University of Calicut

About University of Calicut

The University of Calicut, the second university to be set up in Kerala, came into being in 1968 with the objective of developing human resources in the northern districts of Kerala by extending the reach of higher education and by promoting research in all areas of development with particular emphasis on technology and art and culture of Kerala.The University of Calicut came into being as a result of the foresightedness of the visionary leards like C.H. Mohammed Koya, C. Achutha Menon, and K.P. Kesava Monon who are no more with us now. They realised that the Kerala University centres at Cochin and Calicut were inadequate for a balanced growth of the higher education in Kerala. They wanted new universities, in particular, a full fledged University which could open the doors of higher education to the youth of northern Kerala. At this juncture, matters took a turn for the better. The late C.H. Mohammed Koya, for whom setting up Calicut University was more than a cherished dream, became the Kerala Education Minister who turned this dream into reality with aid of his fellows.

The University made the beginning by taking into its fold the four postgraduate departments set up by the University of Kerala at Calicut and 54 constituent colleges spread across seven northern districts. With ‘Nirmaya Karmana Sree’ as it motto, the University has surmounted challenges to emerge as the largest residential cum affiliating University in Kerala. In addition to the office of the Vice-Chancellor, the University administration, Pareeksha Bhavan, School of Distance Education, Academic Staff College, Educational Multimedia Research Centre, Computer Centre, University Library and other central support and service units, housed on the campus are 21 post graduate departments of teaching and research.

Besides restructuring the graduate and post-graduate courses, the University has introduced integrated M.Phil/Ph.D programme from 2004-05 academic year. To meet the demand for the trained in the emerging areas, the University has launched new programmes in computer application & information technology, health sciences, fashion design, social work, printing technology, computer hardware and automobile engineering. Yet another effort in this direction is the establishment of the University Institute of Engineering Technology close to the main campus. The Institute offers B.Tech courses in electronics and communication, printing technology, electrical and electronics and IT streams.

Colleges - As many as 288 colleges are affiliated to the University. Of these, 82 are located in Kozhikode district, 70 in Thrissur, 79 in Malappuram, 47 in Palakkad and 10 in Wayanad district. The breakup in terms fo the subjects of study is: 119 Arts and Science Colleges, 60 Training Colleges, 18 Engineering/Technical Colleges, 7 Medical Colleges,1Para Medical college 6 Ayurveda Colleges, 2 Law Colleges, 23 Oriental Title Colleges, 11 I. H. R. D. centres,4 Management Studies Colleges,1Music College,1 Fine Arts College,20 Nursing colleges, 7 Dental Colleges, 9 Pharmacy colleges, 1 Homoeopathy college and 3 colleges for Hotel Management.1 College of Physical Education.As many as 88 colleges, offer both graduate and post graduate courses in various subjects. The impressive scenario of colleges owes much to the enthusiasm of private educational organizations, which own over 182 colleges. The remaining are run by the State Government. These 282 colleges have an annual sanctioned intake-capacity of nearly 60,000.

Extension centres - The University has set up extension centres at Thrissur, Calicut and Vatakara. The centre at Thrissur is named after the renowned economist late Dr. John Mathai. Located here are the Department of Economics and the School of Drama & Fine Arts. Courses in Health Sciences and Costume and Fashion Design are conducted at Calicut Centre. The University Students’ Centre is also located in Calicut .

At the Vatakara Centre, the University has set up two post graduate departments of studies and research. These are: the Centre for Folk Lore Studies and the Kunjali Marakkar Centre for West Asian Studies. To reach out to students closer to their homes, the University has set up Teacher Education Centres and Information Centres in all the five districts under its jurisdiction.

School Of Distance Education - The School offers 16 graduate courses, 13 postgraduate courses and two diploma courses. Students admitted to these courses are provided printed study materials. All students are expected to attend contact programmes and training sessions arranged regularly at notified centres. The School has approved 18 educational institutions in different States of India to enrol students for various courses offered by the School. Also, the School has six approved overseas centres at Sharjah, Abu Dhabi , Doha , Kuwait and Bahrain .

Today, the university has emerged the largest University in Kerala with 25 Departments of postgraduate studies and research, under its direct control and 191 affiliated colleges spread across the five northern districts of Kerala–Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad, Thrissur and Wayanad – serving about 2.75 lakh students every year.

Location - The University campus, located at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district, 24 km south of Calicut city, is the main hub of academic activities.

