Carnegie Mellon to offer PG degrees in IT

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JULY 23. Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) of the U.S., one of the world's premier institutions for computer science research and education, today announced a tie-up in India to provide ``cutting-edge education'' in IT and encourage research in frontier areas of software engineering.

The pact with the non-profit Shri Sivasubramaniya Nadar Educational and Charitable Trust (SSNECT) aims to provide world- class IT education at an affordable cost. The post-graduate course will begin in mid-September from the SSN College of Engineering in Chennai. It plans to select students on August 17 through a GRE-type test.

Although the course involves training at CMU, it will also enjoin upon students to serve for three years in India. Speaking in his personal capacity, the SSNECT Managing Trustee, Mr. Shiv Nadar, assured that the Trust will ensure that no student will lose the opportunity of completing the course for want of money. The two courses offering MSc degrees in IT and software engineering will cost about Rs. 4 lakhs as against Rs. 30 to Rs. 40 lakhs annually for a similar course at CMU, U.S.

``The intention is that some of our bright young people who could not access advance degree programmes in the U.S. are able to access the same high quality education here in India,'' CMU's Computer Science Professor, Dr. Raj Reddy, told newsmen here today. The curriculum has been approved by CMU.

Mr. Nadar admitted that the institute was making a modest beginning but hoped that in due course it would offer doctoral programmes and align more closely with CMU. ``I know for sure that this is the best in the world,'' he said about the CMU course to be offered in Chennai. Mr. Nadar said the basic aim was to create synergy between the industry and the academia by recognising business needs and integrating them with IT programmes that will help make them more relevant and meaningful. ``Industry needs to come forward and fund IT programmes in higher education because this can catalyse our growth manifold. It is a national obligation to do so,'' he observed.

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