Vidyalankar Institute of Technology, Mumbai

Promoted in 1999 on an 11 acre futuristic campus, VIT is one of the handful of engineering colleges in Maharashtra to boast faculty and student exchange agreements with reputed universities abroad

Promoted in 1999 by the Vidyalankar Dnyanapeeth Trust on a sprawling 11 acre futuristic campus in the Mumbai suburb of Wadala, the Vidyalankar Institute of Technology (VIT) has built itself an enviable reputation for delivering contemporary engineering and business management degree programmes. Approved by the Delhi-based All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and affiliated with the University of Mumbai, VIT has been classified as a Grade A engineering college by the government of Maharashtra. It offers bachelor of engineering (BE) programmes in electronics, telecommunication, biomedical, information technology and computer science; and Master’s degree programmes in computer science (ME) and business management studies (MMS).

“VIT is committed to giving its students excellent engineering and management education in a state-of-the-art campus. Our strength is in our highly-qualified and experienced faculty which is carefully selected not only on the basis of academic qualifications, but for teaching experience and skills as also the ability to innovate and involve students in the teaching-learning process. Moreover in VIT we practice hands-on and practical education with students encouraged to pursue research and undertake project assignments in a progressive learning environment,” says Vishwas C. Deshpande, an alumnus of VJTI, Mumbai and Maryland University (USA), and the Mumbai-based manag-ing trustee of Vidyalankar Dnyanapeeth Trust.

According to Deshpande, VIT which currently has an enrolment of 420 undergrad and 78 postgraduate students tutored by a faculty of 92, is one of the handful of engineering colleges in the state to boast faculty and student exchange agreements with reputed universities abroad. “We have signed exchange partnerships with prestigious universities such as Penn State and California State in the US, and Sheffield Hallam University and HULT International Business School in the UK. These international collaborations enable us to give our students global exposure, and facilitate our faculty to incorporate best global teaching practices. It’s a matter of great pride for us that nine of the ten Vidyalankar students sent to Penn State University in 2008 and 2009, featured in the dean’s list for academic excellence,” says Deshpande.

Promoted by his father Prof. C.S. Deshpande, a well-known educati-onist and founder of Vidyalankar Classes, a tutorial chain with 11 centres in Mumbai, VIT is one of three institu-tions promoted by the Vidyalankar Dnyanapeeth Trust (estb. 1998) — the other two being Vidyalankar Polytech-nic and the Vidyalankar School of Information Technology. A graduate of the Government Engineering College, Pune and former officer in the IRSE (Indian Railway Service of Engineers), Prof. Deshpande gave up a career in government service to pursue his calling as a teacher in 1960, coaching a handful of students in a rented classroom. Fifty years later, the one-room tutorial centre has transformed into Vidyalankar Classes, a tutorial chain with over 20,000  enroled students. In 1998 with the objective of “establishing a college imparting quality education in the field of science, engineering, technology and management”, Prof. Deshpande consti-tuted the Vidyalankar Dnyanapeeth Trust.

In 2001, VIT migrated to its own 11 acre campus in Wadala. The award-winning steel and glass VIT campus combines open public and enclosed semi-public and private spaces including fully-wired classrooms, sophisticated laboratories, gardens, sports fields, student lounges and a cafeteria. The newest addition to the campus infrastructure — the X-Block — featuring a man-size chess board, amphitheatre and multipurpose ‘chill-out zone’ for students, has won VIT the Honour Award for innovative design of Designshare, a New York-based magazine. Widely known as an  educational village, the campus also houses a well-equipped library with 14,521 volumes and 52 journal subscriptions, and 12 modern computer labs with more than 700 terminals.

Sports amenities include facilities for football, volleyball, cricket and indoor games. Moreover students have access to a range of co-curricular activities including an annual cultural festival, dance workshops, debates and drama.

VIT accords special emphasis to  developing soft skills to facilitate employability and industry-readiness. “Our objective is to contribute to the holistic development of our students by preparing them for life, not just work. In the third year, all students undergo a soft skills training programme conducted by experts of the Dale Carnegie Institute, New York,” says Deshpande.

Given its sound academic reputation and focus on making graduates industry-ready, it’s hardly surprising that campus placement is a major event with the country’s top corporates in attendance. Among the major recruiters who descend on the VIT campus every year are Infosys, TCS, Tata Infotech, L&T, Honeywell, Godrej, Accenture and HSBC.

Having firmly established VIT as one of the premier engineering colleges in Maharashtra, the Deshpandes are looking to consolidate and expand the institute’s range of study programmes. “Our future plans include introducing study programmes in biotechnology and bio-informatics. Moreover we want to establish a research institute on campus to stimulate research in science and technology. My father made a modest beginning with Vidyalankar Classes and VIT too, was established in 1999 in a small building. Both these ventures have transformed into globally comparable world-class institutions. We believe in continuous improvement and are committed to taking VIT to the next level of academic excellence,” avers Vishwas Deshpande confidently.

Anupama Patil (Mumbai)