MAKAUT comes up with its 3rd campus in Darjeeling

Kolkata: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (MAKAUT) is coming up with its third campus in Darjeeling with a focus on employable courses.

The state Higher Education department has already written to the District Magistrate of Darjeeling for earmarking a 7 acre land in the Hills in which MAKAUT, formerly known as West Bengal University of Technology, plans to set up its new campus.

"We have already made a detailed planning of what we actually want to do in the new campus and have submitted a proposal to the Higher Education department. We will be introducing courses based on the employability in the Hills so that students get jobs after completion of the courses," Saikat Maitra, Vice-Chancellor of MAKAUT, said.

Presently, Makaut has two campuses — one at Salt Lake and another at Haringhata in Nadia district. The technology university presently has around 90 engineering colleges and 110 professional colleges across the state affiliated to it.

A senior academic official of the university said courses on media science, hospitality management, travel and tourism with focus on the tea industry, food processing and its packaging are on the radar. "Landslides are quite common in the Hills and so courses on disaster management are also in our plan," the official added.

The proposed new campus will have facilities for small business clusters, training facilities and state-of-the-art infrastructural facilities.

"The scenic beauty of the Hills has always encouraged filmmakers from both Hollywood and Tollywood. So, Darjeeling has enormous potential to be developed as a film hub. If we can churn in professionals of media science, the idea can well be a reality," the official maintained.

"We are constantly upgrading our existing curriculum according to the demands of the industry to ensure employability for the students. All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has urged all universities across the country to frame its curriculum in a manner so that it keeps pace with the changing times and we are leaving no stones unturned. More than 20 new courses have been introduced from this academic year," Maitra said.

The new professional courses have been designed in consultation with the Chambers of Commerce based nationally as well as at the state level.