Registrations to Cluster Innovation Centre to begin from June 29
To be eligible for the CIC programme, an applicant must pass Class 12 with a minimum aggregate of 60 per cent in the best of four subjects with mathematics and any one language as the mandatory subjects.
In this season of absurdly high cutoffs, students aiming for Delhi University (DU) have the option of choosing the Cluster Innovation Centre or CIC. The CIC was set up by the university in 2011 with the objective of promoting the idea of courses implementing innovation, research and applications for the benefit of the society. It mainly offers two undergraduate courses - BA Honours in humanities and social sciences, and BTech in information technology and mathematical innovations.
Many subjects
The CIC follows the approach of Meta College in which students are free to pursue the subjects of their choice. To be eligible for the CIC programme, an applicant must pass Class 12 with a minimum aggregate of 60 per cent in the best of four subjects with mathematics and any one language as the mandatory subjects.
Only those students who have got admission in a regular course at DU or the School of Open Learning are eligible to apply for CIC. According to sources, more than 2,000 applications were received for a total of 40 seats for the CIC the last year.
"CIC lays out innovative trails for students looking for diverse undergraduate courses in Delhi. The concept of projects in each semester is what gives this an edge over the rest and also enables students to gain more practical knowledge. Students enrolling for programmes at the CIC get the opportunity to select their own course of study from the second to the fifth semester. Also, because this programme is based on the Meta College abstraction, it deals with streams that are a combination of research, innovation and knowledge," said Achla P Tandon, who is an associate professor of Sociology at Hindu College.
Entrance test
Unlike the admission criteria set for the undergraduate courses at Delhi University, the CIC conducts an entrance test with 75 per cent weightage followed by an interview with 25 per cent weightage every year to shortlist the candidates.
This year the entrance test to these courses will be held on August 2. Interested students can get CIC application forms from June 29. The last date to submit the forms is July 28.
Four streams
There are only 40 seats in each of the courses with the convenience to choose from four streams under the BA programme - journalism, historical tourism, counselling and art and design.
The students are also required to take certain compulsory subjects prescribed by the CIC only in the first and the eighth semesters. For more information regarding these courses visit: ducic.ac.in