DUBAI: BITS, Pilani-Dubai (BPD), the branch campus of BITS, Pilani-India, has been awarded Grade A by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), the autonomous grading body of the University Grants Commission of India. NAAC, which assesses and accredits institutes of higher education, has granted the highest grade to BITS campuses -- at Pilani, Goa and Dubai.
A high-power NAAC Peer Team visited the sprawling BPD campus in Dubai International City in early December and initiated its rigorous assessment procedures -- based on criteria like curriculum, teaching-learning and evaluation, infrastructure and learning resources, student support and progression, governance and leadership, innovative practices and so on. The Peer Team inspected all departments, laboratories, the library, sports center and student facilities like the clinic, canteen, etc. This was followed by extensive interactions with the faculty, staff and students.
The NAAC Peer Team's findings emphasize the various strengths of BPD. The institution offers engineering programs in seven disciplines, achieving unparalleled growth in less than nine years. While the majority of students come from the UAE and GCC, there are enrollments from all parts of the world, with around 27% of students being girls.
An important observation was that BPD graduates are well-placed at various centers of excellence around the globe -- be it corporates like Microsoft, Oracle, Larsen & Toubro, Dell, Panasonic and Siemens or universities of the stature of Stanford, Cornell or Purdue for Masters and Ph.D. programs.
The NAAC grading was received with great celebration at the BPD campus. Dr M Ramachandran, Director of BPD, congratulated the faculty, staff and students, attributing the success to their untiring efforts and achievements.
"The sincerity and hard work put in by BPD to ensure the highest level of education and career opportunities have resulted in this excellence and we will continue to tread in the same path to serve the population of this region," he added.
© Arab News 2009
