Manipal university revs up its pace

After establishing branches in Sikkim, Mangalore, Nepal, Malaysia and Dubai, the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) has now set its eyes on Mauritius.

It plans to open a Medical and Engineering college in Mauritius and also to have a twinning (a course pursued partly in the parent college and partly in a foreign college. The degree is provided by the foreign college) programme arrangement with a Sri Lankan institute.

With 54 successful years in education behind it and establishing itself as a centre of excellence in technical education, MAHE, a deemed university, still has loads on its plate. MAHE's pro chancellor, H S Ballal, shares the university's future plans with BS.

"We are planning to start an Allied Health Sciences institute in Dubai but the criticalities involves with the Medical Council of India (MCI) restricts us from doing so. We are negotiating with MCI to relax the norms," says Ballal.

MAHE has decided to go online with entrance exams for its undergraduate programmes this year. Students can appear for the exams from 23 centres in 19 cities.

The academy plans to attract more number of students with such an arrangement. The institute is already conducting online exams for its post-graduate programmes.

MAHE will also conduct the US Shelf Exam, a US medical licensing exam, in India from this year. The Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT), which will celebrate its golden jubilee next year, will double its capacity of engineering students from 1,000 to 2,000 over the next three years. MAHE wants to establish a university for Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) to accommodate more NRI students.

Currently, 25,000 NRI students are studying on MAHE campus and the institute has a waiting list of around 200 students.

"We want the government to relax the norms on admitting NRI students as they not only bring in forex but also help us cross-subsidise education for Indian students," says Ballal.

To support Indian students, MAHE has come up with a new scholarship scheme to attract the best talent. The university will waive off entire course fee for at least top five students in all the disciplines.

A self-financing university, MAHE earns around Rs 250 crore a year and dedicates 15 per cent (Rs 37.5 lakh) from the revenue to facilitate research activities besides encouraging faculty and students, through various incentives, to take up research.

MAHE which started with Kasturba Medical College, in Mangalore in 1953, today has 23 professional colleges and students from 51 countries taking professional training in medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, engineering, management, hotel administration, law and the arts and sciences on its campuses.

However, what MAHE has not yet decided upon is an alternative name after being granted the status of a university. "The world knows us as MAHE so we are taking time to decide on what we should call ourselves after being granted the status of a university now," says Ballal.