VIT ups its game

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VIT ups its game

Thursday, 05 December 2019 | Dr Govindasamy Viswanathan

VIT ups its game

A former parliamentarian, lawyer, founder and chancellor of VIT, Dr Govindasamy Viswanathan, says that for the eighth time, the university has entered the Limca Book of Records in its 2019 edition for campus placements

How would you describe your journey till now as a former politician, lawyer and chancellor of VIT?

It has been quite a journey. I came to Delhi as a Tamilian and became an Indian. My early education was confined to a small village in Tamil Nadu. I was good in academics right from my childhood. I completed Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School in 2003. I did my Bachelors and Masters in Economics from the prestigious Loyola College, Chennai. I entered into politics in my twenties. I fought for people’s issues in the parliament and they, in turn, reposed faith in me for fulfilling their expectations. They re-elected me by a bigger margin in the next election for another five-year term. I travelled to different parts of the world as a member of parliamentary delegations and appreciated issues in a global perspective. Then I was elected to Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly for 10 years. During this period, I served as a Minister for two years. I founded the Vellore Engineering College in 1984. I envisioned that this Institution would offer world-class education to students who would in turn create an indelible impact on the society. The engineering college that started with an intake of 180 students in 1984, evolved as a university in 2001.

What all major changes have been incorporated since the university started?

Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) was established with the aim of providing quality higher education on par with international standards. It persistently seeks and adopts innovative methods to improve the quality of higher education on a consistent basis. The Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with various international universities are our major strength. They provide for an exchange of students and faculty and encourage joint research projects for the mutual benefit of these universities. Many of the students, who pursue their research projects in foreign universities, bring high quality to their work and esteem to India. We have added another feather to the cap by securing the first rank among private institutions in the country in the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA 2019) awarded by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India.

Due to my passion for societal development and compassion for the underprivileged, we have launched several schemes for uplifting the women and unemployed youth in the region to help them become self-reliant. We have offered scholarships to students from disadvantaged sections of the society to enable them to pursue higher education. We have even established the Universal Higher Education Trust to create opportunities for higher education to every deserving student in the region. We have adopted several villages with the motto of improving the quality of lives of the rural people. I have a vision of transforming Vellore into a greener and cooler town by planting one million saplings.

We have also introduced the fully flexible credit system, where the students are allowed to choose their favorite subject, professor, timing and building, too. We have given them complete flexibility. Indirectly, it builds pressure on the professor also. If he’s not good, the student will not choose him. Only in the 1st semester, they are not allowed because I feel they are not that capable to select as per their preferences as they are fresh from schools.

How effective are the placements in VIT?

For the 8th time VIT has entered the Limca Book of Records in its 2019 edition for campus placements. Earlier, VIT has entered into the Limca Book of records in 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015 (two records), in 2016 for the highest number of IT services placements and in 2017 for the highest number of dream offers.

The PAT centre plays an integral role in creating the placement record of VIT. It ensures smooth functioning of the placement activities in the campus. The centre further facilitates training activities of the students and makes sure they get placed in the best of both national and international companies. In 2018-19 alone, PAT has brought more than 600 companies on campus for placements. Last year, the highest offer made was `39 lakh per year by Microsoft. Over the years, many reputed companies such as Intel, Ebay, Amazon, Dell, GE, Texas Instruments, Schneider Electric, DE Shaw & Co, Hitachi, HP, PayPal, Tata Motors, L&T, Dr Reddy’s, Bosch, Deloitte, Morgan Stanley, Qualcomm, Ashok Leyland, Honda, Ford, Global Analytics, TCS, Cognizant, Accenture, Wipro and InfoSys have participated in hiring from VIT.

Wipro Technologies (Wipro Turbo) made job offers to 238 students with a CTC (cost to company) of `6 lakh per annum from the 2019 graduating batch of VIT. This is the highest number of dream offers given by the company to the students from a single institution. Apart from Wipro the following MNC’s have given highest offers from a single Institution (VIT). Deloitte — 191 offers, Bank of America — 108 offers and Intel — 147 offers.

Photo: Ranjan Dimri

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