Studying in style

Higher educational institutions and Information Technology parks give the city a high-tech environment.

IT is celebration time for many institutions of higher education in Coimbatore. The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) held its centenary celebrations in July 2005. Bharathiar University heralds its silver jubilee year this year by venturing into research in nano-technology and micro electro-mechanical systems. The Coimbatore Institute of Technology is celebrating its golden jubilee year with three international conferences. The first conference, on environmental engineering, was held in January 2006. The second, on nano-technology, will be held in June and the third on global manufacturing technology, in July in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts, U.S.

Bharathiar University, established in 1982, has 106 colleges in Coimbatore, Erode and the Nilgiris district affiliated to it. As part of its silver jubilee celebrations, work is under way on an air-conditioned, 1,000-seat auditorium. The Bharathiar University - Defence Research and Development Organisation Centre of Excellence for Life Sciences is also coming up nearby. The centre would initially do research on environmental management, molecular approaches for improving performances at high altitudes, and development of bio-sensors, micro-fuel cells and gas sensors, Dr. S. Sivasubramanian, Vice-Chancellor, said. The Tamil Nadu government has sanctioned Rs.1.5 crores for a building to house the university's nano-technology department. The university offers an M.Sc degree in bioinformatics, and a full-fledged department for bioinformatics will be set up this year.

The Coimbatore Institute of Technology (CIT), founded in 1956, is an aided institution affiliated to Anna University, Chennai. It offers graduate, post-graduate and research programmes in various engineering disciplines. The CIT now plans to focus on post-graduate research and consultancy.

Dr. S.R.K. Prasad, Director, CIT, said: "We are trying to make it a global institution." Six years ago it signed an MoU with Loughborough University, U.S., for doing research in computational fluid dynamics. Dr. R. Prabhakar, Principal, CIT, said the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad, had engaged CIT as a consultant in computational fluid dynamics. "We are currently doing modelling and simulation for the DRDL in micro-unmanned aerial vehicles," he added. "In the next 12 to 18 months," Dr. Prasad said, "we plan to set up three centres of excellence in advanced manufacturing technology, in process modelling and simulation in mechanical engineering, and in biochemical engineering." The CIT plans to do research and development in automobile components' design.

With Information Technology (IT) companies making a beeline for Coimbatore, Elnet Technologies Limited (ETL) is developing a state-of-the-art software park. (It is building another at Taramani in Chennai). According to Jair Dsouza, vice-president (commercial), ETL Infrastructure Services Limited, the two complexes are designed to offer 84 per cent of usable space. Akshay Sarin, key account manager, ETL, said the Coimbatore IT park would be built in two phases and would have a total built-up area of 1.6 million sq.ft. Work is under way on the first phase. The complex will have a food court, a pharmacy, a gymnasium, a business entertainment lounge, a medical emergency room and so on.

The IT park of KG Information Systems Private Limited-Institute of Information Management (KGISL-IIM) houses several important IT companies. KGISL-IIM offers an MCA programme that gives students adequate opportunities to earn while they learn. The students attend classes from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. They can work at the KGISL IT Park after the classes.

The two-year-old Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Institute of Textile Management (SVPITM) is ideally located in Coimbatore because the region has the largest concentration of textiles and related industries in the world. An autonomous institute under the Union Ministry of Textiles, it offers courses in textile technology and management.

The institute admits 92 students every year. It offers a post-graduate diploma in textile management, apparel management, and home textile management. There was 100 per cent placement for the first batch of students who had passed out, said C. Anandan, Director, SVPITM.