Don Bosco varsity summit on Sep 19

Assam Don Bosco University is going to hold its first ever convocation on September 19, at its Azara Campus. Assam Governor, Janaki Ballav Patnaik will be presiding over the function and Prime Minister’s Adviser, TKA Nair will be the chief guest who will deliver the Convocation address. In a press conference at Guwahati Press Club on Friday, the vice chancellor of the University Fr Stephen Mavely SDB said that the Assam Government favored the Don Bosco Society with a letter of intent to establish the first state university in the private sector in Assam on March 29, 2008. Since then the University has made immense strides in all fields-infrastructure, academic and research departments, extension programmes. He added that from four courses in Engineering and technology in 2008, now the university has five schools, namely, school of technology, school of religion and culture, school of social sciences, school of applied sciences and school of commerce and management conducting six undergraduate programmes, seven post graduate programmes and doctoral programmes in eight disciplines.

The university has over 1500 students for its campus programmes, over 600 of them availing hostel facilities. It’s on-line and distance education wing, called DBU Global, has over 1000 on-line students pursuing a variety of study programmes in management and information technology. Unique feature of the university is its Northeast India outreach program that offers full scholarship to one thousand students from Northeast to pursue its on-line courses. The programme is supported by a number of Foundations and Corporate Houses in India. The university is also in the process of setting up facilitation centers in the various states of NE India for the benefit of deserving students.

The university has entered into a number of collaborative agreements with universities from round the world for student and staff exchange programmes, for joint research studies, the VC informed. The first batch of exchange students are at the University of Arkansas (USA) for a year’s study in engineering. As the date of the first convocation approaches, the vice chancellor is of the firm opinion that the students would signal to the world a very distinctive type of person- cultured, competent, knowledgeable, broad minded, never done with education the whole life-long, a leader who, while immersed in the task of making a life for oneself is also intimately involved in the life of one community, graduates who not only would be through-going professions in their areas of expertise but who will also be persons who value self reliance and social commitment as equally binding concomitants of their professionalism and leadership.