New V-C takes charge of Pune University

He has an engineering background, plays the sitar as a hobby and has not had much association with the University of Pune (UoP) except for occasional visits when he has served as an external examiner, conducted vivas for PhD students or given lectures at seminars and conferences. But that isn’t going to stop RK Shevgaonkar, the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor (V-C) of the UoP, to bring about some much-needed changes in the functioning of this learning institution.

His first reaction to the announcement of his appointment was:

“It’s a big responsibility given to me. I will have to really work hard on that.”

Shevgaonkar is presently Deputy Director of the IIT, Mumbai and has been in the education field for the past two-and-a-half decades.

Shevgaonkar, while outlining the focus areas on which he is going to work after joining the UoP, said that he would like to bring about improvements in the areas of educational quality, research, international collaborations and funding.

He said,

“I have got some experience in each of these areas. However, I will have to first see and understand what has been done so far before I chart out my plans to contribute to the UoP’s development.”

Integration of information and communication technology (ICT) for teaching and learning is an issue close to Shevgaonkar’s heart and he has been involved in the IIT-B’s distance engineering education programme as well as the Ministry of HRD’s national programme on technology enhanced learning (NPTEL). As such, automation and IT use will definitely be a priority area.
 
The UoP is already half-way through with its ambitious triple connectivity project, set on course by Shevgaonkar’s predecessor Dr Narendra Jadhav, for establishing audio-visual and data connectivity between the on-campus departments, 570-odd affiliated colleges and more than 300 recognised institutions. In an interview with a leading daily, Shevgaonkar promised to take a holistic approach towards development of all the disciplines of studies at the university.

He said,

“My engineering background will help me approach and resolve issues in an analytical manner but we have to focus on all the disciplines rather than any particular branch. The UoP, he added, is a very good university and one of the highest ranking institutions in the country. “It holds promise to really take off on the global front.”