March 2023 Term | Campus Updates

As our faculty and students return for the last term of the current academic year, we are gearing up for a host of activities and events to kickstart our March 2023 term. To begin with, we have a number of interesting faculty seminars, consultations & workshops lined up this term.

In preparation of our students’ return to campus, our teams at the University were busy at work to upgrade several facilities on campus. Under the University’s Master Plan, Phase I of campus redevelopment is already underway. Some of the key developments on campus this term include the following:

Residence Halls

During term break, a thorough deep cleaning has been carried out in all Halls of Residence. To accommodate the increased student intake, three Residence Halls are being redeveloped this term.

Learning Centre Block: Four new floors and improved dedicated common use spaces for laundry and other shared services, are being built in the Learning Centre Block. This will accommodate an additional 156 students. Additionally, two elevators are being installed for increased accessibility. The expanded building will be made fully compliant with all applicable fire safety norms and practices. We plan to continue the internal work on each floor at speed for the building to be ready for full occupancy by July 2023.

Narmada & Yamuna Blocks: At the end of January 2023, we started the construction work of an additional floor at the Narmada and Yamuna Residence Halls. This work is scheduled to be completed by July 2023 and will increase the capacity by 46 students. An external staircase, barricaded on both sides, was also constructed so that there is no movement of personnel or materials inside the Residence Hall. All windows have been covered with dust prevention sheets.

All precautions have been taken to ensure continued privacy and safety of all residents. A female security guard will also be on the premises to monitor the movement of personnel. Hall Leaders and Floor Leaders will work closely with Hostel Staff and the COO’s office to ensure that we adopt the best practices for our University community.

Please note, construction zones are unsafe and access to these spaces is prohibited. 

Furniture: The refurbishment in Hooghly Hall was completed during this term break, and the remaining Halls will be refurbished over the course of the term. Furniture (cot, desk, chair, bookshelf and cupboard) and soft furnishings (mattresses and curtains) in rooms in all Halls of Residence are being replaced on a rolling basis. Name boards have been installed in all Halls. Seating arrangements have also been enhanced in the common areas of every Residence Hall.

Drinking Water: Water purifiers and coolers have been installed in each Hall to ensure cool water for the summer months. Where necessary, new purifiers have been purchased for the Academic Blocks and Residence Halls, and older and less efficient filters and coolers have been replaced. All purifiers have been thoroughly checked for water safety and proper functioning.

Library | Physical Infrastructure & Redevelopment

The University has been working steadily through the term break to open up the Library building for use in the March trimester. In February 2023, various project teams made significant progress with the civil and structural work, interiors as well as electrical and plumbing works. Furniture and lighting fixtures were finalised, and will be installed shortly.

Landscape: The landscapes in and around the Library form a critical component of this precinct and are being redeveloped for active use. To begin with, the rear end of the Library will open up for use with two new outdoor reading courts. The library green and amphitheatre will be developed to allow for open air seating with wireless and electrical connectivity. A new porch on the lower ground floor and balcony on the ground floor will open out into the redeveloped library green. As set out in the Master Plan, all landscape interventions will be guided by nature based solutions.

Pathways: The library precinct will be connected by a new universally accessible pedestrian path. The main University path connecting the Women’s Residence Hall Complex to the New Academic Block is also being redesigned and redeveloped as part of this precinct. Each floor of the Library is being designed for different types of  active use, and all three floors will have tactile pathways. The main University pathway will be remodelled during the term break in June 2023 to ensure minimal disruption to student life during term.

Organisation & use: Books in the library will be separated into an Open and Closed Stack. A curated selection of books will be accessible on Open Stacks. All other books will be in a Closed Stack readily accessible through the Library team upon request. Space in the Library will be optimised for  active use, instead of storage, in accordance with best practices at libraries worldwide.

Existing Library arrangements: Until the Library building is reopened for use, we will continue the temporary  library facility in the New Academic Block. Classrooms in the NAB earmarked for common use will remain open until 10PM through term and till midnight during examination week. We seek your continued cooperation to ensure a smooth transition into the renovated expanded library this term.

Library | Digital Upgrades

The digitization of library books is well underway and we aim to complete the entire process by June 2023. We have already enabled access to the digital library to students with visual impairment, this term we will enable access to all students on a trial basis as we streamline the digital lending platform.

The Koha Library Platform has been upgraded and this term the Library will introduce an integrated search function across all databases and library resources. This database integrator will vastly improve the visibility and accessibility of our library’s collections and the University’s resources. We aim to operationalize this in a month’s time and look forward to user feedback on this interface.

Student Activities & Sports Centre

The design process for a Student Activity and Sports Centre has reached an advanced stage. This Centre will provide facilities for different sports, dining halls, an expanded gym and multi-use spaces for various student club activities. This is a large project and several intermediate steps are essential before we can go further. Follow our website for further updates on this new project!

Food and Dining

The Housekeeping and Catering teams have put in place certain safeguards to ensure the highest standards of hygiene in food preparation and service. Deep cleaning of all the mess spaces, necessary repairs as well as replacement of equipment have been done to ensure a safe environment. Some of the changes this term are:

Revamped Menu: The catering teams have been trying out new recipes and training to develop new menu items to introduce more variety, preserve nutrition, and enhance taste in the dining menus. These improvements will be gradually introduced into the menu from this trimester.

Takeaway Breakfasts: In response to student requests, we will pilot takeaway options for breakfast at all Mess Halls.  Packed breakfast bowls, sandwiches and rolls will be tried out as the initial options this term.

Vending Machines: In the previous term, new vending machines were installed at the Alyosha Kumar Memorial Common Room and the New Academic Block. Based on student requests, and considering distances between the different buildings, we are installing three new vending machines from BigBasket at NAB, Learning Centre/Himalaya, and the Women’s Halls of Residence Complex.
Ashu’s Coffee and the BigBasket Vending Machine are available in the NAB for extended hours.

We will work closely with the Mess Committee to further improve dining facilities in the Residence Halls through the term.

Increased Access to Annapurna Mess: Based on consultations with the student body, one wing of the Annapurna Mess Halls (to the right) will be open to residents of the Learning Centre and Himalaya Halls. This facility will be open ONLY to LC and Himalaya residents while other residents of the Men’s Halls will dine at the Mess Hall in Ganga/ Cauvery. Women residents may choose to eat in either wing of the Annapurna Hall Mess. This is an incremental step towards a common mess for all residents envisaged in the new Master Plan.