has also partnered IIT Bombay and College of Engineering Pune in a R&D project in 'Biomedical Engineering and Technology Center Incubation' costing Rs. 39.4 crore.^[29]

The institute will soon have a state-of-the-art research laboratory for robotics on its premises as per a pact with Switzerland-based robotic technology bellwether, Asea Brown Boveri (ABB).^[39]

A team from the faculty of Applied Mechanics (structural dynamics and earthquake engineering) at the institute was asked by NGO SEEDS to visit Nepal in the aftermath of the earthquake in 2015 for providing technical support to them.^[40] The team from the department had earlier visited Gujarat when an earthquake struck the state in 2001 and Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 2004 when a tsunami struck there after a massive quake in Sumatra, Indonesia.^[40]

Nagpur Metro Rail Corporation Limited (NMRCL) has tied-up with VNIT Nagpur for testing facilities and inputs on the metro's structural drawings, inspection and testing of materials.^[41]

VNIT Nagpur has adopted nine villages in Amravati, Nagpur and Jalgaon districts under the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) aimed at bringing grass roots level changes in rural areas through technological interventions from academic and research institutes, without affecting the local culture.^[42]

The institute has an active Industry Institute Interaction Cell and International Affairs Cell.

Student life

Student Bodies and Committees

VNIT Nagpur offers students opportunities to pursue a range of interests. The National Cadet Corps and National Service Scheme are national organizations with active student participation.

The institute has a very vibrant campus life with as many as 30 clubs and student organizations. These clubs span and promote a variety of interests such as technical, cultural, literary, debating, quizzing, sports, social service etc. among the students. It hosts an active chapter of SPIC MACAY, which promotes classical Indian music, dance and culture. Hamsdhwani is a student Hindustani classical music group. A number of semi-professional rock bands and music groups form at VNIT Nagpur and perform at college events. Past popular bands have included Drakshya, Glasnost, Morphine, Rust, Saints of Metal and Vighn. Some student clubs and groups at the institute are:

• Hallabol – Dramatics Club
• Hamsdhwani – Hindustani classical music group
• SPIC-MACAY VNIT Chapter
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) VNIT Chapter
• Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (IICHE) Students Chapter
• SAE India VNIT Chapter
• The Institution of Engineers (India) VNIT Students Chapter
• Quiz Pro. Co. – Quizzing Club
• E-Cell – Entrepreneurship Cell
• Robobank – Robotics Club
• Lynx – Adventure Club
• Prayaas – Social Awareness group
• Octaves – Music Club
• Agon – Debate Club
• Club Capture – Photography Club
• Programming Club
• Astronomy Club
• Alumni Club
• Mag.com – Literary Club
• Grooves – Dance Club
• LoveForPhysics – Physics Club

Festivities

The student clubs host a number of annual fests or events, inviting participants from colleges across the nation. These fests include:

• Axis, a science and technology fest
• Aarohi, a music and cultural festival
• consortium, entreprenuerfest

Sports

A gymnasium and various sports facilities for cricket, lawn tennis, football, basketball, volleyball, athletics are available on the campus. An Indoor Games Complex has been built for indoor sports such as badminton, table-tennis among others. College teams also participate in regional championships and the Inter-NIT Sports Tournament. The 8 engineering departments and the architecture department compete in a number of sports during Institute Gathering, which is an annual week-long event organized in January–February.

Halls of residence

The institute has 12 halls of residence for men and 2 for women. Staff residences for teaching and non-teaching staff members are also available.

Alumni

VNIT Nagpur has a strong alumni network referred as VNITAA.^[43] Over the years, alumni of VNIT Nagpur have taken up strategic positions in organisations around the world. Alumni include prominent academics and business executives. The institute has an active alumni network, with chapters across India, in the United States and in Europe.^[44]

The Alumni Cell at VNIT Nagpur manages interactions with the alumni network and keeps them involved in important events at the institute.

Notable alumni

Alumni occupy a number of senior executive positions in India and abroad. Some notable alumni of the institute include:^[45]

Public and defence services

• Hemant Karkare, Late Chief of Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad
• Neelam Saxena Chandra, Joint Secretary Union Public Service Commission
• Jeetendra Singh, Director (Infrastructure), Planning Commission (India)^[46]
• Sanjay Joshi, National political leader from Bharatiya Janata Party , Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Pracharak and Hindu Fundamentalist

