Visvesvaraya Technological University


Visvesvaraya Technological University is a collegiate public state university in Belgaum, Karnataka established by the Government of Karnataka. Apart from a few notable exceptions, VTU has authority over engineering education throughout the state of Karnataka. It is a statutory requirement for colleges offering any program in engineering or technology in the state to be affiliated with the university.
The university is named after M. Visvesvaraya from Karnataka, the only engineer to be awarded a Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India. Jnana Sangama, Belgaum is the headquarters of VTU. Additionally, the university has three regional centres in Bengaluru, Gulbarga and Mysore.
VTU is one of the largest universities in India with 219 colleges affiliated to it with an intake capacity of over 467,100 undergraduate students and 12,666 postgraduate students. The university encompasses technical and management fields which offer 30 undergraduate and 71 postgraduate courses. It has around 1800 PhD candidates.
VTU has 13 QIP centres and 17 extension centres in its affiliated colleges offering postgraduate courses. It has around 2,305 departments recognised as research centres which are spread across its affiliated institutions in cities of Karnataka.
It is one of the few universities in India to have 16 of its affiliated colleges recognised by the World Bank for getting assistance in setting up state-of-the-art laboratories, campus facilities, and research centres under the TEQIP.
VTU is administered by its Executive Council and Academic Senate whose members are selected from the academic community and government officials. The present chancellor is Sri Vajubhai Vala, governor of Karnataka state and the vice-chancellor is Dr. Karisiddappa.
The Jnana Sangama, Belgaum campus and the regional and extension centres of VTU at Bangalore, Davangere, Gulbarga and Mysore offer M.Tech, MBA, MCA and PhD programs.
The university has signed MoUs with multinational corporations like IBM, Intel Asia Electronics Inc., Ingersoll-Rand Ltd., Bangalore, Nokia, Bosch Rexroth and Microsoft to improve the industry interactions for students and teachers.
VTU is a member of AIU and ACU.

History

In India, the state governments are responsible for education in their states. Development and monitoring of universities is in the mandate of a state government. In view of improving the quality of technical education in Karnataka, the state government passed the VTU Act in 1994 which led to formation of VTU and its dedication to technical education. VTU's mandate is defined as:
The VTU Act vested authority to VTU as the sole affiliating university for technical education in the state. All the colleges in the state that offered technical programs, mostly affiliated to regional state universities, were obligated to shift affiliation to VTU. Notable exceptions to the VTU Act include, but are not limited to, University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering, National Institute of Technology Surathkal, and Manipal Institute of Technology.

Academic profile

Boards and courses

VTU offers undergraduate engineering programs that award a Bachelor of Engineering or Bachelor of Technology degree. The university offers postgraduate programs that lead to Master of Technology, Master of Science by research, Master of Business Administration, Master of Computer Applications and doctorate. The MSc and Ph.D. are research degrees while the rest are taught degrees.

Undergraduate courses

The university has 12 undergraduate boards which offer Bachelor of Engineering programs and one undergraduate board which offers Bachelor of Architecture course:
BoardUndergraduate courses in English medium
Architecture‡Architecture
Automobile EngineeringAutomobile Engineering
BiotechnologyBio-technology
Civil EngineeringCeramics & Cement Technology, Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering
Chemical / Polymer EngineeringChemical Engineering, Silk Technology, Textile Technology, Polymer Science & Technology
CSE / ISEComputer Science & Engineering and Information Science & Engineering
Electrical EngineeringElectrical & Electronics Engineering
Electronics & Communication EngineeringElectronics & Communication Engineering, Telecommunication Engineering
IPE / IEM / MAIndustrial & Production Engineering, Industrial Engineering & Management, Manufacturing Science & Engineering
IT / BM / MLBiomedical Engineering, Instrumentation Technology, Medical Electronics
Mechanical EngineeringAeronautical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mining Engineering, Precision Engineering, Printing Technology, Tool Engineering
Mechatronics EngineeringMechatronics Engineering

‡ The Architecture board offers the B.Arch course.

