Ravenshaw to figure in Dance Festival Stamp

Ravenshaw College along with Barabati Fort and Orissa High Court will figure in a commemorative stamp to be released on the occasion of Barabati Dance Festival 2008. The following news item has been retrieved from here

"Indian Post will bring out an envelope with special cancellation as part of the 8th Barabati Nrutyotsav scheduled to start at the Killa Maidan here next week.

The envelope and special cancellation depicting Barabati Fort, Ravenshaw College and high court would be released by the postmaster general on the inaugural day of the national festival on December 20.

Odissi Nrutya Mandal has been organising the Barabati Nrutyotsav since 2001.

To promote classical Indian dance and music, the postal department would also organise Uniculturepex-2008, a philatelic exhibition on all dance and music forms of the world, during the week-long dance festival, sources said.

Several other features would be introduced in the fest to be organised in collaboration with the state tourism department and the Cuttack district administration.

“For the first time, we have decided to dedicate each evening to Odissi dance and music maestros who are no more with us,” Odissi Nrutya Mandal general secretary Guru Ashish Kumar Das said.

Fifteen other dance troupes, six of them from Calcutta and one from Assam, would participate in the festival."

Bali Yatra First Aid Camp 2008

Pictures of Inauguration ceremony of Bali Yatra First Aid Camp 2008.

Ravenshaw inks MOU with Chinese Varsity

Ravenshaw University has inked an MOU with a Chinese University for cultural exchance. The following news extract has been retrieved from here.

China is keen to strengthen the cultural and economic ties with Orissa. In this connection, a 12- member delegation from San Si province of China led by Professor Yao Chao Cheng called on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the State Secretariat and discussed about it.
Source said China would enter an MoU with the Ravenshaw University to strengthen the cultural ties with the State. Chao Cheng hinted that China would explore business opportunities with the State. "Orissa is rich in mineral resources. Business opportunities would be explored in the steel and mines sector," he said. It is worthwhile to mention that after South-Korea's steel giant Posco entered an MoU with the State Government to set up 12-million tonne steel plant at Paradip, China has evinced keen interest to explore business opportunity with the State in steel and mine sector.
The delegation included bankers, film artists, professors and businessman. The Chief Minister urged the Chinese delegation to visit Buddhist places like Lalitgiri and Ratnagiri. During the meeting, they heaped praises on the rich Indian culture.

Ravenshaw offers PG Diploma course in Banking and Insurance Management

Ravenshaw University is offering PG Diploma in Banking and Insurance Management. The following admission notice has been retrieved from here.

RAVENSHAW UNIVERSITY
CUTTACK

ADMISSION NOTICE
FOR
PGDBIM COURSE

One year PG Diploma in Banking & Insurance Management Course has been introduced in collaboration with ICICI Bank in this University to prepare students for employment in Banking & Insurance sector. Candidates with a minimum of 50% marks at the graduation level, and with in 23 years of age are eligible for admission.
Interested candidates are required to remain present at 11:00 AM on 1.11.2008 in Room No.- 9 of Commerce Block in Ravenshaw University. They will be required to fill up the application form and attach copies of certificates and mark-sheets from matriculation to graduation for selection. Selected candidates will be required to pay course fee of Rs. 20,000/- on another fixed date, time and place for admission.

REGISTRAR

MBA 2009 Admissions

Admission notification for Ravenshaw University MBA for the year 2009 is out. You can access it here.

Ravenshaw University has entered into a Memorandum of Collaboration with the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB) to offer a full-time two-year residential programme leading to MBA degree in its campus in the Ravenshaw University. A magnificent building with 100 rooms (for the purpose of classrooms, offices, library, computer centre, students’ residences) has been earmarked specifically for the MBA programme. In accordance with the collaboration conditions the XIMB has developed the curriculum and the academic programme. The teaching and other academic activities will be conducted by the faculty from XIMB, visiting faculty and the university’s own faculty. The university has at present about fifty three faculty members in many of the related disciplines, such as, Economics, Commerce, IT, Mathematics, Statistics, English, Philosophy and Psychology who will be invited to teach in the MBA programme. The XIMB will train the faculty members in the latest teaching technology, content and pace, provide access to its library and data bases and help in developing proper academic and placement systems for the students. While the programme will be based on the standard model of management education as practised by top ranking institutions, this programme will be distinguished by its rigour and discipline. The first batch of students have been admitted in July 2008.

Objectives: The two-year programme has been designed to prepare competent men and women for careers in management in the corporate sector as well as in the public sector organisations.

The courses will provide a generalist perspective which will enable students to view the organisation in a holistic manner and place it in the context of the larger environment. The students will be trained in technical and functional business skills in respect to the areas of specialization (namely Finance, Marketing, Systems, Operations, Human Resource Management etc.). They will be encouraged to develop their analytical and integrative skills so that they can define problems with clarity and formulate alternative solutions for implementation.

Besides professional expertise, the programme will also put emphasis on training students in collaboration and teamwork through the development of human relations skills and attitudes. Development of commitment to excellence along with awareness of social and ethical responsibility among the student so that they become a powerful force for socio-economic change and progress, is expected in course of the programme.

Admission Procedure

Eligibility: A candidate should have a Bachelor’s degree of minimum three years’ duration (or equivalent) in any discipline from a recognized university. Candidates who expect to complete the final part of their degree examinations by June 15, 2009 may also apply. Offers of admission to such candidates, if made, will be provisional and will be automatically cancelled in the event of their failing to complete all the requirements before June 15, 2009 for obtaining the degree. A student after joining a programme in the university will not be permitted to sit for any examination of any other institution or agency.

