Pilani ( Rajasthan) January 12, 2013: India’s premier independent University , Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, along with BITSAA, its global alumni association, has launched a multi-million dollar cross-campus technology initiative named BITSConnect 2.0.
The initiative comprises Immersive Telepresence, High-definition Video Conferencing and Live Streaming technologies, that are set to transform the learning experience by connecting all campuses at an unprecedented scale.
This University-Alumni initiative was launched simultaneously at Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad campuses, while being connected to Cisco’s offices in San Jose and Boston, jointly by Prof. Bijendra Nath Jain, Vice Chancellor, BITS Pilani and Raju Reddy, Chairman, BITSAA, in the presence of the Governor of Goa, Bharat Vir Wanchoo and J Satyanarayana, Secretary, Department of IT, Government of India.
BITS Pilani became one of the first Indian universities to set up IP Telephony, Gigabit Ethernet and Wireless accessibility on campus with BITSConnect 1.0 in 2003. By bridging the geographical distance across campuses and global knowledge centers, this platform will facilitate collaboration among its faculty, students, industry partners and alumni, for education, research and mentorship.
Says Kumar Mangalam Birla The Chancellor of BITS Pilani: “The launch of BITSConnect 2.0 from its three campuses in India signals a significant step forward that extends the boundaries of technology-enabled learning. The Telepresence system provides avenues for research collaboration and knowledge sharing among BITS’ faculty and students, and for face-to-face communication between members of BITS’ leadership.”
This semester, BITS Pilani will offer more than 14 specialized electives to 1000s of students across its campuses by professors working from any of its campuses. To collaborate, Faculty and Staff no longer need to travel. Academicians from across the world will be able to collaborate with and mentor research projects in BITS via Immersive Telepresence.
Adds Prof. Bijendra Nath Jain, Vice-Chancellor, BITS Pilani: “BITSConnect 2.0 comes at a time when the Institute is on its way to become a top research-led University in Asia. This joint University-Alumni initiative will provide seamless integration of all campuses, create new avenues of research collaboration and knowledge sharing among faculty, students and researchers worldwide. BITSConnect 2.0 will further strengthen industry linkage and enable remote placements with minimal travel costs to prospective employers.”
Enhanced University-Alumni Collaboration
This university-alumni initiative connecting the different campuses across geographies is powered by CISCO technologies valued at over $ 5 million.
BITS Pilani is a premier independent University in India with 4 campuses at Pilani (1964), Dubai (2000), Goa (2004) and Hyderabad (2008). BITS Pilani employs 700 full time faculty and has 11,000 on-campus & 19,000 off-campus students.
BITSAA International is the global all-volunteer arm of BITS Pilani Alumni Association (BITSAA) representing50,000+ alumni in 90 countries.
alumni association for BITS Pilani. www.bitsaa.org.
Additional information on the BITSConnect 2.0 project.
Do see our video on BITS 2.0 on the home page www.indiatechonline.com