Rajakumar takes charge of IITBBS

BHUBANESWAR: Ratnam Varada Rajakumar, who will take over as IIT Bhubaneswar (IITBBS) director on Wednesday, said he is on a mission to take the 'baby' institute to new heights.
"I am not a status quoist. I am aware of the problems and will take them as a challenge," he told TOI, a day before shifting here.
Outlining his priorities, Rajakumar said there exists a perception that teaching-learning has somewhat taken a beating and contribution of elite institutes such as IITs is being questioned."I will evolve a strategy to improve the standard of education. The institute will actively contribute to nation building," he said.
The IIT Kharagpur alumnus, who has been serving as a faculty member there since 1984, said one of the problems of IITBBS is its infrastructure. "It functions from multiple locations, which makes monitoring a bit tricky. I will take a quick review of the upcoming campus and try shift the institute there at the earliest. The slow pace of construction of the campus is a cause of concern."
"For a green campus, we may make a few changes in the construction plan," he said.
Rajakumar, who served as vice-chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (2010-2015), said since Odisha is a mineral-bearing state, the institute would introduce courses, catering to the mining industry and for creating entrepreneurs.
On the delay in appointment of directors for IITs in Bhubaneswar, Patna and Ropar, Rajakumar said he had applied only for IITBBS since it is close to his alma mater IITKGP, which was also its mentor institute. He has published over 160 research papers in reputed international journals and conferences and supervised over 150 theses, including PhD, MS and BTech.