DU innovation centre: Proposal not original
In a hasty bid to introduce an innovation cluster, Delhi
University may have landed in trouble. The proposal paper seeking clearance for
DU's cluster innovation centre has sparked controversy. To be placed at the special
academic council (AC) and executive council (EC) meeting on Saturday, it has no
information on the committee and the curriculum developed for the four-year innovation
course.
What's worse, the text for the introduction of the course seems to be a patchwork
job. It has been alleged that paras have been lifted from websites of various foreign
universities. The AC members are wondering why the university is calling an emergency
meeting for a regular issue while EC members say DU is violating the University
Act by establishing the centre in this hurried manner.
Pages 5 and 6 of the paper (Proposed syllabus for B Tech/BS Innovation with mathematics
and IT) contain the introduction of the course. In the introduction, the paragraph
"With a distinguished history... cutting-edge research and innovation" has been
allegedly lifted from University of Manchester's website which states "With a distinguished
history of academic achievement and an ambitious agenda for the future, The University
of Manchester offers a learning experience rooted in a rich educational heritage
and boosted by cutting-edge research and innovation...".
The sentence "Mathematics is central to everyday life and ... business and industry"
is straight out of University of Edinburgh's write-up on why choose mathematics
which says, "Mathematics is central to everyday life and to the way we see the world.
It is an intellectual adventure in its own right but it is also used to understand
the physical world - from black holes to global warming - and to find solutions
to problems in business and industry ." Most of the material on pages 5 and 6 has
been lifted from University College's ( London) website.
AC members are questioning the manner in which the university is pushing for establishing
the centre . Abha Dev Habib, AC member, said: "What is the hurry in commencing the
course? There has been no consultation on the four-year course and there is no clarity
on the admission plan. Moreover, the advisory committee and the governing body are
the same. If this is a way to grab UGC's money, it is very unfortunate."
While academicians are criticizing DU's move, EC members are calling it
a violation of the University Act. Stating that setting up a universityrun institute
needs prior approval of the visitor (President of India), they say the first draft
before finalizing the course should have come from the AC or one of its committees.
"A new institute can come up only after the statute is made and the visitor's approval
received . In this case it is a violation. ," said elected EC member Rajib Ray.
Courtesy: Times of India
