Dear Students,
This is the time of the year when normally things get busy. To students one of it is examinations and for some it is of looking beyond by way of placements and the future. And senior administrators would have to get ready for the next academic session as also in ensuring that the current group of graduating students are getting well settled in their futures. Our Placements for this year have been excellent by any standards with so far in the upwards of 6000 offers from core and IT companies. By and large we could say that the academic year 2018-19 has indeed been a highly productive and enriching experience with each challenge faced bringing up more opportunities for all of us.
Many of you are aware of the fact that SRMIST was accredited with the highest grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council—A++, or A Double Plus. This is the highest ranking given to educational institutions. We are granted graded autonomy as Category 1 University as per the University Grants Commission. This means that we are under Section 12B of the UGC Act of 1956 for funding; we can start campuses and increase internationalization. Getting the highest grade from the NAAC was by no means an accident; rather it was in the culmination of several well thought out measures that benefitted both students and faculty. The Inter- Disciplinary Experiential Active Learning (IDEAL) and the Faculty Industry Immersion Program (FIIP) are just two such examples.
The pride list of SRMIST in the recent past is a lengthy one. On the research front our h-index has grown to 68. We have also published several papers in much acclaimed nature group of journals and the Lancet etc. In terms of our Research grant, we have secured Rs.127 crores so far funded by several government agencies. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, GoI gave us the National IP Award in the category of top academic institutions for Patents and Commercialization. The establishment of the New Gen IEDC—Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Cell with a funding of nearly Rs 3 crores by the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship of Govt. of India’s Department of Science and Technology is yet another shot in the arm for us. And in our Kattankulathur campus we have the Fab Lab, a one of a kind work space for all engineering innovation and entrepreneurship that turns idea into reality. All this is not to forget our Incubation Center that is specifically designed to support entrepreneurs who are looking to start a new business.
For those of you who are graduating, my very best to you and I am confident that every one of you will shine in whatever chosen profession. Come back as often as you can to your alma mater to share thoughts and experiences. And for returning students, I am sure the next academic year will be enlightening and rewarding as the institution keeps moving up the ladder of excellence.
Dr. Sandeep Sancheti
Vice Chancellor,
SRM Institute of Science and Technology (formerly known as SRM University).