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“There’s no doubt in my mind that
BITS-Pilani is a globally bench-
marked engineering and technology
HEI on a par with the best IITs. This
is because of the very high quality of
meritorious students we admit every
year and our rigorous faculty search
and selection process. This university
is also quickly moving with the tem-
per of the times. With the national
focus on research and innovation,
right now we have 1,800 research
students reading for their Ph Ds.
Moreover with the NEP 2020 having
mandated all HEIs to transform into
multi-disciplinary universities, we
have already introduced business
management, law and science and
biology schools on our campuses.
Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, Patiala: retained ranking Even before NEP 2020 smoothed the
way for foreign universities to enter
Perhaps aware of the petty-mind- BITS-Pilani on March 1 this year. India, we entered into a comprehen-
edness of UGC and official educracy, That’s because almost imperceptibly sive collaboration, twinning and joint
the Birla Institute of Technol- this private university has trans- degree programmes all the way up
ogy and Science, Pilani (BITS- formed into a sprawling academic to Ph Ds with the high-ranked RMIT
Pilani), established by the legendary transnational with campuses in Goa, University, Australia, and are negoti-
India Inc pioneer G.D. Birla, which Mumbai, Hyderabad and Dubai ating more collaboration agreements
was conferred university status way with an aggregate 18,000 students with several American universities.
back in 1964, has never attempted to mentored by 900 faculty. The 3,600 Moreover we have drawn up a plan
proclaim itself a university. And over school-leavers of 200,000 aspirants to recruit a substantial number of
the past almost hundred years, it has who pass its rigorous online entrance South Asian academics from the US
built itself a formidable reputation examination have the option to select and UK to return and serve with us.
as the private sector response to the a campus of their choice. All this will require raising our public
IITs and IISc (Indian Institute of Yet despite almost all knowledge- profile. BITS-Pilani is at an inflection
Science). able academics readily conceding point,” says Ramgopal Rao.
In the annual EWIHER, BITS- that BITS-Pilani is on a par with the With BITS-Pilani continuing to
Pilani has been consistently ranked premier IITs and IISc, Bangalore, chair the top table of private engi-
India’s #1 private engineering and in the Union education ministry’s neering and tech universities, there’s
technology university. This year as National Institutional Ranking been minor rearrangement of seating
well it is ranked #1 with top scores Framework of India’s Top 100 at top table. Thapar Institute
under eight of the 12 parameters of Engineering HEIs dominated by IITs of Engineering & Technology,
higher education excellence devised and NITs, BITS-Pilani is ranked a Patiala has retained its #2 ranking
by EducationWorld/C fore. This de- lowly #29, below Jadavpur, Kol- which it is obliged to share with the
spite maintaining a determinedly low kata and Shiksha ‘O’ Anusandhan, Vellore Institute of Technology
public and media profile during the Odisha, a phenomenon Prof. Rao promoted from #3 in 2022-23. The
reign of Dr. Souvik Bhattacha- attributes to “low public profile.” Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of
rrya (2016-2023). However, the carefully constituted Information and Communica-
Institutional image projection EducationWorld sample respon- tion Technology, Gandhinagar
policy is likely to change under dents database comprising 4,223 (Gujarat) is given a big promotion
Prof. V. Ramgopal Rao, an alum knowledgeable university faculty, to #3 (5), a rank it shares with the
of IIT-Bombay and Universitat der final year students and industry highly-rated IIIT, Hyderabad
Bundeswehr, Munich, Germany with leaders have had no hesitation about (4). SRM Institute of Science &
a long service record in IIT-Bombay voting BITS-Pilani India’s #1 Private Technology, Chennai is ranked
and hitherto Director of IIT-Delhi, Engineering & Technology Univer- #4 and the (independent) Birla
who was appointed vice chancellor of sity last year and again in 2023-24. Institute of Technology, Mesra

MAY 2023 EDUCATIONWORLD 57