Suneel Galgotia, Chancellor of Galgotias University, developed a small but successful engineering college into a full-fledged university. His unwavering commitment to quality has won him respect from all sectors. Excerpts from interview he gave Frontline:
Galgotias University lays emphasis on academic streams oriented towards technology. Is there any particular reason for this?
Our foray into education started with an engineering institute, and the business school was its natural extension. However, with the advent of Galgotias University we have added diverse fields to our education menu such as humanities, commerce, fashion, hotel management and forensic science.
What sets apart Galgotias from other such universities?
When we started Galgotias Educational Institutions, we had one clear objective: that we would create institutions not mere organisations. While both institutions and organisations need great human and physical infrastructure, what distinguishes an institution from an organisation is that an institution is an edifice built on the foundation of a better thought and deeper value system. The mission of Galgotias University is to enable the students and faculty bodies to learn together through the most evolved education processes in an atmosphere of rigour and discipline. Every effort is made to evolve a culture of learning excellence, which emerges from and integrates with real-life processes of industry, science and commerce. We bring the best of educational practices from across the globe, simply because we are not bound by moribund legacy systems.
How is your record in placements?Continuing with the academic building blocks, Galgotias industry-led syllabus enables comprehensive student training, industry-relevant project support, industry visits and internships, hands-on technical and soft skills training. Extensive interaction with domain experts ensures the absolute job-readiness of each student. The power and relevance of industry-led syllabi drive academic excellence among the Galgotias faculty and students, thereby enabling industry leaders to recruit our students year after year. Industry and media surveys reveal placements of 100 per cent every year. Major companies such as Infosys are recruiting in ever-greater numbers every year because they see huge growth in the quality of Galgotias students. Recently our final-year student, Naveen Goswami, got a job offer of $90,000 from Helix Energy, United States. Such offers validate the qualitative aspect of our education.
Apart from course curriculum, how do you groom students in extra-curricular activities?
First and foremost, we believe that a progressive being emerges from an overall and holistic development. We have a four-pronged approach with equal emphasis on physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual development of the student to enable him/her to have a positive impact on society and the nation at large.
A Special Correspondent