Admission Test: The university has made an arrangement with the XLRI, Jamshedpur regarding using XAT scores for admission. The students are required to appear for XAT 2009 and see the details of procedure for applying for XAT from the website, www.xlri.edu

Application: In addition, applicants have to apply online in the prescribed format for admission to the MBA programme by logging on to http://www.ravenshawuniversity.com. They should provide their XAT roll number so that their score in XAT can be obtained from XLRI. Upon successfully filling the online application form the Admit Card and the Payment Advice Form with ID number will be generated. The candidate should take the printouts. The admit card should be produced during the GD and interview with photographs. The Payment Advice Form should be duly filled in and sent along with the account payee bank draft of Rs.500/- payable at Cuttack favouring “Ravenshaw University” so as to reach on or before 28 February 2009.

Selection Process: The university will decide the section wise as well as total cut-off marks which will be used for short-listing candidates to be called for Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI). GD & PI will be held at Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai from March 16 to 21, 2009. Centres may be added or cancelled depending on the number of candidates. Candidates will have to meet their own travel expenses for appearing in the GD & PI. The final selection will be based on the candidate's academic performance, written test score, experience, Group Discussion and Personal Interview. The selected candidates will be informed by e-mail by 31st March 2009. The list of selected candidates will also be put on the website.

Admission: Candidates who are selected for admission to the MBA programme must indicate their acceptance of the admission offer and all related conditions, by paying the first instalment of fees as detailed in the letter of admission before the date stipulated therein. All admission will be provisional and admission will be treated as automatically cancelled if a candidate fails to successfully complete his or her degree examination and submit the certificate by 31st December 2009.

The programme will begin on 29 June, 2009 for the first year students. At this time the students will be given a Manual of Policies and Regulations, which will be binding on them.

ACADEMIC SYSTEM

Programme Design: The Programme consists of 40 courses divided into 26 core (compulsory) and 14 elective courses of 3 credits (30 contact hours) each, totalling to 120 credits offered in six terms spread over two years.

In the first year students are exposed to 24 core courses. These are certain basic and functional area courses. The objective is to expose the students to the social and economic environment within which businesses operate in India.

During the summer vacation (at the end of the first year), students are required to spend a minimum of eight weeks in an organisation doing a project on some significant aspect or management problem. The objective of the summer project is to provide students with an opportunity to observe an organisation in operation and to relate what they have learnt to actual practice. The student is required to submit the project report to the guide in the organisation and also to the faculty guide at the institute for evaluation.

In the second year, besides completing the remaining two core courses relating to Business Ethics and Business Policy, the students will pursue elective courses in the areas of their interest to equip them for a career in certain specific areas of management.

Electives: Every year the list of electives to be offered will be updated. In an effort to continually update the syllabus, keeping with the faculty interests, elective courses can be added or deleted from the list.

Academic Calendar: The academic year consists of three terms each of approximately three months’ duration. The first term extends from June to September, the second from September to December and the third from December to March. The full-time residential programme involves an average of 14 class sessions a week, each of 90 minutes’ duration. The students’ workload, including class sessions, required readings, term papers, project work and field visits, is expected to require about 70 hours per week.

Practical Exposure: Project assignments, seminars by eminent scholars and executives, and summer training in industry at the end of the first year will help the students acquire practical knowledge about technical and human problems in organisations. Students will thereby be enabled to observe prevailing methods and practices in organisations, and relate them to the knowledge gained in the classroom and through readings. Seminars will aim at generating and evaluating alternative solutions to management issues. The students are thus prepared to face with confidence the problems they may encounter in their professional career.

The Degree: The university will award the degree of Master in Business Administration ( MBA) to students who will successfully complete course work equivalent to 120 credits, fulfill the prescribed academic standards, and would have done the summer project as per the prescribed requirements. The degree is awarded at the Annual Convocation.

Placement: The university’s Management Centre has a Placement Cell, created with the assistance from the Xavier Institute of Management. The cell will make all efforts to find summer and final placement for all the students.




LIST OF COURSES

CORE COURSES
Accounting and Finance

Financial Accounting
Cost & Management Accounting
Financial Management
Financial Institutions & Markets

Economics

Economic Analysis-I
Economic Analysis-II
Economic Environment of Business
Information Systems

Managerial Computing
Management Information Systems

General Management

Communication
Social Research Methods
Business Ethics
Business Law
Business Policy

Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources Mgmt.

Human Resource Management
Employment Relations
Human Resource Development
Individual in Organisation
Groups in Organisation
Organisation Structure & Design

Marketing

Marketing-I
Marketing-II

Operations Management
and Decision Sciences

Quantitative Methods-I
Quantitative Methods-II
Production & Operations Management-I
Production & Operations Management-II

ELECTIVE COURSES*
Accounting and Finance

Commercial Banking
Corporate Financial Strategy
Corporate Tax Planning
Financial Engineering
Financial Mathematics
Financial Reporting – International Standards
Fixed Income Securities Management
Insurance & Risk Management
International Finance
Mergers & Acquisitions
Options, Futures & Swaps
Practices of Finance
Project Appraisal
Security Analysis & Portfolio Mgmt.
Strategic Management Accounting
Valuation
Working Capital Management

Economics

Application of Econometric Methods in Business Forecasting
Global Trading System

General Management

Basic Japanese Language
Corporate Planning
Interactive Presentation & Corporate Etiquette
International Business
International Business Ethics
Management Control & Reporting Systems
Negotiations & Competitive Decision Making
New Enterprise Management
Training in Interactive Presentations Skills

Information Systems

Artificial Neural Networks
Business Simulation Using System Dynamics
Data Warehousing & Data Mining
Decision Support Systems
Emerging Paradigms in IT
Enterprise Computing Technology
Enterprise Resource Planning
Network Mgmt. & Internet Technology
Object Oriented Programming
Object Oriented Software Development
Operating Systems & Unix
Planning IT Enabled Organisations
Programming Languages & Paradigms
Software Engineering
Software Project Management
Structured & Object Oriented Computing
Structured Computing
Structured Programming & Algorithms
Technology for E-Business

Organisational Behaviour/
Human Resources Mgmt.

