Started in 2003 with one institution under its fold, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune (DPU) over the last 14 years has grown rapidly with the addition ofeight more professional institutions. Today, the nine institutions of Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth have created a brand name "DPU" in the field of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Physiotherapy, Optometry, Biotechnology, Management including the Institute of Distance Learning, Ayurved and Homeopathy. These nine institutions are providing quality education to about 4500 students.
Located in Pimpri, Pune, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre is a masterpiece of architecture basking in fine aesthetics.The campus accommodates state-of-the-art facilities that are in tune with the best in the world and serves the cause of humanity through medical education. For the visitors of this beautiful campus, a mural of Lord Dhanvantari on its facade and the magnificent fibreglass dome can be seen from miles around. In 2003, the Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development, on the advice of UGC, declared Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune as Deemed to be University comprising of Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre. It was a much-anticipated change or an inevitable progress for the common good of the nation.
Dr. P. D. Patil, Chancellor, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, recounts, "Later, in 2006, the Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development included three more institutions namely,Dr. D. Y. Patil Dental College & Hospital, Dr. D. Y. Patil College of Nursing and Dr. D. Y. Patil College of Physiotherapy, under the ambit of the Deemed to be University. These institutes were established in 2000." Subsequently in the year 2010, UGC accorded approval to the three new institutes namely, Dr. D. Y. Patil Biotechnology & Bioinformatics Institute, Global Business School & Research Centre and Dr. D. Y. Patil Institute of Optometry & Visual Sciences. "We are not restricted to regular degree courses and we have extended our goal to provide education to remote aspirant students through distance education. To achieve this goal,we have initiated a new institution called The Institute of Distance Learning at our Pimpri campus in Pune, which was approved by the Joint Committee of UGC-AICTE-DEC, New Delhi and UGC, New Delhi," adds Dr. P. D. Patil.
"The Vidyapeeth has entered into collaborations including signing MoUs with large number of national and international institutions/industries for its academic growth and development as well as for its contribution towards national development in health care and professional education"
Recently, Dr. D. Y. Patil Homeopathic Medical College & Research Centre and Dr. D. Y. Patil College of Ayurved & Research Centre came under the ambit of Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth as constituent colleges. All the programmes offered in these Constituent Units of the Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth are duly recognized by the respective Councils such as MCI, DCI, INC, CCIM, CCH, AICTE, UGC and so on. Today, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune has been categorized as "Category-I Deemed to be University" by the UGC as per the provision of Categorization of the Deemed to be University under UGC [Categorization of Universities (only) for Grant of Graded Autonomy] Regulations, 2018 vide its Letter dated 20th April, 2018.The Deemed to be University has also been re-accredited by NAAC with a CGPA of 3.62 on a four-point scale at 'A' grade on 3rd March 2015, valid up to 2nd March 2020. It is also an ISO 9001: 2015 Certified University.
A Research-Intensive University
Considering research as an essential component for advancement and progress in almost any field of human endeavour, Vidyapeeth (DPU) has created an excellent platform for those who are keen on creating knowledge for the future. For instance, to facilitate research by the staff and students, Vidyapeeth has established a Central Research Facility at its Medical College with many sophisticated and latest equipments including Fluorescence activated cell sorter, Confocal Microscope with software for Karyotying & FISH and Trinocular photomicroscopes. The Deemed to be University also has a Regenerative Medicine Lab in its Dental College and Molecular Diagnostic Lab in Medical College.
"The Regenerative Medicine lab established at Vidyapeeth will form a nodal reference centre for dental research all over India. It will offer a platform for in vitro screening of drugs, pharmaceuticals and dental materials. It is likely to open up a new era particularly for medical and dental surgeons all over India to refine their skills and think of upcoming novel therapeutic applications of stem cells for unmet medical needs," explains Dr. P. D. Patil. On the other side, Vidyapeeth's Molecular Diagnostic Lab will provide a platform for ongoing and proposed research theme areas, create awareness and sensitization among the population about the importance of detection and diagnosis of rare genetic diseases. This lab will also extend support to teaching-learning activities of UG / PG / MD / MS programs and will start certificate / Diploma courses in molecular diagnostics. "Recently, our Biotechnology & Bioinformatics Institute (DYPBBI) received the prestigious DST-FIST award for Development of Infrastructure and purchase of high-end equipment for teaching and Research," adds Dr. P. D. Patil.
The Vidyapeeth has entered into collaborations including signing MoUs with large number of national and international institutions/industries for its academic growth and development as well as for its contribution towards national development in health care and professional education. It has enhanced the quality of teaching-learning process, research activities and upgradation of facilities and services, contributed for the enhancement of quality of services and publications in leading national and international journals and have helped in receiving financial assistance for collaborative research projects. These MoUs provide opportunities for clinical trials including that of WHO; Industry and Institute sponsored projects; Training and hands-on experience to students; Faculty and Student Exchange; Webinars, Video-conferencing and sharing of resources.
"The Dr. D.Y. Patil Biotechnology & Bioinformatics Institute (DYPBBI) has research-based collaborations with the University of Skovde and Orebro University, Sweden and within the field of environment and health protection. The collaborative research projects were funded by Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), which gave scopes for meaningful interactions between the two counterparts that have led to technology development," elaborates Dr. P. D. Patil. Further, Swedish Govt. has also awarded prestigious Linneaus Palme Teacher and student exchange programme through University of Skövde. Ultimately, these collaborations have resulted in generation of five patents and two technologies have been commercialized among them. The Vidyapeeth has also collaborated with Praj Industries for a research project to screen microbes and develop microbial processes for production of compounds of industrial significance. Importance of this research project can be gauged by the fact that Department of Biotechnology (DBT), a wing of Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India has sanctioned a grant of Rs. 8.01 Crore for the same.
