Improving the teacher-student ratio will be a major priority, says K.N. Madhusoodanan, the new Vice Chancellor of Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat). A Professor of Instrumentation, he has over 23 years of experience in teaching, research and guidance at the university. Prof. Madhusoodanan shared his vision for the varsity in a chat with The Hindu after he assumed office on Thursday.
What are your key priorities?
My immediate task is to fill up the faculty vacancies in the varsity departments. We have to improve our faculty-student ratio, which is now around 1:25. The goal is to bring it to 1:15 in the near future and achieve 1:10 in the long term. Most of the prestigious institutions have a good faculty-student ratio. The faculty shortage at the School of Engineering and Cochin University College of Engineering, Kuttanad, will also be addressed.
New opportunities and challenges
Linking higher education to economic growth and development has gained lot of attention globally. Innovation, patenting, and product development have considerable weightage in the ranking systems across the world. Researchers on the campus have to orient themselves into an entrepreneurial mode. I am not saying it should be in a conventional business mode, but by achieving economic development through entrepreneurship. The traditional model of enrolling for a course and getting a job is fast changing.
On international research and academic collaborations
Days are gone when we could remain in our own compartments. We have to be more open and reaching out to the world outside. J. Letha, former Vice Chancellor, had initiated a programme of inviting experts from an international university to come here and interact with the faculty and students here. This will be given a boost and we will try to bring in acclaimed scholars into our campus. This is not an easy job. We have to project our strengths before them. I hope we can start with faculty exchanges and then have project partnerships with institutions in the country and abroad in the second phase.
Campus violence
It’s a matter of concern. We can involve faculty members and parents in ensuring a peaceful atmosphere on the campus. I feel we need to engage the students better through new academic initiatives.