Departments

• Arabic
• Botany
• Biotechnology
• Chemistry
• Commerce & Management Studies
• Education
• English
• Hindi
• History
• Mass Communication & Journalism
• Life Science
• Library and Information Science
• Malayalam
• Mathematics
• Philosophy
• Physics
• Physical Education
• Psychology
• Russian
• Sanskrit
• Statistics
• Zoology

Facilities

UGC INFONET - It is the ambitious project launched by UGC to provide electronic access over the Internet to scholarly literature in all areas of learning to the higher education sector of the country in order to increase in a very fundamental way the resources available to the Universities for research and teaching. The E Journals programme is the corner stone of the UGC INFONET effort which is aimed at addressing the teaching, learning, research connectivity and E-governance requirements of the Universities. This noble venture is executed by the Information and Library Network Centre (INFLIBNET), Ahmedabad. the University is getting direct access to the resources of the publishers through the IP addresses enabled access.

Madhava Observatory - Set up in association with the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bangalore, the Observatory is the largest at the university level in the country. The 6.6 diameter hemispherical steel dome of the observatory was designed by the IIA and fabricated by a Bangalore-based company. The observatory has already become popular, courtesy the lightweight structure and cost-effective design of its dome. The special, thin imported sheet used for dome cladding in place of the heavy iron sheet or costly aluminium sheet has reduced the weight by one-seventh of a conventional dome. Apart from a main roof with a 1.75 m slit opening, the dome has a wheel assembly, pressure roller assemblies, definer roller assemblies and electromechanical drive systems.

Calicut University Botanical Garden - Established in 1971 in the lush green panoramic, undulating, lateritic hummocky land of the Calicut University Campus, the Calicut University Botanical Garden (CUBG), founded by Prof. (Dr.) B.K. Nayar, the then Head of the Department of Botony , has developed into an excellent centre of biodiversity and ex-situ conservation of tropical Indian flora and exotic species. The Garden, inaugurated in 1972 by Prof. R. E. Holttum, thethen Director, Singapore Botanical Garden. In 1985 the CUBG has achieved international status when it was recognized by the International Consortium of Botanic Garden and Centre for World Conservation Strategy.

EMMRC - Educational Multimedia Research Centre at the University of Calicut is one of the 17 Centres set up by the UGC to produce video programmes for broadcast on Doordarshan network, and conduct research in the hardware and software aspects of audio visual technology. The Centre is also expected to produce interactive educational multimedia CDs and WBTs. Organised as a professional media production house, the Centre became operational in September 1998 as a non-vacation academic department funded fully by the UGC. Currently, the UGC broadcasts are available on DDI, Gyan Darshan, DD Bharathi and Vyas, the Higher Educational Channel.

C. H. Mohammed Koya Library - The Calicut University Library, established in 1971 and later renamed after C.H.Mohammed Koya, ( the former Minister for Education, Government of Kerala ), is primarily concerned with the conservation and dissemination of knowledge to its users. It plays an important role in the provision of information to the academic community in the Malabar region. It has a collection of about ninety five thousand books and subscribes to 218 Journals and 10 Newspapers. Library follows the Anglo American cataloguing Rules II (with slight modifications) for Cataloguing and Dewey Decimal Scheme of Classification for the classification of books . It has the distinction of being the first fully automated University Library in the state of Kerala. The library is situated at the main campus at Thenhippalam on the side of the NH17 and is 23 Kilometers away from the historic Calicut City . Apart from the University Library a Study Center Library is functioning in the Calicut city to serve the academic community in the Calicut city and around.

Placement Portal - Students can use this portal for making applications to employers hiring from the college, communicating with the placement office, participating in on-campus / off-campus recruitment drives of employers. Employers can use this portal for signing up with the college placement office and hiring students. The college placement office will register the employer on receipt of the sign up information. Employers may then put up notices on the online notice board of the college in accordance with the rules of the college and approval from the placement office. Employers can manage their profiles, post vacancies, schedule events and manage applications received. This placement portal serves as a communication platform between the employer, the college placement office and students. Visit - http://calicut.indiacareerportal.com/

Book Shop - The Book Shop is run by the University Publication Division. Titles by all leading publishers are available here. Also, souvenirs, posters that depict the cultural and historical heritage of Calicut and Malabar, and stationery items are sold here at attractive discount. This is also where the University Book Club, an informal forum of the campus book-lovers organises book talks and readings.

Cyber Spot - Managed by the Departmental Student’s Union (DSU), the Cyber Spot provides facilities for easy logging and browsing at nominal rate.

Students’ Trap - The Students’ Trap is envisaged as a venue for cultural functions also. At times, evenings here turn musical, rhythmic and colourful with artistic performances