Kuvempu University

Kuvempu University
Former names
 Sahyadri University
Motto ಬೋಧನೆ ಮೂಲಕ ಕ್ರಿಯಾಶೀಲತೆಯ ಪೋಷಣೆ
Motto in English
 "Foster Creativity in Teaching"
Type Public
Established 1987 (1987)
Chancellor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala
Governor of Karnataka
Vice-Chancellor Prof. Jogan Shankar
Students 9,386[1]
Undergraduates 5,831[1]
Postgraduates 3,308[1]
238
Other students
 12
Location Shimoga, Karnataka, India
Coordinates: 13°55′0.12″N 75°34′0.12″E / 13.9167000°N 75.5667000°E / 13.9167000; 75.5667000
Campus Rural
230 acres (93 ha) (Main campus)
Sports Football, cricket, basketball, hockey, tennis, swimming, etc.
Affiliations UGC, NAAC, AIU
Website www.kuvempu.ac.in

Kuvempu University is a public state university located in Shimoga, Karnataka, India. It was established in 1987 by the act of the Karnataka state legislature through an amendment No.28/1976 dated 29 January 1989 under the Karnataka State University Act 1976.[2] The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in wide range of disciplines. It occupies 230 acres (0.93 km2) of land. The university was recognized by the UGC in 1994 and is a member of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU).[3][4][5]

The university has its headquarters at Jnana Sahyadri Campus, Shimoga. Its campus is called Jnana Sahyadri, which means The Western Ghat section of knowledge. It has as university jurisdiction over malnad districts of Shimoga and Chikmagalur, through which the Sahyadri mountain ranges pass. It also covers districts of Davangere and Chitradurga but now the two places have their own universities, hence is limited to affiliating research centers just like anywhere else in India. The campus sprawls across an area of 230 acres.[6] The campus inmates can find some admixture of wild animals and domestic animals. Nature was never so beautiful before like it is inside Jnana Sahyadri.

History

Vice Chancellors
  • Shanthinatha K. Desai, 1988–1990
  • M. R. Gajendragad, 1991–1996
  • P. Venkataramaiah, 1996–1999
  • S. P. Hiremath, 1999–2002
  • K. Chidananda Gowda, 2001–2006
  • Bailure Sheena Sherigara, 2006–2010
  • Syed A. Bari, 2010–2014
  • T.R Manjunath, 2014–2015
  • Prof. Jogan Shankar 2015-Present

Established on 29 June 1987, Kuvempu University is the youngest of the affiliating Universities in Karnataka State. It has been named after the great Kannada writer, Kuvempu, Jnanpith laureate, doyen of Kannada literature. He was native of Shimoga district and also vice-chancellor of University of Mysore. Kuvempu also hailed from the Malenadu region of this area. He enunciated the statement 'Vishwamanawasandesha'- A word of advice on the doctrine of Universal Manhood. True to its form and nature the university had adopted Kannada language as the administrative and official language.

Kuvempu University, comprising the Shivamogga and Chikkamagalur districts, has been the epicenter of a majority of religious, cultural and social movements of Karnataka. The farmers, the dalit and the socialist movements of Karnataka in the twentieth century were also born here.

The education jurisdiction of Kuvempu University spreads over four districts of Shimoga, Chitradurga, Chikmagalur and Davangere. It also has outlying regional Post-Graduate centres at Davangere and Kadur. The university offers conventional and non-conventional courses.

Main campus of the university Jnana Sahayadri is at Shankaraghatta, 28 km from Shimoga town. The campus, spread over an area of 230 acres (0.93 km2), is built on a hillock, seamlessly blending with the surrounding area. Shivagangotri campus, sprawling over 73 acres (300,000 m2), is located at Tholahunase, 8 km from Davangere.This campus also has an under-developed radiation unit. Housed in a small room next to a Men's toilet on the backyard of the science building, it was a remarkable contribution from a scientist who had joined into university from BARC in the days of infancy of the university. This didnot get quite a lot of attention and was left unused despite the missing nuclear equipment in New Delhi, where a scraper got hold of the radioactive core after it was disposed off on a junkyard sale by its weight.

The logo of the university has a mythical animal with the trunk of an elephant and the body of a bird (supposed that of a swan). This mythical animal, called Gajahamsa (Gaja+Hamsa), is commonly found in the Vijayanagara and the Keladi sculpture and temple art. Symbolically it is supposed to be combination of knowledge and wealth. Lakshmi, the devi (goddess) of wealth, has an elephant as her vehicle. Saraswati, the devi of knowledge or education, uses a swan as her vehicle. Gajahamsa is a combination of these two animals.The campus has limited wifi connectivity with password access to all affiliates. It has even access to online journals in the UGC consortia called JCCC.

Kuvempu's son-in-law K. Chidananda Gowda was the vice-chancellor from 2001 to 2006. The current vice-chancellor is Syed A. Bari.[7] He has retired from the state services and in the month of August 2014, Prof. S.A. Bari assumed charge as a vice-chancellor of Central University of Gujarat (http://14.139.116.25/cug/?q=node/40). His place is currently held by an acting Vice Chancellor Prof. T R Manjunath, until the appointment of permanent Vice Chancellor by the Karnataka State Legislative Assembly.

Campus

The academic life on the campus includes seminars, symposia, special lectures and workshops. Conventional and non-conventional course of study have updated syllabi responsive to the needs of contemporary society. The research orientation is innovative, original and directed to societal needs.

The campus area is free of pollution including noise pollution. The main buildings of the university have been constructed on a small hill and blend naturally into the landscape..

Jnana Sahyadi, the main campus of Kuvempu University, is at Shankaraghatta at a distance of 28 km from Shimoga town, the district headquarters, and 18 km from Bhadravathi, the well-known industrial town. The campus is only 2 km from the magnificent Bhadra Reservoir across the river Bhadra, one of the important lifelines of the area. The campus sprawls over an area of 230 acres (0.93 km2). The main campus can be reached by private bus service. Shimoga, Bhadravathi and Tarikere towns are close to the campus and are well connected by rail.

The administrative building, Kuvempu Shathamanothsava Bhavan, on the main Jnana Sahyadri campus, houses almost all the offices of the university including the office and secretariat of the vice-chancellor and the registrar, human resource management, development, academic, finance section, SC-ST and OBC cells, planning, monitory and evaluation board, etc. The examination, Directorate of Distance Education are located in Parikshanga - Doora Shikshana Bhavan. All these offices are fully equipped with computers. Students have access to Gym, Medical center for free and there are paid canteen and a Bank (SBM) and post office inside the campus.

Academics

The university has 59 post-graduate departments of studies in the faculties of Arts, Science, Commerce, Education and Law offering 45 post-graduate (PG) programmes, four PG diplomas(regular) and one undergraduate programme. There are many colleges affiliated to this university offering undergraduate courses in the above-mentioned faculties.

The academic wedge on the main campus houses the post-graduate departments of studies in English, Political Science, Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, MSW, Economics, Sociology, English Language Teaching, Journalism and Mass Communication. Recently the department of Sanskrit was moved out of Janasahyadri campus in Shakaraghatta village into the Sahyadri College in Shimoga Town due to lack of student strength. The VC insisted the course to run as he was reluctant to squander an Arts course to non-existence despite socially valued in urban places. The University has a strict mandate to close a course if a minimum number of students don't buy seats for a certain number of years from the state government.

Library & Information Science is in the Library departments and in Computer Science Departments Mathematics, MCA and Electronics. Pharmaceutical Chemistry has started on the premises of Govt. Junior College.

A new Post-Graduate Centre at Kadur started from the academic year 2007-08 with three courses: Master of Business Economics (MBE), Master of Business Administration (MBA) and M.Sc. To establish the PG Centre at Kadur, the State Government allotted 65 acres (260,000 m2) of land adjacent to Kadur town and released Rs.2 crore for the development of the P.G. Centre.[8]

Brahmappa Devendrappa Tavanappanavar College

B.D.T. as it is known popularly, was started in 1951 as Government B.D.T. College of Engineering with only one branch: Civil Engineering. Subsequently other branches viz Mechanical Engineering, Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Instrumentation Technology and Industrial Production Engineering were started with the total annual intake of 390.[9] A post-graduate course in Production Engineering Systems Technology was started in 1987 with an intake of 25. Later in 2000 the University was deaffiliated from Kuvempu University and made affiliated to VTU. Further, VTU belgaum absorbed BDT as a constituent college of its administrative hierarchy. Seven other PG courses are being offered from 2003-04.

B.D.T. College of Engineering was named for the famous B.T. family who generously donated rupees 1.5 lakh toward the construction of the main building. The Maharaja of Mysore Sri Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur laid the foundation stone on 7 April 1951 and inaugurated the building on 24 September 1956. In due course, the college was transferred from the Government to Kuvempu University in 1992 and, accordingly, the name was changed to University B.D.T. College of Engineering.

College of Fine Arts at Davangere

The College of Fine Arts at Davangere offers courses of applied nature in many Fine Arts subjects. The faculty of the college includes some of the known artists. The college offers instructions leading to B.F.A. degrees. From the academic year 2003-04 M.F.A. degrees in Painting and Applied Art, and Certificate Course in Computer photography have been introduced.

Distance education

Kuvempu university is affiliated to UGC DEB ( Distance Education Bureau, Govt. Of India). It is a very famous, and one of the top Distance Education Departments among Indian Universities. Many Students, Govts servants, Burucates and Scholars take admission to this University under distance mode, to fulfill their goals. MSc in Chemistry, MSc Physics, Msc in Environmental Sc and MA in Education are very popular, and candidates who complete these courses, have a lot of potential to get jobs both in government and private organizations. Admission to Kuvempu University DDE is highly competitive, as it consistently ranks amongst the best Distance Education options in India. This a premier public university ( DDE ) located in Shimoga, Karnataka.

For admissions to the PG In Chemistry, Physics Faculty at the postgraduate level, students are admitted through an entrance examination open to students from all over India. Unlike in a large number of states, there is no domicile quota in KU, as well as for the remaining engineering colleges admitting students through the Entrance . Postgraduate students in Science are admitted by limited No. Admission to the Arts and Science Faculties, is by means of individual examinations for each of the departments at the undergraduate as well as the postgraduate levels. Weight age is given to marks obtained at the higher secondary level for undergraduate admissions at the undergraduate level for postgraduate level.

Kuvempu University started courses under the distance education scheme on the lines of IGNOU from the academic year 2002-03. This open university would provides M.A., M.Sc, M.Com. Information Technology Courses are also on offer, including B.Sc IT and M.Sc IT. A B.Sc ITIM course that focuses on IT Infrastructure Management, was fairly recently introduced by the University in Distance Mode. This is aligned to the needs of the rapidly growing IMS Industry.[10]

Library

The library offers facilities for reading, borrowing, and reference to the students, teachers and research scholars of all departments. Over 70,000 books and 4,000 archived periodicals are available. The library has kept pace with technology by introducing a CD-ROM database and Internet and e-mail facilities. The library provides facilities for self-directed student learning outside standard university hours.[11]

National Service Scheme (NSS)

Kuvempu University NSS section is a part of the Karnataka State.[12] There is a programme coordinator whose office is presently housed in front of the Sahyadri College, Shimoga. The NSS wing provides training to the under-graduate students by organising annual camps, national camps and socially useful programmes. It also coordinates the adult literacy programmes in which the students participate actively. The Post-Graduate unit of NSS has students from the Post-Graduate departments on the campus. It is supervised by a co-ordinator (from the faculty) and his team.

Employment Information and Management Departments

To help students plan their career and seek placement, the Employment Information and Guidance Bureau has been established on the campus. It functions under the supervision of a director who is from the faculty and assisted by the deputy chief and assistant chief who are appointed by the government. The Bureau circulates information regarding employment opportunities, competitive examinations, UGC JRF and National Eligibility Test, State Level Eligibility Test, etc.