Compensation & Reward Mgmt.
Emerging Trends in HR
Firms, Markets & Global Dynamics
Grievance & Discipline Management
Human Resource Information Systems
Human Resource Planning
Industrial Disputes & Grievance Mgmt.
International HRM
Labour Legislation
Leadership & Team Building
Organisational & Managerial Creativity
Organisational Change & Development
Overview of Labour Legislation
Performance Management
Social Network Management
Strategic Human Resource Mgmt.
Strategic HRM & Employee Compensation
Training & Development

* There may be changes in these courses or some of these courses may be dropped depending on registration and emerging developments in the area.





Marketing

Advertising Management
Business to Business Marketing
Brand Management
Consumer Behaviour
e-Marketing
Innovation & New Product Introduction Mgmt
International Marketing
Management of New Products
Managing Retailing
Marketing Laws
Marketing in Practice
Media Planning
Neuro Marketing
Product Management
Qualitative Research
Rural Marketing
Sales & Distribution Management
Service Marketing


Operations Management
and Decision Sciences

Advanced Methods of Data Analysis
Business Logistics Management
Business Process Reengineering
Managing Service Operations
Managing & Analysis of Operations Systems and Process
Operations Research
Operations Strategy
Project Management
Supply Chain Management
Technology Management
Total Quality Management

INSTRUCTION METHODOLOGY AND ACADEMIC EVALUATION

The faculty’s main objective is to assist the student to develop qualities and internalise values, which are required for effective leadership of organisations. As this involves more than a mere learning of specific theories and tools, different teaching methods (appropriate to the skills to be developed), such as case studies, simulated games, group discussions, small group seminars, and “laboratory” exercises will be used. The student’s attendance and participation in class are essential.

While classroom interaction will aim at developing a wide knowledge base, the student will be encouraged to analyse, anticipate, innovate and otherwise prepare himself or herself for a challenging professional career.

The major objective of the evaluation system will be to motivate all students towards excellence. The system will seek this objective primarily by keeping students continually informed of their performance in relation to the required standards of academic achievement. The responsibility of performance however is entirely of the student.

Apart from the end term examination, a student’s performance will be continually assessed on the basis of class participation, presentation, projects, mid-term tests and quizzes. The evaluation system will attempt to synthesize a continuous process of assessment. The university will use the following system for indicating the levels of achievement:

Grade A+ A B+ B C+ C D+ D F
Quality Points 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Other evaluation symbols used at the university are: I=Incomplete course work; and P = Pass for a non-credit course. Minimum Performance standards are specified in the Manual of Policies to qualify a student for promotion to next year and award of the degree.

MBA FEE STRUCTURE
INSTALMENT
Details I II III IV V VI Total
Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs Rs.
Tuition Fee 35000 35000 35000 35000 35000 35000 210000
Library 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 54000
I T Services 7000 7000 7000 7000 7000 7000 42000
Establishment 7000 7000 7000 7000 7000 7000 42000
Infrastructure 5000 5000 5000 5000 5000 5000 30000
Insurance 500 500
Placement 3000 3000 6000
Diploma & Convocation 2500 2500
Alumni Association 1500 1500
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 63500 66000 63000 66000 65500 64500 388500

The cost of individual Laptop computer, to be provided by the Institute, will have to be paid in addition along with first term fees.

RESIDENCE EXPENSES

1st year 2nd year
Single seated room per student (rent per term) 5000 5000
Double seated room per student (rent per term) 4500 4500
Board per month (approximately) 1800
Electric and water charges 1000 1000

These estimates do not include expenses on travel, clothing, laundry, and other personal items. The term wise room rent will have to be paid along with term fees.


REFUNDABLE DEPOSITS

Library Caution (All Programmes) 2000
Residence caution 3000
Mess deposit 3000

All refundable deposits will be paid along with the first term fees.


MODE OF PAYMENT

The first instalment of the fees is payable along with the acceptance of the offer of admission. After that, the fees are to be paid by the dates specified in the academic calendar. All fees are to be paid by Banker’s Cheque or Demand Draft made out in favour of Ravenshaw University, Cuttack and drawn on any of the nationalised banks in Cuttack.

Last Dates

Filing application for XAT : November 30, 2008
Filing of Draft or Bankers Cheque etc. : …..
Date for XAT examination : …..
Filing of application with Ravenshaw University : January 31, 2009
GD & Interviews : March 16 through 21, 2009
Acceptance of offer and deposit of first instalment : …..
Classes commence : June 29, 2009

Regional Centre of Indian Council for Cultural Relations to be set up at Ravenshaw

Ravenshaw University is all set to house the regional centre of the ICCR. This certainly is a matter of pride for the "Oxford of Odisha".
The following news article has been retrieved from here.

Even as it has embarked on the ambitious Akshaya Mohanty Centre for Contemporary Music initiative, Ravenshaw University is all set to achieve the unique distinction of housing the regional centre of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). The only unit of the pioneering institution of cultural diplomacy, furthering revival and strengthening of cultural relations and understanding between India and other countries, in Orissa would open up a sea of opportunities for the artists and performers of the State. The regional centre would undertake all activities of ICCR at the local level and extend the benefits from providing assistance to the artists to scholarships to students for culture studies. Vice-Chancellor Devdas Chotray said the centre would provide the much-needed handle for showcasing the art and culture of Orissa on the global platform. Artists from here would be empanelled for the exchange programmes, exhibitions and performances abroad. Students would also be provided with scholarships to undertake culture studies abroad. Meanwhile, the university has also applied to the University Grants Commission for starting an Educational Multimedia Research Centre (EMRC) to churn out audio-visual educational programmes for the benefit of the large number of students in remote regions of the State. The possibility of the GoI nod is very high and with it Ravenshaw University would become the 18th EMRC in the country. The St. Xavier's Autonomous College at Kolkata, which has over 22 years of experience in the field, would provide the technological knowhow and attune the infrastructure, faculty and students to the system. The centre would be producing educational content meant to take knowledge and learning beyond classrooms, which would be telecast through EDUSAT. With approvals forthcoming, the facility would be up and coming by the year-end, the Vice-Chancellor said.