Today, the Vidyapeeth has extended activities to collaborate with Industry and sign MoU for the benefit of students. The Deemed to be University encourages the students to do their final year research project at industries to gain advanced skills and knowledge in a scientific way. It helps them to understand the importance of a subject in respective industries besides helping them to join such companies after completion of their degree programs. Dr. P. D. Patil says, "Our Vidyapeeth is both academic-oriented and industry oriented. Few of our courses have the flexibility to change the syllabi as per the need and demand of time and industry. We also encourage industry academia meets where we mobilize resource persons from other reputed academic and research organizations and from industries".
While, the invited visitors share their experiences with the students through talks, debates, discussions and interactive sessions, thereby sensitizing a strategic planning of career in the young minds, the Deemed to be University encourages its PhD students to undertake the industry-related problems for their research work, which eventually leads to technology development and commercialization. It is win-win situation for both industry and the institute, as the research mentors can then offer consultancy to the industry for their problems.
"We are a progressive University which believes in strengthening the young minds which includes staff as well as students. We welcome the ideas of the new generation, as we firmly believe that a combination of new ideas and old experience can give our mission the necessary momentum required," opines Dr. P. D. Patil. The Vidyapeeth's mission is to create an educated society and not just a literate society. "We nurture research and innovation culture to promote the self-sustenance ability of the youth and to develop the necessary skill sets in them for not only sustenance, but excellence in any profession they undertake," concludes Dr. P. D. Patil.
(In Conversation with the Vice Chancellor)
Why Do We Inculcate the Culture of Research and Innovation in Faculty and Students?
Dr. Pushpati Nath Razdan, Vice-Chancellor, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, had his initial education from Srinagar and got his MSc Degree in Chemistry from Kashmir University in 1971. After receiving his PhD degree from the University of Roorkee in 1976 and working as an Assistant Professor at H.P. Agriculture University Solan for few years, Dr. Razdan joined Geological Survey of India in 1983 and reached the level of Director - Geochemistry in 1992. In 2001, he joined AICTE as Adviser-I and looked after various Bureaus, before joining as Advisor Quality Assurance (QA) and Member Secretary (NBA) in 2002 for about three years. Dr.Razdan has published a large number of research papers in various Journals of International repute. Now, as the Vice Chancellor of Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Dr. Razdan talks about the importance of encouraging innovation and research in the campus and many more.
Today, many educational institutions claim that they are highly focused on innovation. Is innovation something that can be taught? How is Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth fostering innovation in the campus?
Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth provides unique learning solutions, which combine pedagogically sound and comprehensive courses for a variety of subjects with innovative learning and teaching resources focused on all-round student development. Here,we focus on encouraging students and faculty to achieve innovation in their research projects. Some of the exemplary works done at the Biotechnology Institute have received a national recognition. For instance, an innovation entitled "A multipurpose low-cost biological air purifier" by students of Dr. D. Y. Patil Biotechnology and Bioinformatics Institute under the guidance of Prof. Neelu Nawani, received the prestigious Gandhian Young Technology Innovation Award 2018 (GYTI 2018). Hon'ble President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind gave the award to the students, Mrs. Neeta Wagle and Ms. Priti Yewale. The award included a research grant of Rs. 15 lakhs from BIRAC for the scale-up and commercialization of the prototype and technology developed in this study. In all there were 3000 applications for this award from all over India and only 23 were selected for the GYTI 2018 awards, of which most of the awards were to students from IITs and IISc, DPU being one of the only two universities whose students received the award.
Why do technical institutes invest in research focused faculty members and assess the performance based on research that they have done? How will it help the student community?
Technical institutes are expected to pioneer in technology development hence it is essential that they inculcate the culture of research and innovation in faculty and students. During last 4 years, DPU has allocated 5 crore seed money to faculty members of various constituent colleges for encouraging research and developing technologies. Our Vidyapeeth recruits the faculty members with strong research experience and faculty members with an experience in teaching, thus creating a diverse pool of well-trained teachers and researchers. We encourage the teachers to do research by assigning seed grants, which gradually help them develop the research area of their choice. Faculty members with research background are also involved in teaching so that they can impart updated and advanced knowledge to the students.
While passion for teaching and love for the subjects are bringing more people into teaching, many leave or do not want to take this career because it can be monotonous at times teaching the same thing year after year. What are the initiatives from Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth to address this issue?
We encourage the faculty members to carry out research through independent extramural research funding, DPU internal (Seed money) funding and through industry collaborations, besides international collaboration programs. We also provide incentives for faculty publications and patents filed yearly. To update the knowledge and skills of faculty members, Vidyapeeth encourages faculty to attend seminars, workshops and symposia at National and International level. Our constituent colleges/Institutes organize National/International seminars and conference, which facilitate collaboration with other organizations/Universities for research and academic activities. This makes the faculty comfortable to make their career ahead in research and teaching.
How does Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth intend to function in the ever-changing industry scenarios? What is your road map ahead?
Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth is a dynamic organization where interactive sessions and collaborations are given top priority in both teaching and academics. We keep a track of industry demands through our placement cell, of innovation and consumer demand through our innovation cells at the individual institutes. This updation is constantly required to keep pace with the industry and public demand for developing human resources with adequate skill sets.
Dr. P. D. Patil, Chancellor
Dr. P. D. Patil is the architect of Pune's academic complex of the Pratisthan and he has transformed the vision of Padmashree Dr. D. Y. Patil into reality by establishing many quality institutions within a short span of time. The credit of rapid and meteoric rise of the Pune complex goes only to Dr. P. D. Patil. His dedication and dynamics have elevated the institutions in Pune complex to international standards.
.png){kind=logo}