The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Durban institute seeks academic ties with Indian colleges

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Durban institute seeks academic ties with Indian colleges

By Our Special Correspondent

The Vice-Chancellor of Durban Institute of Technology, D. J. Ncayiyana, exchanges a copy of an MoU signed with Jaya Engineering College Chairman A. Kanagaraj.

CHENNAI, MARCH 16 . A team from the Durban Institute of Technology (DIT), South Africa, visited Indian higher education institutions last week looking for avenues for academic and research ties.

The principal and Vice-Chancellor of DIT, D. J. Ncayiyana, who led the delegation, told The Hindu that he had held preliminary talks with the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur and Chennai, besides the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE).

In Chennai, the Institute signed an MoU with the Jaya College of Engineering that would pave way for faculty visits and exchanges among the two institutions, student visits for professional and cultural enrichment, participation in conferences and recruitment of Ph.D and other research scholars in the field of science, engineering and academic positions at DIT, he added.

The Durban institute was highly-rated among local and international students, said Dr. Ncayiyana. However, it does not provide any programmes in medicine. "But we do provide dental technology programmes to create adjunct professionals who help the dental surgeon at work," hesaid.

The Institute in Durban institute has 20,000 students (including a few hundred international students) and is known for programmes in commerce, I.T, sciences and engineering — especially electrical and electronics, besides architecture and town planning. "We also have strong profile in basic sciences, visual arts and fashion design. In the area of basic and higher research we are known for development of composites, water purification systems," said Kiru Naidoo, Executive Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor.

The Chairman and Vice Chairman of Jaya Engineering College, A. Kanagaraj and K. Navaraj, said the college was keen on department-to-department linkages with the DIT. The Vice-Chancellor distributed degrees to the new graduates on Friday.

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