Business and corporate

• Dr. Dinesh Keskar, President, Boeing India
• Harsh Vardhan, Head of Financial Services, Bain & Company India,^[47] Partner and Director, Boston Consulting Group, USA
• Prateek Makheja, JEE Mains & Advanced Chemistry Professor, Imperial Coaching Centre, Nagpur.^[48]
• Arjun Cholkar, Director of Engineering, Yahoo!, USA^[49]
• Rajesh Kalra, MD, WS Atkins, USA^[50]
• Nitin Bawankule, Industry Director, E-commerce and Online Classifieds, Google India^[51]
• Upendra Mardikar, Director of Security Architecture, PayPal, USA^[52]
• Gautam Malik, Chief Financial Officer, Xerox Canada^[53]
• Sharad Aggarwal, Vice President, Godfrey Phillips India^[54]
• Vinita Gongade,Vice President, Oracle America, USA^[55]
• Vidyut Arte, MD, Beam Suntory India^[56]
• Raju Shukla, MD, Barclays Capital, Singapore; Director, Deutsche Bank^[57][58]
• Sujit Jain, Regional President, Robert Bosch LLC, North America^[59]
• Dr.Y. Manohar, Director of HR, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam^[60]
• Ravi Ramaswamy, Sr. Director & Head Healthcare, Philips Innovation Campus^[61]
• Jayarama Chalasani, MD and Group CEO, Punj Lloyd^[62]
• Prakash M Telang, Director, Tata Advanced Systems Limited^[63][64]
• M.S Unnikrishnan, MD & CEO, Thermax India Private Limited^[65]
• Kamal Kishore Sarda, Chairman & Managing Director, Sarda Energy & Minerals Limited^[66]
• Manoj Saraf, Managing Director, Ferro Alloys Corporation^[67]
• Suhas Baxi, Managing Director- South Asia, Konecranes; President and CEO Pennar Industries Ltd, MD & CEO, Demag Cranes India^[68]
• Kamesh Gupta, COO, Tata Industrial Services Limited^[69]
• Ranjeet Kate, Director-Times Language Business, The Times Group^[70]
• Piyush Chourasia, Chief Risk Officer & Strategy, Indian Clearing Corporation Limited (Group Company of Bombay Stock Exchange)^[71]
• Rajendra Ganatra, MD & CEO, India SME Asset Reconstruction Company Limited^[72]
• Tarang Puranik, Chief Operating Officer, Infosys Lodestone^[73]
• Nitin Kulkarni, Chief Operating Officer & Executive Director, Persistent Systems^[74]
• Rajdeep Endow, Managing Director, SapientNitro India^[75]
• Vasudevan Ramaswami, Chief Executive, L&T Housing Finance Limited^[76]
• Amit Chatterjee, Country Director, HP Software Division India^[77]
• Pankaj Kulshreshtha, CEO, Scienaptic. Former SVP, Analytics and Research Genpact, USA^[78]

Entrepreneurs

• Pradeep Kar, Chairman and founder, Microland
• Shashikant Chaudhary, MD, GlobalLogic India, CEO, President and Co-founder, Lambent Technologies Private Limited.^[79]
• Prakash Gurbaxani, Founder and CEO, QVC Realty Co. Limited, Micromedia, 24/7customer.com. Ex-CEO, TSI Ventures, Minacs^[80]
• Shashank Garg, Co-Founder, President, InfoCepts.^[81]
• Shyam Menon, Co-Founder and Investment Director, Infuse Ventures.^[82]
• Pankaj Poddar, Co-Founder, Dwll.in^[83]
• Sreenivas Karanam, Founder & CEO, Cooltok^[84]
• Sridhar Krishnan, Founder, Encover, USA^[85]
• Ankur Panchbudhe, Co-founder and CTO, Vaultize^[86]

Researchers and academics

• Dr. Vijay P. Bhatkar, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awardee, scientist, Founding Director of Centre for Development of Advanced Computing^[87]
• Samir Barua, Director, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
• Dr. Mano Thubrikar, Distinguished Professor & Inventor, Thubrikar Aortic Valve, Inc.^[88]
• Dr. B.S. Murty, Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Madras (Recipient of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize)^[89]
• Ramesh Jain, Bren Professor of Information & Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine^[90]
• Dr. Nemkumar Banthia, Canada Research Chair the University of British Columbia^[91]
• Indrani Medhi, Researcher in the Technology for Emerging Markets Group, Microsoft Research.^[92]
• Shankar Ganesan, John Cardinal O'Hara, C.S.C. Professor of Business, Department of Marketing, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame^[93]
• Dr. N.V. Deshpande, Director, National Institute of Technology, Silchar^[94]
• Dr. H.T. Thorat, Director, National Institute of Technology Uttarakhand^[95]
• Dr. O. G. Kakde, Director, Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute^[96]
• Prof. S M Deshpande, Distinguished Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research.^[97]
• Dr. K Bhanu Sankara Rao, Former Dean, SEST, University of Hyderabad. Presently, Steel Ministry Chair Professor, Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Technology ^[98][99]

Arts and design

• Neelam Saxena Chandra, writer, novelist, poet
• Satyendra Pakhale, industrial designer
• Arati Kadav, Filmmaker & Founder of Tangelo Production Private Limited^[100]

References

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