Institution Profile

MVJ College of Engineering, Bangalore

Currently celebrating its silver jubilee, MVJCE which is set in a sprawling state-of-the-art 15-acre campus, has established itself as one of Karnataka’s top-ten engineering colleges

Equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure and a consistently good academic record, the low-profile MVJ College of Engineering, Bangalore (MVJCE) has commenced a year-long silver jubilee (25 years) celebration programme. On the agenda are inter-faculty and inter-college cultural festivals, national level engineering seminars, blood donation camps, quiz and elocution contests.

"MVJCE is ranked among the top ten of Karnataka’s 120 engineering colleges. Invariably our annual intake of 700 students is filled within the first round of CET counselling and our management quota of 108 seats attracts over 500 applications. Moreover we have students from eight Afro-Asian countries enrolled with us. Over two-thirds of our students receive appointment letters before they graduate," says M.J. Ramani, president of the Venkatesha Education Society (VES) registered in 1982 by the late Dr. M.V. Jayaraman — teacher, scholar and visionary. Since then over the past two decades, VES has promoted 11 tertiary education institutions with an aggregate enrollment of over 5,060 students instructed by 210 faculty. In 2003 MVJCE — the flagship institution of VES — received ISO 9001-2000 certification from TUV Rheinland (Germany) for its high quality best practices.

Strategically located in Bangalore’s IT Corridor, contiguous to the International Tech Park, MVJCE is set in a sprawling 15-acre landscaped campus with over 3.5 lakh sq. ft of building space. The college inducts 750 students (including 36 postgraduates) every year and has an aggregate enrollment of 3,000 students instructed by a team of 210 experienced faculty including 13 Ph Ds and 24 M. Phil degree holders. MVJCE offers its 3,000 students a choice of 11 traditional and emerging engineering disciplines and postgraduate management programmes. Barring medical electronics, biotechnology and information science, which have been introduced recently, all other undergrad programmes are accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) of the Delhi-based All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE).

Like all engineering colleges in Karnataka, MVJCE is affiliated to the Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum and has consistently recorded 96-100 pass percentages in examinations conducted by VTU. Certainly, a tour of the college campus indicates that the management has spared no effort to provide a thoroughly modern infrastructure for its students. Each of the 13 departments in the college is equipped with a specialist compact library, six fully wired classrooms with overhead projection systems, a 20-seat computer lab, a seminar hall, and two laboratories. Common facilities include a 120-system internet centre, cafeteria, separate men and women hostels within the campus, a bookstore and health clinic.

Moreover MVJCE’s spacious Central Library spanning a floor area of 21,000 sq. ft houses nearly 40,000 books and subscribes to 300 national and international journals. "We believe that supplementary reading is very important. Our library is used by 800-900 students daily and has an annual budget of Rs.100,000. We have also signed up with the Developing Library Network (Delnet) of AICTE which allows our students and faculty to access knowledge resources available in several online libraries in the country," says Dr. R.M.O. Gemson, head of the aeronautics engineering faculty.

Sustained investment in carefully hand-picked faculty — the college boasts 13 Ph Ds and 24 faculty reading for doctorates — and enabling infrastructure has resulted in the college’s enviable industry placement record. The placement division with its ultra-modern facilities including a sound-proof conference room, two spacious group discussion and three interview rooms as well as a 150-seater seminar hall equipped with an LCD projector, modern public address system, etc is a popular annual meeting point of HRD managers of blue-chip companies such as ICICI, Wipro, Infosys, Accenture among others during the placement season. "All graduates who don’t opt for higher study or join family businesses receive job offers at average start-up salaries of Rs.2.5 lakh per annum," says Gemson.

On the co-curricular activities front, MVJCE enjoys a sound reputation for sports excellence. The college’s 15-acre campus boasts sprawling cricket and football grounds and tennis, badminton, volleyball and basketball courts. The annual MVJ Memorial Cricket Tournament is rated among Karnataka’s most prestigious inter-collegiate events. Moreover in athletics, MVJCE has consistently produced the top five medal winners in the annual VTU sports meets.

Twenty-five years on, the MVJCE management has ambitious plans on the anvil for expansion. They include a massive infrastructure upgradation programme, signing of academic and research agreements with foreign universities, and introduction of new study programmes. "Our first priority is to upgrade the campus infrastructure with a 1,200-seater auditorium with contemporary acoustics to conduct conferences and functions. Moreover we plan to introduce two new study programmes at the undergrad level in the next two years," says Gemson.

Madhurima Duttagupta (Bangalore)

University of Greenwich, UK

Conferred university status in 1992 — it was previously Thames Polytechnic (estb. 1890) — Greenwich has a rich history of academic innovations

Spread across three campuses in south-east London and Kent county, the University of Greenwich (estb. 1890) enjoys a well-deserved reputation for excellence in teaching and research. Recently it was awarded two successive (2002-03) research-based Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for Higher & Further Education, and generates £17.5 million (Rs.152 crore) in research and consultancy income annually.

