“The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.” 

– Rabindranath Tagore

The entire human effort of technology, invention, innovation, and discovery has been to bring humanity together from the comfort added by the removal of compact space from a pocket device, emotional therapies that keep a majority of humanity from going sane. Every effort of humanity, let that be through art, history, mobiles, the internet, etc., has been an act to bring humanity together.

Laying the intuition of it from the very start of humanity’s existence, humans have devised technology to the extent that every form of human existence has evolved with it. Despite the inclusion, humans make sure to leave a token of gratitude as a reminder of the heights we have achieved.

But where is this intuition of carrying the wheel forward laid?

Understanding and knowing the system, based on the rich principles of culture, heritage and innovation, humankind based its trust and foundation on the enriching system of learning, the education system.

And the torch bearers of this modern age are the modern technological and holistic universities. These universities are shaping, grooming, and sculpting the future, completing their growth arc.

One such University that has created an eco-system that is inspired and inspiring innovation, and passing on the torch of innovation, creativity, and curiosity, is Gujarat Technological University.

The Knowledge Review magazine, in its search to find ‘The Most Efficacious Universities of the Year, 2023’, came across Prof. (Dr) Navin Sheth, the Vice Chancellor, who completed his tenure on 30th December 2022. And now, Dr. Pankajray Patel is the In-Charge Vice Chancellor of the University, who has been entrusted with the duties of driving the initiatives and efforts towards excellence to new heights.

What is Gained ‘MUST’ be Passed!

All nations, small or large communities, and large institutions spend a considerable amount on education. It is not that it is essential, but it is necessary to carry the foundation of humanity forward. And with a vision to allow the students to explore the depths of reality, systems, innovation, human health, etc., the foundation of Gujarat Technological University was laid.

Today, GTU is one of the most effective knowledge-wealthy universities in the country. With more than four lakh students from 67 different nationalities, the University is one of the trendsetting universities in the mighty education system of India.

Passing on this knowledge with grace, gratitude and growth across the world is the Gujarat Technological University, with more than 30+ International University collaborations, 4 PG Schools, one constituent UG engineering college and around 435 affiliated colleges under its banner.

Understanding the depth and measures of deep, personalised and intuitive education, GTU has curated a very instructive approach that is holistically strengthening the base of effective education.

An Ignatius Approach!

Being a trendsetter university of the modern world, GTU’s principles are still deeply rooted in its culture and the foundation of what we know in the form of holistic education. Further integrating it with the management approaches at the University, the University has curated a 4Is Approach to administer the day-to-day activities at the University smoothly.

The 4Is mentioned are:

• Intellectual Capabilities
• Internationalisation
• Innovation
• Infrastructure

With this indigenous institution-oriented approach of the University, GTU has transcended into an effective university of the modern age.

Intellectual Capabilities: The Academic Wing

The first and foremost pillar of Gujarat Technological University is the wing that looks after the quality of education and acts as the neurons that pass the knowledge the way it is received. The Academic Council of GTU consists of UG/PG and PhD, which is further divided into Faculty and Research Council respectively and BOS and DRC, respectively.

This constitutes all the academic wings of Engineering, Management, Architecture, Pharmacy and Computer Applications, with a total number of 124 academic courses over a range of courses of duration from 1 Year – Post Graduate Diploma to 6 Years – Pharm. D.

The colleges that come directly under the administration of GTU are:

• Graduate School of Management Studies (GSMS), offering distinguished management courses in terms of 2 MBA programs, 2 PGD Programs and a BBA
• Graduate School of Engineering and Technology (GSET), offering specialised engineering courses in the modern world with 5 Master of Engineering programs and 1 PD Diploma. The course varies from Cyber Security to AI to Data Science and Structural Engineering.
• Graduate School of Pharmacy (GSP), offering 4 Masters’s programs in distinctive domains, a B.Pharm and 5 Certification programs.
• School of Applied Sciences and Technology (SAST), offering four unique industry-based programs in terms of M.Sc and Integrated M.Sc in the field of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics.
• Gujarat Power Engineering and Research Institute (GPERI) offer unique and relevant industry-based programs UG Engineering programs.

With its strong hold over the subject and being a trendsetter in that sector, the University has developed 3 Centres of Excellence across its academic wings. With the Centre of Excellence in Skill Development, BOSCH Centre of Excellence in Automation and SIEMENS Centre of Excellence.

Research Week: Quality Check

The University understands the need for quality education and student grooming in a holistic way, so the doctoral thesis of the student is to the point while allowing the student to achieve mastery in it.

Every six months, a review of every PhD student by the Doctoral Progress Committee is committed. More than 62 International Co-Supervisors for PhD students are conducted during that Research Week.

Apart from that, Research Week offers more than 100 plus workshops throughout the year. All these workshops are conducted by experts in the respective domains and have mastered a quality check of it.

To maintain the flow of knowledge from industry experts, the GTU conducts more than 330+ workshops, 120+ seminars, 19 National and International Conferences, 120+ Faculty Development Programs and more than 200 various other events. The seminars and conferences vary from engineering to management, depending on the courses and academic program.

