CHENNAI: Placement percentages matters less because the focus ought to be on training students who possess leadership quality, representatives of Shiv Nadar University (SNU) told mediapersons here on Monday.
At a press conference to announce the start of admissions to the current academic year, Madan Gopal, director, School of Engineering, SNU, said that nearly 96 per cent of the students from the first batch of engineering graduates of SNU had been placed in top Indian and global companies. Gopal said that a significant percentage of the students in the university situated in Uttar Pradesh were from Tamil Nadu. “Around 60 per cent of our first batch students were from TN,” said Gopal.
Gopal said that the university was working hard to not let quality slip by restricting admission. “This year, we have had a sizeable number of students pursuing higher education and gaining direct admission into top universities in the US. This is a phenomenon that is rare because even an IIT graduand fails to get direct entry into a college in the US,” said Gopal. Attributing the success to the evolving methodology of teaching practised by the university, Gopal said that it was essential for students to learn real time with faculty adjusting to changing trends of the world. “In the conventional method, the academic council would meet every five years to revise teaching patterns, but that is hardly practical today,” he said. Gopal also said that the university aimed to get international recognition and be on a par with global universities by 2020. “Our first batch students were taught without being charged tuition fees. The university has the potential to hand out hefty scholarships and not worry about breaking even because it is ably supported by the Shiv Nadar Foundation,” Gopal said. The Shiv Nadar Foundation-run SSN College of Engineering in the city, according to Gopal, has a long way to go. “They are trying to match up. They have applied for university recognition, but they are not that flexible as us, with respect to academics and curriculum,” he said.