March 28, 2014: A state of the art new academic block covering over 1,60,000 sft was inaugurated by Smt Sarala Birla and industrialist, Sri B. K. Birla, in the presence of Chancellor, Dr Kumar Mangalam Birla, Smt Rajashree Birla, Vice Chancellor, Prof B. N Jain, Director, Prof G. Raghurama and other dignitaries on Friday, 28th March 2014.
With a built up area of about 1,60,000 sft and built at a cost of Rs 75 crores, this building has been designed by well-known architect, Mr Hafeez Contractor. The building is a part of the major modernization and expansion of Pilani campus costing over Rs 600 crores under Project Parivartan which was announced by Chancellor Dr Kumar Mangalam Birla on 14th November 2011.
Speaking on the occasion, BITS Pilani, Chancellor, Dr. Kumar Mangalam Birla said, “Our strategic vision is to raise BITS to become one of the leading Science and Technology Universities in Asia, with a clear focus on teaching, research and industry engagement. This is yet another step forward to increase the depth and reach of our campus and is a reflection of our vision”.
Commenting on the occasion, BITS Pilani Vice Chancellor, Prof. B. N. Jain said, “The new academic complex will provide a modern physical ambiance that covers classrooms, laboratories, department offices and faculty chambers, and is expected to be at par with what one might expect in any highly-ranked university in India or abroad. I am certain this new investment will contribute to our on-going efforts to provide a physical and academic environment that nurtures excellence in teaching, research, industry engagement and community outreach”.
Director of BITS Pilani campus, Prof. G. Raghurama said, “With 23 state of the art classrooms, seminar rooms, meeting rooms, faculty chambers, computing labs and internet connectivity throughout, the new facility adds a fresh dimension to the study atmosphere in Pilani campus. I invite the faculty and students to let their academic pursuits, creativity and talents unleash in the new academic building, which I am sure, will inspire them”.
Being a major addition in the campus in recent years, the new building has 23 classrooms (capacity of 70 – 200 seats), it has a 200 – seater auditorium, and will host Institute’s computing lab and facilities, departments of Computer Science, Mathematics, Management, Economics & Finance, and Humanities and Social Sciences. Built in a sunken plot in front of the Institute’s iconic clock tower, the facility has a rotunda and landscaped avenue adding to the grandeur.
Fully air-conditioned, and with state of the art technology, a large part of the building is below the ground level and enables the roof – top match the ground level and the terrace garden harmonizes with the green campus, thus providing a panoramic view.
About Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani
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. BITS has been accredited by NAAC with the most coveted ‘A’ grade in University accreditatio BITS Pilani has been a pioneer in the Indian higher education landscape with a world-class benchmarked curriculum and the largest industry-university network. The institute is one of the most selective in the world with a <1.5% admit rate. Intake is administered through an online exam called BITSAT. For further details, please visit http://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/