A platform of former Jadavpur University students based in California has decided to provide funds for the chair of a professor of practice — a new position approved by the UGC — to bring real-world experience into the classroom.
At JU, the position will be for the mechanical engineering department.
New position
The UGC has designed the post to enable an institute to tailor its course and curriculum to the industry’s demands, the president of the platform, Ranjit Chakravorty, said.
Debashis Bhattacharjee, who graduated from JU’s metallurgical engineering department in 1986 and is a fellow of the Royal Society of England, has met the JU pro-vice-chancellor and expressed interest in the position.
Formerly with Tata Steel, Bhattacharjee is now a professor of practice (PoP) at IIT Madras.
“A PoP could be pivotal in securing a fresh corporate social responsibility (CSR) contract. Once a CSR-funded work is completed successfully, it opens up immediate future possibilities,” said Chakravorty.
“We at GJUAF (Global Jadavpur University Alumni Foundation) are considering $30,000 (₹25 lakh) for this professor of practice programme...,” he added.
JU pro-vice chancellor Amitabha Datta, who heads the university’s alumni cell, said: “We are holding discussions with the foundation about this.”
Industry-academic link
During the first JU alumni meet held in January, experts suggested that the university needed to improve its industry-academic bond.
A JU official said that the university had a wide alumni pool and that needs to be tapped effectively.
“The IITs have been doing this for a long time. JU must adopt this approach. This will improve the infrastructure and placement scenario,” the official said.
Certificate course
The alumni foundation has also decided to fund a certificate course on zero liquid discharge (ZLD), a pioneering initiative to address the critical challenge of industrial wastewater management through advanced and sustainable solutions.
GJUAF has received a donation of $54,000 (₹47.9 lakh) from California-based chemical engineering (1967 batch) alumnus Debasish Mukhopadhyay to fund this initiative.
This eight-month full-time programme will include three months of classroom learning, four months of industry exposure and one month for report preparation.
Each student will receive a monthly internship stipend of ₹8,000 during the course.
The course has been developed collaboratively by the foundation and the faculties of interdisciplinary studies, law and management at JU.