Ravenshaw Students Union elections back on track

Ravenshaw University authorities have decided to allow direct election of candidates to the Students Union. However, strict rules (including the Lyndoh Committee recommendations) will be followed during the process. The following news article is retrieved from here.

Bowing to students’ pressure backed by its alumni, Ravenshaw University officials today said they would revoke the decision to put an end to students’ union elections that several former students said would have deprived the pupils of their democratic rights.
“The rollback decision was taken on the basis of recommendations submitted by a committee of the deans of the eight schools and other officials of Ravenshaw University after taking a fresh look on the issue,” said registrar Satyakam Mishra.
“The committee was constituted following an appeal from former Lok Sabha Speaker Rabi Ray, former member of Parliament Trilochan Kanungo and former state health minister Mustafiz Ahmed,” he said, adding “the recommendation would be implemented after due ratification by the syndicate”.
Ravenshawvians, including Ray, Kanungo and Ahmed, had strongly pitched for students’ union elections expressing support to the agitation spearheaded by All-India Democratic Students’ Organisation’s Ravenshaw Committee.
Earlier, the syndicate had passed a resolution recommending formation of students’ council on the basis of nomination of meritorious students by putting an end to the practice of elections for creation of “better environment” on the campus.
The university officials had decided to implement it from this year, while students’ union elections in colleges and universities of the state are scheduled for September 25.
Sources said the committee, after deliberating on the issue yesterday, had recommended continuance with the polls as the selection process for the formation of the students’ union instead of adopting the nomination system, but with several riders.
The conditions include restrictions on campaigning inside the university after 6pm, involvement of outsiders in campaigning for candidates and contesting of candidates without achievements in sports and cultural activities for the post of athletics secretary and drama secretary.
While banning campaigning inside hostels, the committee recommended rejection of nominations of candidates who had not updated payment of fees.
“The recommendations would be adopted as code of conduct for the students’ union elections henceforth,” the registrar said, adding “an 11-member committee of students has been constituted to adhere to it during the polls”.

Ravenshaw University faculty recruitment

The much awaited Ravenshaw University faculty notification is finally out. The last date for receipt of applications for the posts of Professor, Reader and Lecturer through e-mail is 22 September 2008. The detailed advertisement can be found here.

Ravenshaw University to stop student union elections

Ravenshaw University authorities have decided to stop holding student union elections from this year. Instead they are planning to nominate meritorious students to the union.

The following post is retrived from here.

"CUTTACK: Yet to recover from the bloody clash between groups of students last week, Ravenshaw University seems to have set foot in muddy waters yet again.The decision by the University Syndicate to do away with the elections for the students’ council is fast building up into a storm with students’ bodies crossing swords with the authorities on the issue.The students’ organisations, which had already begun preparations for the ensuing elections with the start of the current academic session, are taken aback by the decision.The Biju Chatra Janata Dal, the students’ wing of ruling BJD, on Thursday came out strongly against scrapping of the polls system terming it as a gross infringement of democratic processes."We will not take the decision lying low and will launch a movement to pressurise the authorities to withdraw the decision. We are working on convening an all-party meeting on the issue to take it up unitedly," said Zonal BCJD president Byomkesh Ray.Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad has also called a meeting of its members and a decision on the issue would be taken in two days, according to Cuttack Zone secretary Smrutiranjan Badu.The Ravenshaw University Committee of All India DSO led by secretary Bhagyarabi Das on Thursday submitted a memorandum to the Chancellor asking the authorities not to abolish the students’ council elections.The University Syndicate has resolved to scrap the election system to prevent the unruliness, indiscipline and clashes between groups and parties and introduce a council with nominated members. The nominations would be done on the basis of merit, according to Registrar Satyakam Mishra.The nominated council would organise cultural and students development programmes more effectively and fruitfully, the authorities said."

Do you agree with this decision of the University Authorities? Post your views here.

Ravenshaw University gets UGC 2(f) recognition

Ravenshaw University has been included in the list of Universities of UGC under section 2(f) of UGC act, 1956. This has been communicated by the University Grants Commission vide their letter no. F 9-33/2006(CPP I). However, the University wont be able to get central funding till it is included under the section 2(B) of UGC Act, 1956.

Ravenshaw University Entrance Examination 2008 Results

Results of Ravenshaw University Entrance Examination 2008 ( UG and PG ) are out. You can access the results here.

Ravenshaw University Reverses Decision

Ravenshaw University authorities reversed their decision to reduce seats in the humanities stream. The official reason given for this sudden volte-face is the overwhelming number of applications for humanities this year. 

Give your opinion on this matter.....

 The following news article is retrieved from here.

Bowing to massive all-round resentment and an overwhelming response from applicants, the Ravenshaw University authorities were forced to revoke the “controversial” notification that was ordered to slash the number of seats in Arts stream for both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

“We have recalled the notification of reducing the seats and issued fresh orders to admit students as per the existing seats in previous years”, said the university registrar Satyakam Mishra. The decision to revoke the notification was taken in view of the resentments and encouraging response from the applicants to pursue higher education in traditional Arts subjects, Mishra told The Hindu on Wednesday.

It was learnt that as many as 1,000 applications have already been received online from students across the country seeking admission in undergraduate courses in Arts. Highly placed sources in the university said that the number of applications might touch 1,200 by the close of the deadline on June 20.

