Chitkara University, Himachal Pradesh

About College:

The Chitkara University owes its origin to the Chitkara Education Trust that was founded in the year 1998 in Chandigarh. The full- fledged Chitkara University was only begun in 2009 in Solan, Himachal Pradesh (HP). Another campus was established in Patiala, the next year itself, in 2010. Both these universities are recognized by the UGC (University Grants Commission) and accredited by the NAAC (National Assessments and Accreditation Council). There are a range of academic options at both the Solan and Patiala campuses, right from the undergrad till doctoral levels. 

The Chitkara University in Solan is built over 37 acres of land. The entire academics here is run by a cohort of four schools, each with expertise in its own area. Out of these four schools, three of them focus only on a few programmes, while the Chitkara School of Engineering and Technology (CSET) is the largest with a number of options. The only programme run at the School of Hospitality Management is the three- year B Sc. in Hospitality and Hotel Administration. The School of Basic Sciences offers the BSc. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. The School of Computer Applications runs the BCA programme as well as a five- year BCA- MCA integrated programmes. A strong industry- academia partnership has long been the focus here at the Chitkara University Himachal Pradesh (CUHP). That is why the inputs of corporations such as Microsoft, ARM and Cadence has long been leveraged for curriculum design and providing students some practical exposure. 

The CSET has both the UG as well as PG options. The B.E. may be pursued in the engineering fields of- Civil, Computer Science, Electronics & Computer Science and in Electronics & Communication. A lateral entry option is also provided on three of these. At the master’s level, the courses get more specialized in nature. The M.E. options available at the CSET include- Microelectronic Systems, Computer Science & Engineering and in Construction Technology & Management. All these academic programmes are run by their respective departments. There are departments at the Chitkara University Himachal Pradesh for – Applied Sciences, Civil Engineering, Computer Science & Engineering, and for Electronics & Communication Engineering. Some doctoral programmes may also be pursued in here. 

The CUHP has long been known for its international collaborations. For this, it has initiated the Exchange Programme so that students and the faculty members may spend time, even up to a semester or more in foreign countries and understand their cultural ethos. This will help in developing all- round professionals with a more holistic outlook. Institutions abroad with whom such deals have been struck include the US- based University of Massachusetts (UMASS), Purdue University and the Central Michigan University. Others are the Euromed Management in France and the University of Applied Sciences in the town of Osnabrueck, Germany. 

Research forms a crucial part of life at the CUHP. For this reason, several Centres of Excellence have been set up here. There are these centres for- Computer Science, Entrepreneurship Education, Microelectronics & Information Science, Physical & Mathematical Sciences, Geo- Informatics & Building Technology and one for Patent Facilitation & Licensing Consulting. The CUHP has also undertaken several consulting assignments with leading industry and government bodies. Some of these agencies with whom such programmes have been undertaken are- DST (Department of Science and Technology), SERB (Science and Engineering Research Board), HP State Council of Science Technology & Environment, Ministry of Earth Sciences, MHRD (Ministry of Human Resource Development), Department of Electronics & IT and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization), besides a few more. Several patents have also been filed by the faculty and students of the CUHP. A lot of that work has been done by the IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) Cell on campus, which has been sponsored by the DST. 

Entrepreneurship plays a key role in the development of the Chitkara University. Several start- ups have been founded by students graduating from the university. They have received support from the university in the ways of incubation, content expertise and domain knowledge. Names of some such start- ups incubated here includes- Sea Cup, t Spot, Logolize, Satshri Technologies, Code Street 13, SD Fine Arts and Robo Champs. A lot of such networking with domain experts also takes place during the several conferences and workshops conducted on campus. There have been such seminars and conferences held on campus on topics such as- analytics, sustainable civil engineering, sustainable infrastructure development, engineering sciences, nuclear physics and on VLSI design to name the most prominent ones. 

The Chitkara University is also famous for its in- house publications. Several academic and research journals are published on campus. They are named as the- Mathematical Journal of Interdisciplinary Sciences and the Journal of Today’s Ideas- Tomorrow’s Technologies. Another is the Journal of Chemistry, Environmental Sciences and their Applications. The last one is the Journal of Nuclear Physics, Material Sciences and their Applications. The Careers 360 magazine has rated the Solan- based Chitkara University at AAA+ category among engineering colleges in recognition of such a research and academic focus.