Osmania University, Sri Venkateswara University bag ‘Centre for Advanced Study’ tag

Hyderabad: There are 46 universities in Telangana State and Andhra Pradesh, but only two of them seem to have departments that have potential for research and innovation.

Only departments from the Osmania University and Sri Venkateswara University have been awarded Centre for Advanced Study status in the latest review by the expert committee of the University Grants Commission.

Under its Special Assistance Programme, the UGC selects departments in varsities that have the potential for research and innovation, as Centres for Advanced Study. These Centres are expected to promulgate research that is relevant to the society and even train human resources in their respective fields. The departments also get UGC grant and can collaborate with premier agencies like the Defence Research and Development Organisation and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

Osmania University’s Linguistics and Journalism departments were already chosen as CAS, and they have now been upgraded by the UGC. The grants will continue for a five year period till 2020. Meanwhile, the Physics department of the Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati has also been upgraded.

Moreover, a few other departments in Osmania, Kakatiya, Andhra and SVU have been selected for the special assistance and support, but they can be upgraded to the CAS status only after a decade. No other state varsity from the two states has figured in the review of the UGC.

“Getting CAS status takes a long time because the departments can be upgraded only after a certain number of terms. Only four to five universities in TS and AP are getting UGC special assistance. They have to prove that they can do good research. They have to give good presentations to the UGC,” a senior AP State Council of Higher Education official said.