The university had earlier decided to reduce the number of seats in Arts from 512 to 256. It had also decided to slash as many 80 seats in MA courses.

The university had cited that due to lack of interest among the students to study the traditional subjects was the reason to reduce the seats. This decision was however, widely criticised by the students as well as educationists alleging that the newly formed varsity was trying to privatise the education.

MBA Fees 4 lakhs???

As i was going through the prospectus of the newly inducted MBA program, I stumbled upon the fees section. The proposed fees for MBA is around 4 lakh rupees. The prospectus does not mention of any scholarship for the needy and I assume that no special arrangement has been made for students from the low income bracket . I understand that the infrastructure, faculty and other components of the course will be of high quality. I also understand that there will be no shortage of educational loans for students those who are unable to arrange the required fee. Even if I assume that all enrolled students will be well placed with handsome salaries, the fee structure does not make any sense to me. For, it simply undermines the very principle for which Ravenshaw stands - social equality. Even if collateral free loan is made available (it is difficult for a new course though), the amount just makes it impossible for someone from the lower income strata to join the course. Specialized and job oriented courses have all been put under the self financing course list as if they are the fiefdom of the rich and the upper middle class. The notion that the quality of education and its price are directly proportional to each other is a myth. Sweden, for example, provides free technical education till the post doctoral level not only to her natives but also to international students. But have we ever tried anything of that sort?? This problem is not endemic to Ravenshaw alone but to all educational institutions across the country.
I have always cherished the 5 years that I spent as a student of Ravenshaw, not because of her glorious history, not even for her contribution to Odisha's development, but because of her social composition. Ravenshaw for me is a temple of learning where there is no distinction between the elite and the common. I just pray that she retains her social composition .

What is your opinion ??

Arts seats cut, More seats for Science and Commerce

Ravenshaw University authorities have decided to reduce seats in courses that are not in demand. The University will increase seats for Commerce and Computer Science. 

Do you agree with the management's decision ? Leave a comment.

The full text of the news article,retrieved from here, follows:

Boost to subjects in demand - Aidso protests varsity seat slash

The Ravenshaw University has decided to reduce seats for undergraduate courses in the arts stream by 50 per cent for the next academic session and enhance its intake capacity for the subjects that are “in demand”.

With a 50 per cent slash, the total number of seats for bachelor in arts in Ravenshaw University for the next session would plummet to 256 from 512.

In a bid to reduce the huge number of vacancies in the arts departments after admissions every year, the university has also decided to decrease the total number of seats for postgraduate studies in English literature and economics by nearly 40 per cent.

Official sources said the number of seats for postgraduate courses in English and economics has been brought down to 64 from 104. The slash has been implemented to bring in “uniformity” in the number of post-graduation seats in different subjects.

The registrar of Ravenshaw University, Satyakam Mishra, explained that the university would increase its student intake up to 50 per cent in the commerce stream, taking the total seats for BCom to 384 from 256. The university would also add 24 seats to computer science (undergraduate) course and increase the (undergraduate) BSc course seats to 280.

“The seats for undergraduate arts are never completely filled. This has been a trend over the past few years. So, the seats were decreased to accommodate more students in commerce and science streams that are in demand,” the registrar told The Telegraph today.

“Additional seats up to 20 per cent beyond the sanctioned strength would be made available only to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes students in undergraduate courses in arts,” he added.

“The latest UGC guidelines make it mandatory for PG students to present at least one seminar paper in a year. With so many seats, this was becoming impossible,” Mishra added.

The seat slash, however, has been met with a degree of protests from members of the Aidso. The party has demanded a rollback in the university decision.

Aviation Management Course to be started

Continuing with the expansion of the gamut of courses to be introduced soon, Ravenshaw University has decided to offer a course in Aviation management. The University is looking for a collaboration with University of Krems, Vienna. A course in hotel management and hospitality has also been planned.

The following news article has been retrieved from here:

" The number of candidates graduating from Ravenshaw University has fallen considerably owing to a reduction in the overall success rate.

The overall success rate in the science, commerce and arts streams this year has declined to 90 per cent from 96 per cent last year.

University authorities, however, attributed the decline in the success rate to the poor performance of students in new subjects such as business administration, information technology and management. “This has had an effect on the aggregate score of the students in general,” said university registrar Satyakam Mishra.

While the university had declared 1,097 students as successful, the results declared on Friday indicated that 96.74 per cent of the arts students passed. The pass percentage was comparatively lower in science and commerce streams at 82.46 and 87.88 per cent respectively. In geology, the pass percentage was just 65.

Meanwhile, the university has decided to award a gold medal to each of the students, who topped in 25 subjects, while deferring declaration of the best graduate of the year. Of the 25 toppers, 20 are girls.

Earlier this month, vice-chancellor Devdas Chhotray had, in his report, said Ravenshaw had adopted the semester system, revised the syllabus and a massive drive was on to recruit faculty.

“We have now schools for physical sciences, life sciences, social sciences, earth sciences, mathematical sciences, languages among others,” said the report, a copy of which was made available to the reporters during the first convocation on May 10.

“Ravenshaw has constituted a school of aviation management and is looking for collaborating with the University of Krems, Vienna, to catch up with the growing demands of civil aviation sector. It has also sought support from the Centre for establishing a school of hotel management and hospitality, seeking strength from Orissa’s tourism potential,” the vice-chancellor said.

Ravenshaw has envisaged a centre for understanding Orissa to develop the art of overseeing and understanding a culture, the report said."

MBA Admissions 2008

The admission process for MBA is underway. Online application page is available here. Ravenshaw University has signed a memorandum of collaboration with Xavier's Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar(XIMB) in this regard. The course is a two year full time residential one.

Admissions-2008

Admissions for the academic year 2008 are underway for PG and UG courses. Online application link here. Last date : 16th June 2008.

