Dr.Gangan Prathap,
Vice-Chancellor of Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat),
believes that the university is one of the finest research
universities in Kerala capable of earning a place among the top 10
institutions in the country. The immediate challenge will be to
negotiate the transition from CUSAT, a state university, to the IIEST
(Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology) Status. A
renowned scientist with an excellent academic background, Dr. Prathap
wants to develop the university as one of the best Science
&Technology institutes in the country and also wants it to earn
international reputation in the years to come.
He did his
B.Tech.(Aero. Engg.)at IIT Madras, 1974 and holds the first rank in
Ph.D.(Aero. Engg.)from IIT Madras, 1978. He is a researcher who has
bagged the President of India Prize for the 1st rank in BTech Degree
Course, IIT Madras, 1969-1974 and the S S Bhatnagar Prize in Science
and Technology, 1990 . He has gone on deputations to various countries
such as Germany, China, USA, USSR, S. Korea, France, Austria and S.
Africa. He has authored a book titled “Finite Element method in
Structural Mechanics.”
In an
interview to Sreeni K.R , Dr. Prathap shares his views on a wide range
of issues such as conversion of Cusat into Indian Institute of
Engineering, Science and Technology (IIEST), the challenges in front
and the methods by which he expects the university to earn a place
among the top 10 institutions in the country.
When did you take charge as the Vice-Chancellor of the Cochin University of Science and Technology?
I took charge on February 4th , 2008 as the Vice-Chancellor of the Cochin University of Science and Technology.
What are the challenges in front of you?
CUSAT
is arguably the finest research university in Kerala. There are reasons
to believe that even otherwise, it is one of the better managed, if not
the best, universities in this part of the country. One could easily
rest on these laurels, or one could aim for higher things. It will be
our aim to try to become one of the best S&T institutes in the
country.
An immediate challenge will be to negotiate the
transition from CUSAT, a state university, to the IIEST (Indian
Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology) at Kochi, an
institute of national importance to be funded by the Ministry of Human
Resources Development (MHRD). As you know, the State Government has
already given its assent to the transfer of all assets and liabilities
of CUSAT to the Central Government. The Central Government must now
take up the process of enacting an Act of Parliament to make CUSAT an
Institute of national importance, under the name, IIEST. The other
University for the same transformation is the Bengal Engineering and
Science University, which will also be renamed, and promoted as an
IIEST.
Since a long
time Kerala has been demanding IIT status to the Cochin University of
Science and Technology. What are the hurdles you find for not giving
the status of IIT?
Too much importance is
perhaps attached to the brand name that the IITs already have. This is
due mainly to the huge investments that have been made for the IITs
over nearly half a century. If CUSAT can be assured the right quantum
of funding (as of now, the IITs get much more than the NITs, and
CUSAT’s current budget is like that of the NITs, i.e. about Rs. 3 lakhs
per student per year), we can easily build up a very congenial
atmosphere for study and research, and that will attract the best
faculty and students. This would mean that CUSAT should be given about
Rs. 150 crores a year, and with this, it should be able to easily
re-invent itself. I do not see any hurdles that are insurmountable.
What are the changes you want to make in the existing system?
There will inevitably
be some changes, especially in the administrative set-up of the
university once it becomes an IIEST. Its administrative structure will
be like that in the IITs. The NITs, after upgradation, are also
structured like the IITs now. There may be minor differences, but these
are not important. It is expected that under this new arrangement,
there will be more autonomy in functioning.
I also anticipate that
the structures for governance, management and leadership of the
institute will be simplified and will be conducive to building up a
world-class institute of higher learning. I also expect that better
facilities (e.g. lecture halls, residential accommodation, etc.) and
resources (scholarships, fellowships, library facilities, etc.) will
become available.
I do not expect CUSAT to grow suddenly in
response to these inputs in such a short time-frame. Note that the IITs
have had this order of funding (in current rupees, about Rs. 100-150
cr. a year) for 50-60 years now, and have built up their infrastructure
accordingly. It is unlikely that an injection of this order of funding
for 5 years can bring CUSAT magically up to the IIT class. However, in
spite of its constraints, CUSAT has done well. It is arguably the best
research university in Kerala and one of the top 20 in India, with a
budget that has remained about one-fifth of that of the IITs. I expect
that changes will take place in the right direction, and that in about
twenty years, it will try to be in the top ten.
Which are the new courses going to be introduced in the year 2008-09?
None, immediately. I
want to take stock of the situation and build up facilities and
resources for the existing programmes so that they will attract the
best students and faculty. This is not yet the case for most of the
courses at CUSAT, and this task will be given priority.
The
Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) has to scale up its
size if it has to make a mark and break into the top 500 universities
in the world. In which way do you think it will be possible?
Most of the leading
unitary universities in the world are much larger, typically having
about 10,000 – 20,000 students and about 2000-4000 faculty. This is the
critical mass needed to start the chain reaction that leads to
excellence of the highest order in teaching and research. CUSAT must
take the steps to grow in size, without diluting its quality of work
and output. This is not easy, and can be achieved only by organic and
disciplined growth. Excellence cannot be transplanted or grafted in a
simple way.
How do you feel as the eleventh Vice-Chancellor of the Cochin University of Science and Technology?
I feel honoured to be
the eleventh VC of CUSAT. It is a proud honour to be given this
responsibility, and a challenging task to undertake. I hope to give my
best. Given the constraints and bottlenecks, CUSAT has done well so
far. However, this level of excellence is confined to small islands
within the campus and the challenge will be to get more groups into
this class of work, apart from enlarging the groups that are already in
this class.
From your
personal diary, you have published many works. What does"The Finite
Element Method in Structural Mechanics" talk about?
True, I have written
about 300 papers and technical reports, of which nearly a hundred have
come out in leading referred international journals. I had made
original contributions in a very specialized area of research
(computational structural mechanics) and when I got an offer from a
leading international publisher (Kluwer of Dordrect, Holland) to write
an advanced monograph, I seized the offer – that is how this book came
to see the light of day. Since then, I wrote a shorter book on related
topics which is available on-line.
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Interview with Dr.Gangan Prathap, Vice-Chancellor of Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat)