ToI reports on IISc's search for a second campus; here's the really interesting bit:
Significantly, the new campus will primarily focus on undergraduate science courses that the institute plans to start soon. President APJ Abdul Kalam, as IISc visitor, had recommended in August that the institute must concentrate on undergraduate courses.
"Also, I've mooted an undergraduate science initiative there (at the new campus), but it is a contentious area: there are people for and against it. But a new initiative must be looked in a new light," [IISc Director P. Balaram said].
4 Comments:
Hm - why a new 500 acre campus? Most universities in big cities, when they need a new building, simply buy one just outside their "campus" (some universities like NYU don't even have a well-demarcated campus). Why not just buy a few plots in Malleshwaram or Sadashivanagar and build research complexes there -- I'm sure that would be cheaper than a 500 acre campus, and more convenient, given Bangalore's traffic. Unless a metro rail link between the campuses is also proposed.
UG courses in IISc.? Hmmm..... I don't know if we should convert a research institute into a teaching institute (which is what will happen eventually). What is your take Abi?
Rahul: You are posing too many uncomfortable questions!
I see only one big advantage with a separate campus: campus housing. Rents (and real estate prices) in areas around IISc are brutal!
Krish: I have already written about the desirability of UG program. Long ago. Bottomline: Yes, I am for starting an UG program.
I see only one big advantage with a separate campus: campus housing
Well yes, but you won't find a 500 acre campus in the city, and many faculty members have spouses who work in the city and school-going kids... Very possibly if all this sees the light of day, they'll arrange shuttles between the present campus and the new one (like NCBS and JNCASR do already), but it still won't be fun.
I still think it would be cheaper to buy an apartment block nearby. Again, many universities abroad do that, or take long-term leases, for their faculty (and even their students/postdocs).
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