1st Convocation of Ravenshaw University

The first convocation of Ravenshaw University is scheduled to be held on 10th May 2008. Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam has been invited as the Chief Guest. Text of the announcement on the university website follows:

"Ravenshaw University Convocation 2008

The Ravenshaw University will hold its first convocation to award the degrees to the class of 2007 on May 10, 2008 at 9:30 AM. Dr APJ Abdul Kalam shall be the Chief Guest on this occasion. The convocation will be held in the open area behind the Physics Block in the Ravenshaw Campus. The students of class 2007 (those who have graduated in 2007) are specially requested to attend the convocation. Gold medalists, Award winners and Subject wise toppers will have the privilege to receive the awards from the guests. Although the degrees will be conferred on May 10, 2008, the distribution of degrees will be made over a period of one week, beginning with May 12, 2008. Subject and class wise distribution schedule will be notified later on."

Source:http://ravenshawuniversity.com/common/ravenshaw-university-convocation-2008.htm

English honours paper of Plus III cancelled

A news article from here. In my opinion the university should formulate and stick to strict but transparent norms for examination paper setting and evaluation. News of this kind does not reflect well on the reputation of the university especially when we are trying to make Ravenshaw an international centre of excellence.
"After the abundance of glitches appearing in questions papers of the recently-concluded Matriculation examinations, it was the turn of University students to get a taste of ‘flawed’ question paper.

The undergraduate students of English honours in Ravenshaw University were taken aback on Thursday when they saw the American Literature question paper of the ongoing final Plus III examination. The entire questions of the paper carrying 80 marks were from outside the syllabus and the students could not believe themselves as they failed to attempt even a single question.

However, when the matter was brought to the notice of the University authorities, they immediately recognized their mistake and decided to cancel the paper promising that the same paper would be conducted afresh at a later date. About a hundred students are appearing for the final examination of English honours in the University this year. “A particular alternative syllabus of the paper has been completely omitted in the set of question. After discussing with the faculty of the department, we have cancelled the American Literature paper on Thursday. This paper would now be held on April 19 afresh,” said Registrar Satyakam Mishra.

The question setter might have committed the mistake by completely ignoring the syllabus or was entirely confused, said a faculty."

Ravenshaw University to offer MBA programme

The premier education hub of the State — the Ravenshaw University — is set to roll out MBA programme from the ensuing academic session.

The course would be offered with the active collaboration of Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB), said registrar Satyakam Mishra.

The premier B-school, apart from providing faculty, will also train teachers of the varsity. It will design the course content and provide consultancy on several aspects including admission and placement. Besides, students can also make use of XIMB’s library facilities, he said.

At present, Ravenshaw University offers a bachelor’s programme in business administration.

Once introduced, human resource personnel felt Ravenshaw’s MBA course will trigger an unprecedented demand among management aspirants, given the brand name both carry.

The programme will undoubtedly set a bench mark for itself in the State. Mishra said the master’s degree programme will comprise 60 seats to begin with. The selection procedure is being worked out. Scores of XIMB conducted test and CAT may be taken into consideration.

However, the understanding with XIMB will be for two years. If the course proves successful, it will be extended, he noted.

The varsity has already initiated steps to set up the department and renovate an existing hostel for the MBA students.

The varsity had also introduced a five-year integrated master’s degree in science. Only a few institutes like University of Hyderabad, IISc Bangalore offer such courses.

The Book Review Society of Ravenshaw University, meanwhile, reviewed a book titled ‘The Mahanadi Dream.’

Penned by Dr.Subhakanta Behera, it was released by Vice-Chancellor Prof Devdas Chhotray. Convenor of the Ravenshaw University Book Review Society Somarani Chand and others were present.

Retrieved from here.

Keki N. Daruwalla to visit Ravenshaw

	A news post from www.ravenshawuniversity.com "Keki N. Daruwalla visits Ravenshaw
	The Ravenshaw Poetry Society will receive Mr. Keki N. Daruwalla, the eminent Indian poet in English in a get together over tea at 3.30 PM on April 12, 2008, in the Senate Room of Ravenshaw University, which is in the up stairs of the main Arts Block. Other well known Indian poets in English like Mr. Jayant Mohapatra, Mr. Bibhu Padhi and Mr. Rabindra K. Swain are also expected to attend. Those of you who are away are not in a position to come may kindly take this as a note of information."

Ravenshaw University P.G.Department of Odia develops Windows Vista and Office 2007 applications in Odia

Sometimes back there was a decision to stop Odia teaching in Ravenshaw College in some capacity(good sense prevailed and the decision was never implemented though). It is really heartening to come across the following article here.

If such opportunities can be created with consistency then Oriya will regain its popularity as a subject.

"Now, use Microsoft Vista operating system and Office 2007 applications in Oriya but be prepared for the shocker. These softwares have been developed by a literature and language facility and not any advanced out and out IT outfit. And, the entity is Post- Graduate Department of Oriya of Ravenshaw University.

After successfully giving shape to the default Oriya language interface for the Windows Vista operating system along with patches for its preceding XP platform for Microsoft, the department, in collaboration with Orissa Computer Application Centre (OCAC), has readied a comprehensive spellchecker and grammar-checker for the Oriya Office-2007 applications.

Not stopping at that, it has moved on to developing programming strings in Oriya language for Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 applications.

It has developed independent softwares like the comprehensive Oriya dictionary ‘Pramod Abidhan,’ online Oriya tutor ‘Ana Oriya’, dictionary of contemporary word usages ‘Chalanti’ and an revolutionary English to Oriya automated transcription programme.

The developers are no IT geeks but students of Oriya literature in the department with basic knowledge of computers and a few of their counterparts from the MCA wing of the university.

Under the guidance of Prof and HoD, Dr Girish Chandra Mishra, who had been involved in the developing of Shrilipi Oriya programme in 1990, as many as 24 Oriya PG and eight MCA students are churning out products one after the other.

