March 7: The Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, will offer its expertise to Cotton College to execute the campus-networking project of the college.

Under the project, the IIT will help Cotton College connect all its departments, hostels, administrative and examination branches with round-the-clock Internet facility. Hi-powered broadband service will be installed in the college for this purpose.

Cotton College principal Indra Kumar Bhattacharyya said though the college has received substantial amount of funds under the 12th Finance Commission for introducing campus networking, it does not have the adequate expertise to implement the project.

“Since the IIT has already implemented the project on its campus, we have approached it for help. Gautom Barua, director of IIT Guwahati, has been very positive and assured us help. Collaboration with the IIT will help us execute the project effectively,” Bhattacharyya said. The project, work on which will start soon, is expected to be complete by this year-end. Once the project is complete, Cotton College will become the only non-technical institution in the region to have a campus-networking system.

Samiran Baishya, general secretary of the Cotton College Union Society, said work pressure of the college will enhance manifold soon after the college is granted the deemed university status and the campus networking will, therefore, be very helpful.

Scholarship, fees, salary disbursement and examination branches have already been computerised and a majority of the college staff are executing their daily activities at the click of a mouse. Grade III and IV employees have also received basic training in computers.

Cotton College is the only college in the Northeast that offers postgraduate courses. The college has over 5,000 students and 244 faculty members in its rolls.