Greenwich offers its 20,000 undergrad and postgraduate students a wide range of programmes across ten academic schools. In particular its business school, School of Education and Training, and School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences have excellent reputations within British academia. Moreover in 2005 it was ranked 16th (out of 86) for media studies in The Guardian’s rating of top British varsities.

"Many of the programmes are work-related with a strong professional and vocational focus. We have strong links with employers in the region and offer support in finding placements and part-time work to students as well as good career opportunities after graduation," says Tessa Blackstone, vice-chancellor of the University of Greenwich.

Conferred university status in 1992 — it was previously Thames Polytechnic (estb.1890) — this institution has a history of academic innovations. Thames Polytechnic pioneered the country’s first part-time, day-release and sandwich courses.

Greenwich. Part of the south-eastern urban sprawl of London, Greenwich is a bustling suburb on the south bank of the river Thames. The London borough of Greenwich is steeped in history. East meets West on the Meridian Line, which divides the hemispheres and marks longitude zero. The line runs through the courtyard of the 17th century Royal Greenwich Observatory and marks the spot from which Greenwich Mean Time is calculated. The observatory is situated in Greenwich Park, which used to be the grounds of the Royal Palace of Placentia. At the bottom of the park is the National Maritime Museum which also includes the Queen’s House. Greenwich has excellent pubs and restaurants, plus a cinema and theatre with a broad repertoire. The numerous attractions of central London are a short train/ bus ride from the university’s Greenwich Maritime campus.

Campus facilities. Greenwich University is spread across three campuses: Avery Hill in the south-east London district of Eltham, Maritime Greenwich, and Medway, in Chatham, Kent. The 86-acre Avery Hill campus (25 minutes by train from central London), which houses the schools of education and training, architecture and construction, health and social care, combines the style and grace of Victorian architecture with contemporary teaching, residential and sports facilities. The library is situated in a former ballroom and boasts an extensive collection of books, periodicals and CD-roms.

The Student Village which provides housing to more than 1,300 students has a shop, launderette, parking and excellent sporting amenities, with tennis courts, a cricket square, rugby and football pitches. Additionally sports facilities are offered by the Sparrows Farm Sports and Leisure Centre, which houses a fitness suite, sauna and solarium.

The university’s largest campus — Maritime Greenwich — is situated on the banks of the Thames on the grounds of the old Royal Naval College, designed as a naval hospital in the 17th century by renowned architect Sir Christopher Wren. Home to the schools of business, humanities, education and training and the Greenwich Maritime Institute, the campus offers state-of-the-art lecture theatres, a 100-bed conference centre, student cafes and halls of residence. The Dreadnought Library has an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as language laboratories, a 200-PC computing facility and a bookshop.

The Edwardian redbrick, ivy-clad Medway campus in Kent — dating from 1903 — has benefited from a £20 million (Rs.174 crore) capital investment since 1986. The centerpiece of this develop-ment is the magnificent Drill Hall library, converted from a naval drill hall, offering 100,000 sq. ft of floor space. The Drill Hall library is supplemented by a new research block, the Wolfson Centre, additional laboratory facilities and a Centre for Sports and Exercise Science. The Medway campus comprises Greenwich’s schools of pharmacy, science, nursing, engineering and natural resources institute.

Admission. Admission applications for bachelor’s degree programmes at Greenwich University have to be made through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). The minimum eligibility criterion is successful completion of Plus Two/ class XII (average 60 percent plus). Moreover applicants are obliged to write the TOEFL (minimum score of 80) or IELTS (6.0) examination. Students can obtain a UCAS form from their local British Council office or UCAS, Rosehill, New Barn Lane, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL52 3LZ, United Kingdom (e-mail: enq@ucas.com; website: www.ucas.com). Students can apply to a maximum of six institutions and/ or courses through UCAS. The institution code for Greenwich University is G70. Applications for postgraduate degree programmes have to be made directly to the university.

For further information write to the International Office, University of Greenwich, Old Royal Naval College, Park Row, Greenwich, London SE10 9LS. Tel: 044 20 8331 8242; e-mail: intoffice@greenwich.ac.uk/ international@gre.ac.uk; website: www.greenwich.ac.uk.

Accommodation. The University of Greenwich guarantees residential accommodation to all first year international students on its three campuses. The Avery hill campus offers more than 1,300 bedrooms in self-catering flats and maisonettes. Housing at Maritime Greenwich comprises residence halls offering single study bedrooms in self-catering flats, while the Medway campus offers 204 single study bedrooms. Facilities include communal lounge/ kitchen/ dining rooms and launderettes.

Degree programmes. Greenwich offers a wide range of bachelors, combined honours and Master’s programmes across 11 academic disciplines (see box).

Summiya Yasmeen