Postgraduate courses

The university has 11 postgraduate boards which offer Master of Technology programs:
BoardPostgraduate programs in English medium
Civil EngineeringComputer Aided Design of Structure, Construction Technology, Environmental Engineering, Geo-Informatics, Highway Technology, Structural Engineering, Transportation Engineering And Management, Infrastructure construction and management.
Chemical EngineeringChemical Engineering
Computer Science and EngineeringComputer Engineering, Computer Network Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Information Technology, Software Engineering
Electrical EngineeringComputer Applications in Industrial Drives, Energy Systems & Management, Microelectronics and Control Systems, Power Electronics, Power Systems, Engineering
Electronics & Communication EngineeringDigital Communication Engineering, Digital Communication & Networking, Digital Electronics, Digital Electronics & Communication, Digital Electronics & Communication Systems, Electronics, Industrial Electronics, Information & Communication System, Network & Internet Engineering, VLSI Design & Embedded Systems, Signal Processing, Communication Systems, Intelligent Systems
IP EngineeringManufacturing Science & Engineering, Master of Engineering Management, Product Design & Manufacturing, Production Engineering & System Technology, Production Engineering, Production Management, Production Technology
IT EngineeringBiomedical Signal Processing & Instrumentation
MBAMaster Of Business Administration
MCAMaster of Computer Applications
Mechanical EngineeringComputational Analysis in Mechanical Sciences, M.Tech in Aeronautical Engineering, Industrial Automation and Robotics, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Design Engineering, Engineering Analysis, Machine Design, Thermal Power, Tool Engineering
Textile TechnologyTextile Technology

Syllabus

Visvesvaraya Technological University accomplished its primary task of setting a common syllabus across the state in 1998. The university revises the syllabus every four years keeping in view technology upgrades around the world. The syllabus was revised in 2002, 2006 and 2010. In 2012, VTU announced that it would launch a 'first-of-its-kind' elective targeting railways and metro technology as part of the civil, electrical and mechanical engineering courses.

Research and development (R&D)

Research centres

VTU has over 2305 research centres in 219 affiliated colleges.
The university provides research scopes in the following fields:
The university has signed MoUs with international organisations and multinational corporations and has set up centres of excellence.

Autonomy cell

Autonomous colleges

'Autonomy' implies that the college has the freedom to set its own syllabus, evaluation system, and grading system, but the degree awarded will be by the university. This degree differs from the degree awarded by non-autonomous colleges, with the difference being that the college name is boldly marked as 'Autonomous'.
The Karnataka state has 22 autonomous engineering colleges affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi.
P.D.A. College of Engineering, Gulbarga
All the 'autonomous colleges' follow a system of absolute grading or relative grading. The final score is calculated as a GPA.

Non-autonomous colleges

All the affiliated 'non-autonomous' colleges assess the students by a marking system. An aggregate score is calculated out of 100 as a percentage. All the subjects get equal weight. The final score is not calculated as a GPA but is instead awarded classes according to the marks obtained.
The classes awarded to the students of non-autonomous colleges are:
Class AwardedMarks RangeAbbreviation
First Class with Distinction70 – 100FCD
First Class60 – 69FC
Second Class35 – 59SC
Fail< 35Fail

Student activities

Sports

The university organises competitions for most sports played in India. Most competitions are held in its affiliated colleges except for tennis hockey, tennis, and table-tennis which are held on the campus at Belagavi. The winning teams represent the university in national-level competitions.

VTU Fest

The university annually organises an inter-collegiate culfest which sees participants from all its affiliated colleges.

Visvesvaraya Institute of Advanced Technology

is a research institute being constructed in Muddenahalli, Karnataka. The institute is on of land near Nandi Hills and is expected to cost 600 crores. In the initial years, VIAT will focus on research in embedded technology, software quality, agricultural engineering and bioengineering. Each department will function as a 'discovery-innovation centre.' The institute will offer graduate and PhD programs in the sciences.

Affiliated colleges

There are 201 colleges affiliated to the university. The colleges are categorised as 'government', 'private-aided' and 'private-unaided' based on the type of funding. A few colleges may be classified as 'minority linguistic' and 'minority religious' based on the minority status of languages and religions. Further, these colleges are placed under 'autonomous' and 'non-autonomous' category of institutions granted by UGC.

Examination

Exams are conducted twice a year for all affiliated colleges. Odd semester exam is conducted during December and January. Results usually published in February. Even semester exams are conducted during May/June; results are published in July.
See List of colleges affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University

Rankings

Ranking list

AgencyIndian Rank§World Rank†Year
4 International Colleges & Universities 4023312017

§ The rank among all the Indian universities

† The rank among all the world universities

List of vice chancellors

No.FromToNamePosition previously held
11 April 199830 March 2001Dr. S. RajashekharaiahPrincipal,
Basaveshvara Engineering College, Bagalkot
21 April 200130 June 2007Dr. K. Balaveera ReddyProfessor, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal
31 July 200730 June 2010Dr. H. P. KhinchaChairman, Division of Electrical Sciences,
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
41 July 201014 March 2016Dr. H. MaheshappaPrincipal, Cambridge Institute of Technology, Bangalore
5March, 2016May, 2016Dr. SHEKARAPPA H G Principal, SHEIK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING BELAGAVI
65 May 2016Sep, 2016Dr. V. Sridhar Principal, P.E.S College of Engineering, Mandya
7Sep, 2016Sep, 2019Prof. KarisiddappaPrincipal, Government Engineering College, Hassan