Armed with ‘Institution of Eminence’ recognition by the government of India, leading private deemed university VIT (Vellore Institute of Technology) is working out a comprehensive plan to get listed among the top 200 global universities in the next five years.

With the IoE tag, VIT hopes to move up faster not just in the quality ladder, but also in global ranking.

An empowered expert committee of Government of India has chosen 10 government and 10 private universities as Institutes of Eminence, in order to support and encourage them to compete with the top global universities and find a place among the top 200 or 300 universities.

In a recent survey of a global publication that ranked 1,400 universities across 90 countries, none of the Indian universities found a place among the top 300.

“It’s a real concern for the country. Now, the government wants the IoE universities to come up strongly and compete with global universities to be among the top 300. VIT is planning for it and we are working out a strategy to compete with most eminent global universities in the world. We hope to be among the top 200 global universities in the next 5 years, said G Viswanathan, Chancellor, VIT..

IoE tag

He said the IoE tag would provide a lot of freedom to introduce innovative programmes and schemes aimed at Indian and international students. While IoE tag may not get any funds from the government, VIT may enjoy greater freedom and ease of operations as it doesn’t have to seek permissions and approvals for starting a new course and other related activities. Thus, several restrictions and time delays will not be there, said Anand A Samuel, Vice-Chancellor, VIT.

VIT may also look at collaborating with elite institutions abroad to do highend research and strengthen co-operation with industries.

“We will come up with more innovative programmes and bring in more overseas faculty. Also, we can offer online programmes across the world. This IoE is actually a responsibility rested on us and we have to maintain better standards,” said VS Kanchana Bhaskaran, Pro-Vice Chancellor, VIT-Chennai.

VIT has now about 40,000 students across two campuses and this year, more than 3,000 students of VIT have got placements so far.