Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved a proposed master plan for the development of the Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology in Sambalpur as a centre of excellence.
The VSSUT in western Odisha will be developed as a multidisciplinary engineering and research university by 2030. It will be at par with the country’s premier engineering institutes like the Indian Institutes of technology and the national institutes of technology.
Around Rs 2,000 crore will be spent in three phases. Arrangements will be made for 10,864 students to study in 24 undergraduate departments by 2026. Currently, 2,849 students are studying in various courses, according to the Chief Minister’s Office.
The master plan states that the oldest state-run engineering institution will have seven schools in engineering, skill development centre, medical technology and basic science. Twenty-four engineering programmes, over 14 departments and more than 27 centres of excellence will be established in these.
Arrangements will be made for students to study in the institution. Each school will have classrooms, laboratories, professors’ chambers and galleries. State-of-the-art research centres and laboratory facilities will be available in all schools, a release stated.
Each centre of excellence will be partnered with the industry and at least one former student will take over as mentor. These can act as state-of-the-art research and consultancy centres for industries, besides being a nodal centre for rural and urban development.
In a meeting, Patnaik directed completion of the construction of all smart classrooms within three months. The hostel and other repairs will be completed immediately and the institution will be provided with 24-hour power supply.
On August 25, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra had visited the institute and made the announcement to upgrade it into a centre of excellence for technical education.
Established in 1956, the institute was known as the University College of Engineering earlier. The unitary university was named after freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai in 2009. Situated at the foothills of the Hirakud Dam, the VSSUT is spread across nearly 300 acres of land.
PTI