It also organises employment counseling sessions. The post-graduate students, on completion of their P.G. degrees are required to register at the Bureau. To inspire the student community to prepare for rigorous examinations, the Bureau organises free coaching classes for various competitive examinations such as Indian Administrative Service, K.A.S., Banking and Staff Selection Commission.

Schools and departments

School of Languages, Literature and Fine Arts

School of Social Sciences

School of Economics and Business Studies

School of Physical Sciences

School of Chemical Sciences

School of Bio Sciences

School of Earth Science and Environmental Sciences

Department of Law

Department of Education

Research centre

Cultural programmes and activities

Kuvempu University from its inception has been organising seminars, talks, conferences. During the early days of the university, local people were cordially invited into the debates and seminars of the university during the twilight hours. Then the culture changed and strikes and debates on politics took over for many years for Graduate constituencies in the Member of legislative council of the Karnataka State. Things took a standstill then. From then on the annual cultural function called Sahyadri Utsav was celebrated with pomp and parade. Apart from this every year, the Campus at Jnana Sahyadri have their conference or workshops with talks from eminent speakers. Nearly all the departments awards PhDs. There will be celebrations for the viva of PhDs. Kuvempu University had organized silver jubilee science exhibition open to public on its 25th year celebration with regard to science, arts and physical education.

Publishing house

The university has a publishing house called the Prasaranga just like its counterparts of Mysore, Bangalore, Dharwad and Hampi universities. It publishes books authored by professors of the Kannada department in Kannada. This is largely due to Prof Kumar Chalya (in that department) who introduced the technology of joining the beads of printers from his experience working in printing companies.

Colleges

The University has 184 affiliated colleges, five constituent colleges (one is autonomous) and other three autonomous colleges, five B.P.Ed. colleges, six law colleges. It offers postgraduate courses and research programmes (Ph.D.)in faculty of art, commerce and science. Karnataka State and has in its ambit 50 postgraduate departments, four constituent colleges and 133 affiliated colleges offering graduate-level courses in disciplines catering to the education needs of more than 50,000 students. There are five medical colleges, three engineering colleges and one management college. All the colleges belong in the districts of Shimoga, Dharwad, Belgaum, Bijapur District, Davangere, Chitradurga, Bagalkot, Holalkere, Ajjampura, Hosadurga and Jagalur are affiliated to Kuvempu University.[14]

Sahyadri Arts and Science Colleges and Sahyadri Science College, erstwhile Government institutions are now constituent colleges of Kuvempu University. These premiere colleges of this region have completed 66 years of existence. Among the celebrities who are alumni of the colleges are Dr. U.R. Ananthamurthy, Jnana Peetha Awardee, Prof. C.N.R. Rao, eminent scientist, Sri K.V. Subbanna, Magsaysay Awardee and others. The Sahyadri Science College has become autonomous from 2006-07. The Diamond Jubilee Building constructed with partial financial support of the alumni association includes a well-equipped seminar hall inaugurated by Prof. CNR Rao & named as Prof. CNR Rao Hall.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Kuvempu University - Student enrollment details". UGC. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  2. ↑ "About Kuvempu University". 4 July 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  3. ↑ "About Kuvempu University". Universities of Karnataka. 13 July 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  4. ↑ "Members of the Association of Indian Universities". Association of Indian Universities. 29 August 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  5. ↑ Archived 28 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ "Kuvempu improve infrastructure". The Hindu. 14 July 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  7. ↑ "Kuvempu University - Vice-Chancellor". kuvempu.ac.in. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  8. ↑ "Facults And Departments at Kuvempu University". Higher Education in India. 14 July 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  9. ↑ "Engineering examinations conducted by Kuvempu University". Times of India. 14 July 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  10. ↑ "Kuvempu varsity to start Distance Education Scheme". The Hindu. 14 July 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  11. ↑ {{ | url = http://www.kuvempu.ac.in/library.htm | title = Library of Kuvempu University | publisher = | date = 4 July 2009 | accessdate = 16 October 2007 }}
  12. ↑ "Facilities in Kuvempu". 4 July 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  13. ↑ Centre for the Study of Local Cultures
  14. ↑ "State to 6 Govt Engineering colleges". Times of India. 14 July 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2007.

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