The Karnataka assembly on Monday passed a bill that is all set to give Bengaluru-based University Visveswaraya College of Engineering (UVCE) autonomy with a vision of developing it on lines of the IITs in India.

The government engineering college which was established in 1917 is currently a constituent college of Bangalore University. The college also had its centenary celebrations recently.

Previously, the state government had constituted a committee headed by senior educationist and former director of IIIT-Bangalore, Prof S Sadagopan to give a set of recommendations on how UVCE can be nurtured into an institute of great value. The committee placed before the government a set of recommendations that can be achieved by 2030 in the current pandemic situation.

Among the key proposals that were put forth were complete financial autonomy, recruitment of outstanding faculty, curriculum and infrastructure upgrades besides improvement of the industry-academia connect.  

Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, minister for higher education said, “Karnataka Assembly passed the UVCE Bill-2021 that grants autonomy to attain standards of global excellence. The bill incorporated the recommendations of the Prof. S Sadagopan committee. This will transform technical education in the state to elevate us to the global stage.”

In addition to Rs 10 crore that has already been earmarked by the state government for the development of the institute, Rs. 50 crore will be provided for upgrading the institution.

“UVCE will have autonomy like the IIMs, the IITs’ educational excellence, and a cost-economical institution like the College of Engineering, Pune,” Ashwathnarayan said. 

Also read: Interview with Dr S Sadagopan, Director, IIIT- Bangalore