From A Pioneering Self-Financed College To A Leading University: IEM-UEM Continues To Redefine Learning

Since its inception, the IEM-UEM group has surpassed innumerable benchmarks of achievements and accreditations. Today IEM flaunts a colossal network of expansive operations led by an awe-inspiring student force who are the torchbearers of a better tomorrow. The Kolkata-headquartered education group has set sublime standards in addressing the technical and managerial resource shortage in the new era of dynamic globalisation. The IEM group has risen to fame for its strong foundation in teaching and R&D in multifaceted areas. It aims to serve the future generation as well as the Nation through its commitment towards self-sufficiency and unmatchable excellence.

Speaking to Bizz Buzz, Prof Dr Satyajit Chakrabarti, Director, IEM-UEM Group, explains why and how the education group has become what it is today - the third best engineering college in West Bengal after IIT Kharagpur and NIT Durgapur by NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework), Union Ministry of HRD, his take on NEP and the way forward

36 years indeed is a long time. So how has been the journey of IEM, UEM so far?

Yes, you are right. We have also gone through many turns and twists and through many growth phases. My father and founder of the group started Institute of Engineering and Management (IEM) at Salt Lake in the IT hub of Bengal in 1989 as the first self-financed engineering college of the state and since then IEM has been socially accredited as the best self-financed engineering institute of West Bengal and admitting the best students from the top engineering merit list of WBJEE and JEE Main. Over the years we have been offering courses like PG Diploma, MBA, Engineering-B. Tech, IT, Electronics and so on.

Subsequently, UEM Jaipur was established in 2011 by Ordinance 11 of 2011 and Act No 5 of 2012 of Govt of Rajasthan. UEM Jaipur has achieved the awards of “Best Private University in North India” and “Best Emerging University in North India”.

Three years down the road, UEM Kolkata was established in 2014 by Act No 25 of 2014 of Govt of West Bengal. Being located in New Town, the Smart City of Eastern India and very near to the Netaji Subhash International Airport, the students of the University are exposed to the top corporates. UEM Kolkata has stood one out of the top 10 institutes of India including all IITs and all NITs of the country in the NPTEL programme ranked by IIT Kharagpur and IIT Chennai. In 2023, IEM was merged under UEM and started functioning as a degree giving university.

What have you done to become what you are today?

Over the years, we always kept our doors open for young minds, who dare to dream. We have always encouraged the spirit of free enquiry and imagination. In this temple of learning, dreams take shape and we have ensured that by all means.

Our educational group attempts to inculcate the sense of human values and discipline in students to make them respectable human beings. We also encourage learners to learn, to realize their potential and imbibe the best practices. We have all along introduced right disciplines at the right time. We have focussed on personality developments, development of presentation skills, life skills, development of employability and laying thrust of placements and at the same time entrepreneurship.

Having said all these, our utmost focus has always been on making our students good human beings. And that’s the reason why we could become what we are today. Remember, when we grew at a time, major part of when there was no policy for private university or private engineering college. Now there are such policies.

Recently, the Institute of Engineering & Management (IEM) and the University of Engineering & Management (UEM), Kolkata, successfully hosted Innovación 2025, one of India’s premier techno-management festivals. Organized in collaboration with SMART Society, US, and the Rotary Club of Salt Lake Silicon Valley, the landmark event brought together global innovators, industry leaders, and academic pioneers to showcase cutting-edge technology and entrepreneurship. What is the basic purpose and objective of such event?

Innovación has consistently evolved into a world-class festival, drawing participation from top-tier institutions and industry professionals. The enthusiasm and creativity showcased here reaffirm our commitment to nurturing future leaders in technology and management. Innovación is more than a festival; it is a catalyst for transformative ideas. The projects showcased this year and each year, for that matter, have real-world potential to revolutionize industries. Innovación 2025 (and every year) is a testament to our commitment in promoting young innovators. We take pride in providing a platform that transforms ideas into impactful solutions.

So, it seems, you lay huge thrust on promoting entrepreneurship and startup ecosystem. What do you do towards this goal?

We have state-of-the-art incubation centre to promote start-ups. As many as 200 start-up ideas are promoted each year, which is higher than the national average and also higher than the average figure in the US. We let our student participate in 500 events to let them have global exposures. We have high-end labs to develop campus products for corporates. We earn hundreds of patents, in the process, also. We also send our students to different foreign universities and colleges, which, in turn, help them get international perspectives and exposures. Our best-in-class faculty help our students and handhold them in their journey to become butterfly from Carterpillar.

It is also pertinent to mention here that alumni play an important, in fact, a crucial role. More than 50,000 of our alumni work in top positions in different corporate across the world. They not only help making our students employable, but also help our students identify the pain points of the corporate and eventually help them develop campus products for companies and overcome those pain-points. Our guardians who are well placed in different places, also come forward in this regard.

What is your take on the much-hyped New Education Policy (NEP)?

I would say, the NEP has been truly a game changer in more ways than one. The NEP provides a student the flexibility to choose subjects of one’s choice and major and minor. Just to give an example, a student who has economics as his major, can jolly well, has film making as his minor.

Let me point out here that the NEP also advocates promoting traditional, ancient Indian knowledge System (IKS), which is a very good thing. We already have an IKS Centre of Excellence. We are doing lot of things in this regard, adopting and using AI and other latest technology. We have also carefully developed curriculum weaving IKS. The way forward would be an ideal marriage between IKS and most modern and evolving technology. And we are doing exactly that.

Any plans to branch out beyond borders?

We are actively looking at and exploring options in countries like the US, Singapore, Australia, Japan, to mention a few. All I can tell you that once we move beyond boundaries, we will go there with the curriculum that harmoniously blends IKS with modern technology.