Internationalisation- A Global Approach

With an international approach instilled in the core values of the University, The Department of International Relations. Explaining the major tasks that the Department of internationals Relations undertakes, the In-Charge Vice Chancellor of the University highlights the following:

• Student Exchange (outbound) – International Experience Programme (IEP)
• Students Exchange (in-bound) – Winter School Program (WSP)
• Full-time foreign students at GTU Foreign Student’s Cell (IFSC)
• Organising joint events with foreign university partners.
• Collaboration with MNCs to enhance the skills and employability of students.
• Leveraging the expertise of foreign professors as co-supervisors in PhD Programmes.
• Exploring collaborative approach opportunities with new universities.
• Maintaining collaborations with 30+ University Partners.

Further, the high collaboration rate with international Universities. For this smooth initiative, the University has collaborated with 30+ International Academic Collaborations worldwide.

International Experience Programme (IEP)

In today’s world, an international experience has become an evident part of holistic education academic experience. With the inclusion of the International Experience Programme (IEP), GTU offers its students an affordable and learning-oriented international exposure program.

Starting in 2011, IEP is the largest student mobility programme in India, wherein about 370-400 students visit six universities in 5 different countries for short-term study of 6-8 weeks every year. The objective is to provide international pedagogical and socio-cultural exposure to students. Moreover, with collaboration with Gujarat Technological University, it provides intense global exposure that opens doors to multiple opportunities and pursuance of higher study abroad.

• GTU Sponsors the Academic Cost for all participating students and also provides 100% sponsorship to the faculty mentors’ travel along with the students as an IEP mentors.

The Foreign Student’s Cell – Enrich, Explore, Enjoy and Express!

Gujarat Technological University started in 2013, and a total number of 1042 students participated in it to date. To date, under this program, around 794 Undergraduates, 238 Postgraduates, and 10 PhD graduates have passed out of GTU.

Moreover, being a trendsetting international university, the University houses a diverse community from 66 countries. The University manages applications to Alumni service Full-Time Foreign Students with a Tech-based administrative system.

Winter School Programme (WSP)

Furthermore, the Winter School Programme is designed by the University for the students of Engineering, Management and Architecture. Some of the highlights of this programme are:

• Class Room Sessions
• Project Work/Field Work
• Relevant Industry Visits
• Excursion Visits to Heritage/Tourist sites
• Cultural Programs
• Festival Celebrations
• Interactive Meet with Government Officials.

Innovation – The Tried & Tested Wing

Understanding the need for innovation in developing a sustainable future, GTU Innovation Council (GIC) was started by the Gujarat Technological University with an agenda to create an environment of innovation in the university eco-system since 2010.

The segments that are majorly focused on this end-to-end eco-system development are:

GTU Innovation & Start-up Centre

Mark Twain once said, ‘Figures don’t lie, but liars figure.’ Following this, here are some numbers that indicate the support at glace for GTU Innovation & Start-up Centre:

GTU has around 9.38 crore Start-up Grants and has generated around 3000 Employment Opportunities. Apart from that, with 34 Crore in turnover and revenue by start-ups, there are around 526 Start-ups Supported with 463 capacity building and outreach programs. Further giving a new direction to the skilled-based education in India, GTU has 98,254 Students Sensitised, and more than 3466 projects are supported by students alone.

Further briefly overviewing the support at a glance, GTU has further 599 start-ups with PoC support and has registered around 140 patents, trademarks and design reg. Further, it also houses 251 associated mentors and has 9 Courses on Innovation for interested students. Out of all the students, there are around 90 Start-ups Recognised by DIPP/DPIIT and 11 projects are felicitated with Innovator Parents. The current team strength is 36, and they have 6 Incubator Verticals.

Under this wing at the University, there are some projects that are recognised and funded by the national and state government. Some of the grant-sanctioned programs are:

Infrastructure – State-of-the-art Education Facility

Being a modern-day technological university, the IT Infrastructure is portrayed through the GTU Website – https://www.gtu.ac.in/

Other than the E-Exam System, the University also monitors the exam system. It is further divided into four segments which are:

• E-Assessment: Introduced in 2011, Approx. 1.3 million answer books are E-Accessed by approx. 12,000 examiners.
• QPDS: Introduced in 2018, the Online Question Paper Delivery System uses cloud computing to conduct and regulate exams.
• Encrypted Manuscripts: More than 20,000 manuscripts are received each year and are encrypted and manifested here.
• Volume: Conducts examination of almost 4 lakh students across 290 exam centres for 3100 subjects twice a year.

The University also has an online result portal to provide results and announcements in real-time. The portal also deals with online applications for re-checking and re-assessment of exams.

Other than that, the University also has Online Student-Support Services for enrolment to post degree documents through the student’s portal. Moreover, the IT infrastructure also has dedicated departmental portals for DIR, IEP, FSC, Alumni, Conferences, PMSS, 100-point activities, Recruitment, Tender, e-courses, etc.

Moreover, the proposed campus plan at Lekawada, Gandhinagar, depicts a well-designed infrastructure for the holistic development of students and the University. The University has an active participation record for external activities and also conducts impressive sports activities. Out of all the recognised rankings from nationally and abroad, Gujarat Technology University is surely dictating the terms of sustainable and holistic higher international education in the country.