Bhubaneswar: The state higher education department will offer a course on the challenges of urbanisation with special reference to the Smart Cities Mission in the universities here.

The department has asked the housing and urban development department to provide suggestions and inputs on materials on the said subjects, which will remain fit for studies by the students.

"The housing and urban development department is requested to offer their suggestions on the academic points, which could be incorporated in the course design, so that points of concern to the necessary inter-disciplinary framework could be addressed," reads the letter.

A senior official of the higher education department told The Telegraph that urbanization is the current trend in the country, which will have a great job opportunity in the future. "We want to keep our students go hand in hand with the latest trend and smart city is one of them now," he said.

Sources said that in the first phase, the course would be offered to postgraduate students in the state universities, while later, the same would be extended to other colleges and academic institutions. "After the inputs from the housing and urban development department, the course will be designed and offered," he said.

A housing and urban development department official said the smart city was a concept beyond the level of understanding for many people. "There is a certain process for executing the projects under the smart city mission. It has an array of contents, which need to be understood only through rigorous studies," he said.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said: "Smart city and modern urbanisation are the future. There will be a need of more experts in this particular field, and our students should maintain the tempo with the latest trend."

A private college principal, Basant Sahoo, said such a course would be one of its kind at the degree level. "As of now, only the specialised streams are offering such courses, but there is nothing related to the concept of smart city. It should be incorporated prominently in the courses," said Sahoo.