DISTINCTIVENESS

University of Madras
 PERFORMANCE OF THE INSTITUTION IN ONE AREA DISTINCTIVE TO ITS
VISION, PRIORITY AND THRUST

The University of Madras is known for its dedicated efforts toward achieving excellence in
teaching and research including sponsored and consultancy projects. The social science
departments have been working to take the research to the villages and the urban poor while
the science departments are working towards process and product development. Notable and
significant achievements have been made in research, consultancy and extension programmes
during the period assessment period. The relentless quest for excellence of the university in
both the academic and research arena is its all-time priority and thrust.

I. ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE BY CBCS SYSTEM

As envisioned by the University Grants Commission to promote vertical mobility, academic
flexibility and freedom to the learners, the university had implemented CBCS-Choice Based
Credit System way back in 1996-97. The institution had put into practice the CBCS pattern
under the label CBSS-Choice Based Semester System long before the practice of CBCS. The
widely acclaimed CBCS with semester pattern is followed for all the P.G programmes in the
University departments and its affiliated colleges and number of credits is as per Tamilnadu
State Higher Education Council along with Industry Internship.
As a flexible system of learning, Choice-Based Credit System has some unique features
as following:
• Self-paced learning and freedom choice of electives from a wide range of
courses offered.
• A uniform credit structure for all UG and PG programmes as per the TANSCHE
to facilitate student mobility across universities and colleges.
• Flexibility to introduce new programmes and to improve and modify the
existing course content.
• An inter-disciplinary and intra-disciplinary approach in learning.
• The School of Nano Science and Photonics conducts inter-disciplinary M.Sc.
Programme on Bio physics, Photonics and Bio-Photonics, Nano-Science and
Nano-Technology

II. PURSUIT FOR RESEARCH EXCELLENCE

The distinctive adoption of CBCS for the quality in academic area has been extended
to the research arena also by inculcating the practice of interdisciplinary research in the
 departments. Promoting research and innovation has boosted the university’s thrust for
excellence. The University's balanced mount in performance by pursuing excellence is
reflected by the following:
(i) 48th Global ranking for the citations per faculty.
(ii) The NIRF ranking of the university is in the top 50 during the last four years

Some of the exemplifiers of the research and innovation which is the vision, priority and
thrust of the university are elaborated as follows:
ECH
The Entrepreneurship and Career Hub (ECH) under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan
(RUSA) of the MHRD, Government of India was established with the aim to nurture innovative
ideas from students and help them to set up their Start-Ups. The ECH infrastructure support is
open to students of the five campuses of the university. ECH further strives to create an
entrepreneurial ecosystem in all the campuses of our university, which catalyzes the
entrepreneurial spirit among students.

Academic And Administrative Reforms to Stimulate Research

Some of the new initiatives to promote quality research among faculty and students
are as follows:
1. Establishment of a scheme for granting up to Rs.30, 000/- towards journal submission
fee/book publication
2. Leave with salary protection for up to three months granted for collaborative research
with leading foreign universities
3. Sanctioning of funds to take up research projects in cutting-edge using grant of Rs.35
crores received by the University under “Research, Innovation and Quality
Improvement” of RUSA- 2.O programme by MHRD.

Incentivizing research has proved to be beneficial and has resulted in the following
achievements:
• Four faculty members have received the Scientist Award from Tamil Nadu State
Council for Science and Technology
• 200 sponsored and consultancy projects to the tune of Rs.40 crores were received.
• 158 seminars and conferences in seminal areas of research were organized.
Promotion of Research in the University Departments

The University has a rich and long legacy of nurturing high-quality research. Every member of
the faculty is encouraged to engage in research activities. The University's focus on research
achievements is made clear to the faculty right from the beginning.

Research - Monitoring Authorities

(i) The Research Schemes and Projects Office (RSPO), (ii) Dean-Research (iii) the
University- Industry-Community Interaction Centre (UICIC), (iv) Technology Business
Incubator (TBI) Centre to monitor the research.

Research Support for Students

Students are given travel grant to participate and present papers in international conferences
and there is a budget provision of Rs. 10 lakhs per year for this scheme.

Research, Consultancy and Extension

The University has a strong research culture with as many as 575 Research projects with grant
above INR 75 crores. Almost 85% percent of the faculties are actively engaged in research.
Faculty members are involved in research projects, in fields ranging from Sanskrit, Malayalam,
Oriental studies, Basic medical sciences, Life sciences, Chemical Sciences to Nanotechnology
and Cybercrimes. During the period 2017-2022, there were as many as 377 projects with a total
funding of about INR 71 crores from sources like UGC, DST, CSIR, DRDO, ISRO, DBT, EEC
etc.

Earn While You Learn Scheme

Financial assistance is provided to needy research scholars as well as to PG students. There is
a separate budget allocation for research and development activity which includes the "Earn
While You Learn' scheme. Under this scheme 954 PG students and non-stipendiary research
scholars have been provided part time employment in their own departments from the tear 2018
to 2022 with a total of Rs. 13,45,550 spent for this scheme making each student earn INR 1,
000 to INR 1, 500 per month, for 6-7 months in a year.

University Research Fellowship (URF)

The University provides fellowships to research scholars (URF) from its own funds. These
fellowships allow candidates who do not get other funds to pursue PhD programmes.
Major Projects
UGC-UPE Phase – II, UGC-UPE, Phase II Project Centre for Rural Development and
Strategic Studies, UGC- UPE, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, UGC-MRP,
National Commission for Women, Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR),
New Delhi., Prisons Department of TN Govt. & University of Madras, DST-SERB, UGC-
SAP–DRS, UGC DAE-CSR, CPRI, DST-PURSE, UGC-DAE-CRS, Govt. of India
Department of Atomic Energy, Board of Research on Nuclear Sciences, BARC, Disaster
management, Govt. of TN, Anna Institute of Management, DRDO, SERB, Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change, UGC UPE NMR, UGC-DAE-CSR and MSG,
IGCAR, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), AYUSH- Central Council for
Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH), Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS),
CCRH, DST-INSPIRE, UGC MRP, TNF – ABC Project.
The unrelenting pursuit of the university towards more and more excellence in academic
with specific focus on research and innovation is an enduring route to the all-round
development of the learner and teacher community.

***********************************************************