‘Pramod Abidhan,’ the 3,000-odd page Oriya dictionary, has been digitised and made online in the Orissa Government portal.

The dictionary contains around two lakh words complete with their etimiology, pronunciation, usage and varieties of meanings. The software can also be used offline.

Besides, keeping in view the rush of foreigners as multinational investors flock to Orissa, the department has developed ‘AnaOriya’ tutoring software package with online interface that enables selflearning from basic alphabets, words and their translated meanings, vowels, vowel symbols, grammar and sentence formation with exhaustive audio-visual support."

What should be Ravenshaw University's Campus Name?

What should be Ravenshaw University's campus name. We have Vani Vihar for Utkal University, Jyoti Vihar for Sambalpur University and Bhanja Vihar for Berhampur University. In my opinion the name should be as unique as Ravenshaw and should symbolize the deep connect between Odisha and Ravenshaw. Whats your opinion?

Ravenshaw University : Documenting history through alumni memories

This news post has been retrieved from here.
"As the camera panned on Narayan Mohan Das and sound recorder went on, the 99-year-old former administrator was transported back in time.

Circa 1926-1930, a young Das moved through the hallowed portals of Ravenshaw College giving a ‘first hand account’ of how the institution was in that period.

‘The whole atmosphere was so calm and serene but full of constructive intellectual activity and excellence. The academics was unmatched with great teachers.

The sense of being part of Ravenshaw was simply overwhelming,’ said Das, with the glint of nostalgia. Like Das, many more are experiencing the time-travel as R a v e n s h a w University, the erstwhile Ravenshaw College , h a s embarked on a mission to trace its glorious past and heritage and preserve it for future.

Christened Ravenshaw 200, the project is reaching out to elderly luminaries and eminent personalities, who once paced through its corridors.

The basic objective is to document the 140-year-old history of Ravenshaw College through the memories of its old students. Ravenshaw College played the pivotal role in shaping modern Orissa.

It was from its very campus that events and movements to bring about socio-cultural and political changes in the State had originated. “But sadly, there has been no record for history. There are no written records on the institution,” said project coordinator and OSD to Vice-Chancellor Devdas Chotray, Dr Sangeeta Rath.

As many as 200 personalities, produced by the college, are slated to be interviewed. Already, 26 interviews through audio-visual medium have been completed and the rest are targeted to be completed by the year-end.

It will result in over 400 hours of recordings that would provide a comprehensive base for defining the history of Ravenshaw.

The interviews are being conducted by Dr Rath accompanied by VC Chotray. There are about 20 to 25 personalities residing outside the State, who will be personally approached while some around 10 NRIs would be contacted through mediums , she added.

While the AV documents would be placed at an independent Audio Visual Centre of the College, efforts are being made to screen them for the public through tieups with television channels and other media . The up coming RavenshawRadio would also broadcast the interviews.

The wealth of information would also be available for research.

Some luminaries already interviewed are former Chief Justice and officiating Governor of Orissa Gatikrushna Mishra (97), freedom fighter and former Union Minister Bibhudendra Mishra (87), former Advocate General Late Gangadhar Rath (85), Poet Jayanta Mohapatra (80), former Chief Secretary of Orissa Ramakanta Mishra (75), eminent cardiologist and painter Dr JP Das (74), former Utkal University VC Dr Devendra Chandra Mishra (87) and economist Dr Baidyanath Mishra (86) etc."

Wow! This is a very good initiative taken by the authorities. So the winds of change are blowing at Ravenshaw.....

Varsity rues wasteland

The following news item was retrieved from here.
"Ravenshaw University’s proposed second campus continues to be a waste ground as Cuttack Municipal Corporation dilly-dallies over its decision to shift its garbage dumping site.

The state government allotted 130 acres of land at Brajabiharipur Mauza under Athagarh Tehsil on the western outskirts of Cuttack for the proposed second campus. When efforts were initiated in November 2007 to acquire the land, nearly 57 acres were found to be under heaps of junk. Though university authorities had sought help from the Cuttack collector for the matter, there were no improvement in the situation as the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) pleaded it had “no alternative” to the Mauza ground.

Official sources, however, said 30 acres of land at Tulasadeipur under Barang block was provided as an alternative in December 2007. Both Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and CMC were expected to use it for disposal. Meanwhile, the CMC seems to be gravitating towards a common garbage-dumping yard under a Twin City Solid Waste Management Plan.

Orissa High Court on Thursday ordered the BMC and CMC to dispose garbage at a single point under the garbage-dumping process for the twin cities to facilitate a “waste-energy power project” proposed by the government. The court was hearing a PIL on solid waste management in the twin cities, when it gave the order.

Advocate-general B.K. Mahanti had said: “Some 61.41-acre of land has been identified at Bhuasuni in Bhubaneswar tehsil under Khurda for a dumping yard for both the CMC and BMC.” The court has fixed March 15 as the deadline for erecting the of boundary wall around the allocated land.

Khurda district collector had also filed an affidavit stating that the identified land had already been handed over to the civic bodies. Ravenshaw University authorities hoped the garbage hitch would be resolved with a common yard.

“We are keen to get through the process of acquiring land as the second campus has become a necessity to meet both the present and growing demand of students and there is hardly any scope for extension in the present campus,” said a university official."

I just pray that everything goes well and Ravenshaw has a new state of the art campus.

Reason for frequent law and order problems in Ravenshaw Campus

As I was browsing through the internet for Ravenshaw news I came across this news item here
"Tension prevailed in the College Square area of the city following a clash between students of the Ravenshaw University and locals on Saturday.

Two students and two locals sustained injuries and admitted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital here while one platoon of armed police has been deployed to prevent further spurt of violence. The injured have been identified as Raja and Ajit Khatua of Patara Sahi and students as Susant Sethi and Debi Mishra.

According to police, there are two versions on the cause of the clash. Locals have alleged that some boarders of the West Hostel had gone to play holi with girl students of the college, who were staying at Patara Sahi.

They allegedly did not behave properly with the girls to which the locals, primarily Raja and Khatua opposed. After an altercation between them, the students returned. At around 5 pm, Raja and Khatua were in the market adjacent to the university when they were spotted by the students.

The boarders grouped and attacked the two but seeing the two beaten up, locals ganged up and retaliated. The students have alleged that it was the other side which had started the fire. Raja was allegedly passing by the hostel on a motorcycle along with a companion when he heard something from inside. Taking it to be eve-teasing he confronted the boarders and even threatened them with dire consequences outside the campus.

When some boarders came out, he and his friend Khatua attacked them and the clash erupted. With locals supporting the duo the scene at the front gate of the university turned into a war zone for over an hour with both sides attacking each other. Armed police including senior officers rushed to the spot and had to use force to disperse the mobs.

Two cases have been registered by the Malgodown police in this connection and investigation is on. Armed police continued to be stationed in the area."

I often wonder the reason for this constant law and order problem in and around Ravenshaw Campus. In my opinion the reason is the location of Ravenshaw College. It is located in the heart of the Silver City and surrounded by dense population. Moreover civilian facilities like IGNOU study center also exist within the Ravenshaw campus. Shifting the University is not a practical solution. So what should the university authorities do to stop such problems in the future?

Ravenshaw elicits information for heritage

Embarking on a nostalgic trip to trace and join the missing links in the historic Borasambar- Senapati annual debate series, the Ravenshaw University has made an open request for assistance and extension of any information on the glorious tradition spanning over 70 years.

The University wishes to document all available information on the prestigious debate series, from details of winners, participants, judges, subjects and topics as well as incidents relating to them for its archive.

While this would not only serve the purpose of preserving the past heritage of the erstwhile Ravenshaw College, it would also throw light on the prevailing trends, issues and concerns of the different periods.

The annual debate was discontinued in 1970, in the centenary year of Ravenshaw College, and the exact reasons for it are still to be uncovered. Information collected can also help in unravelling the reasons.

The debate was restarted last year after creation of Ravenshaw University by the efforts of Vice-Chancellor Devdas Chhotray, a winner of the debate in 1963, and enjoys the status of Chancellor’s debate.

It was instituted in 1937 under the stewardship of the then Deputy Commissioner Nilamani Senapati, who parted with the Rs 600 bestowed on him as farewell gift by the Raja of Borasambar principality in Sambalpur upon his transfer to Cuttack to create an endowment for awarding a prize to the best debater in English. The annual event continued till 1970 but stopped abruptly after that.

The debate was revived after 36 years with the prize purse increased to Rs 5,000.

It has also been decided that the winner of the debate would also be awarded the Chancellor’s Cup and no separate debate would be held for the latter. Last year the winner was Ruchira Nanda. The debate for this year was held on Tuesday with as many as 45 students participating in it.

Among others Vice-Chancellor Devdas Chhotray, former Chief Secretary Pratip Mohanty and State Election Commissioner Sanjeev Hota were present.
Original post here.

Ravenshaw needs world class faculty. Do you fit the bill?

Ravenshaw University wants to recruit the best faculty possible. The Vice Chancellor himself has asked for "Academics who love Ravenshaw" to join it. The full text of VC's message follows:

Search of Faculty

The State Government of Orissa has recently sanctioned about 140 faculty positions for the Ravenshaw University. These positions were already in the strength of erstwhile Ravenshaw College. They have now been created in the establishment of Ravenshaw University and the recruitment process will begin soon. The posts according to various disciplines are as follows: Departments Professor Reader Lecturer 1 Bengali - - 01 2 Botany 01 03 06 3 Chemistry 01 04 08 4 Commerce 01 03 06 5 Computer Science - - 03 6 Economics 01 03 06 7 Education 01 02 05 8 English 01 04 07 9 Geography - 02 04 10 Hindi - - 02 11 History 01 02 04 12 Mathematics 01 02 05 13 Oriya 01 02 05 14 Philosophy - - 03 15 Physics 01 03 05 16 Political Science 01 02 04 17 Psychology - 02 03 18 Sanskrit - 01 02 19 Sociology - 02 03 20 Statistics - 01 01 21 Urdu - 01 01 22 Zoology 01 02 04 Total 12 40 88 The faculty of an educational institution constitutes its most valuable and critical element. It defines the level of excellence and intellect which the University fosters. Great care therefore has to be taken in selecting members of faculty as they are likely to play a key role in the future course of its growth and development. The formal notice and advertisement for faculty recruitment will soon be published, both in this website and elsewhere. This may be treated as an advance intimation of the recruitment process. Through this we are requesting friends of Ravenshaw within the country and abroad to help in selecting the most talented and distinguished individuals for this Institution. We clearly need versatile people who apart from their academic excellence will be good at developing an academic culture to engage creatively with the challenges posed by contemporary times. They will be institution builders who can give vision and direction to their schools and departments. Our recruitment shall be for tenure positions. We would also consider contractual appointments and re-employment of superannuated persons as well as visiting faculties if their credentials are suitable. Academics who love Ravenshaw and who have had the opportunity of working in other institutions of academic excellence both in the country and abroad may consider taking up tenure assignments to lay the foundation of the new university. Their insights, borne out of experience and exposure to other challenging environments, will be invaluable. We welcome expressions of intent as well as enquires about these matters at ravenshawuniversity@yahoo.co.in. Besides, I will be happy to hear directly on my personal e-mail devdaschhotray@hotmail.com and also cell phone (09937087878). Devdas Chhotray Vice Chancellor

The original post can be found here.