Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology - OUAT

About Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology - OUAT

Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) is a State University specialising in Agricultural and Technological Education. It was established on 24th August, 1962 through an act passed by the Orissa Legislative Assembly. Soon after independence, the Government of India realized that for efficient and increase of agricultural production, some good measures were required. Thus a coordinated system of agricultural education, research and extension best suited to unique needs and requirement of the farmers of Orissa was set up. Thus University Education Commission, popularly known as Radhakrishnan Commission, was appointed to review the higher agricultural education in India. The Commission recommended the establishment of autonomous rural universities, recognizing Agricultural Education as a major national priority. The first Joint Indo-American Team in 1955 recommended that the development of Agricultural Universities should be assisted by substantial grand -in- aid from the Centre to ensure autonomy and operation. The recommendations included establishment of agricultural universities at six places including Bhubaneswar in Orissa. The second Joint Indo-American Team recommended complete integration of teaching, research and extension at the college level. An Agricultural University Committee headed by Dr Ralph W. Cummings in 1962 recommended the establishment of State Agricultural Universities in each state with responsibility for work in agriculture including animal science, home science and other allied sciences on the pattern of U. S. Land Grant College system and provided guidelines for developing SAUs.

As a result, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) came in to existence as the second Agricultural University. Under the USAID programme, OUAT developed linkages with the University of Missouri and Mississipi, a Land Grant University of the US, to strengthen its teaching, research and extension programmes. Initially the University started functioning with two colleges’ i.e. College of Agriculture and College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry. These were inherited from the Utkal University in 1962. Subsequently different colleges were established at main as well as outlying campus. As of 2016, the University has 10 constituent Colleges, 1 Centre of Post Graduate Studies, 8 Regional Research and Technology Transfer Stations, 4 Regional Research and Technology Transfer Sub-Stations, 7 Commodity Research Stations, 31 Krishi Vigyan Kendras spread over the entire state. 51 All India Coordinated Research Projects (ICAR) and 49 ad hoc research projects are operating in the University with external funding. OUAT covers 10 Agro-Climatic Regions. OUAT is also the only technical university of the state which provides technical support and human resource development in the field of Agriculture and allied sectors.

Emblem/Logo of OUAT

The emblem/logo consists of:

a) Temple - The temple represents the State of Orissa, the architects of which dedicated to posterity the fantasy of conceiving and creating with thousands of pieces of cold stone such a righteous harmony by their mutual cooperation and will.

b) Bullock – It  represents the Animal husbandry and Veterinary Science.

c) Plough and Corn – These represent Agricultural Science.

d) Tractor - It represents Agro-Engineering and Technological Appliances.

e) Pump – It represents Irrigation.

Constituent Colleges of OUAT

1. College of Agriculture, Bhubaneswar
2. College of Agriculture, Chiplima, Sambalpur
3. College of Agriculture, Bhawanipatna
4. College of Forestry, Bhubaneswar
5. College of Horticulture, Chipilima, Sambalpur
6. College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Bhubaneswar
7. College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology (CAET), Bhubaneswar
8. College of Fisheries, Rangeilunda, Brahmapur
9. College of Basic Science and Humanities Bhubaneswar
10. College of Home Science, Bhubaneswar
11. Centre for Post-Graduate Studies, Bhubaneswar 

Location of OUAT

Orissa University of Agriculture & Technology is at the heart of Bhubaneswar (Latitude : 20 15'N, Longitude : 85 52' E), the capital city of Orissa , which is situated at an altitude of 25.9 meters above the sea level.

Reaching Bhubaneswar

By Rail - OUAT campus is situated at 7 km away from Bhubaneswar Railway Station. It is on the main line of South-Eastern Railway. Direct trains are available to most of the cities of our country. It is 3 km away from the bus stand on N.H. 5.

By Airport - Biju Patnaik International Airport is the nearest Airport and is at a distance of 3 km away from the University. The airport is linked with New Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta

Faculties and Departments at OUAT

Facilities at OUAT

Hostels - There are 26 hostels out of which 11 are for girls, 15 for boys including those at Chiplima, Rangailunda and Bhawanipatna campuses. These hostels accommodate 2300 approximately students in single, two, three and four seated rooms. There is an International Hostel for the foreign students. Two hostels located at Bhubaneswar campus are specially intended for Post-graduate students for Boys and Girls. Hostel facilities include television, internet connectivity, games and sports etc.

Central Library - The Central Library of the University was formed by combining the Libraries of the Constituent Colleges. The library caters to the students of seven constituent colleges of the University and daily 400 to 450 readers avail the library facilities. It has a collection of about 90,781 lakhs volumes of books, 133 foreign and Indian subscribed journals, 3374 theses and dissertations as well as about 8243 Annual and Technical reports of different Universities and institutions. The Central Library has open-access to staff and students from 8 A.M. to 8 P.M. during working days. To provide the on line access to the other reputed libraries, internet facility has been provided. Under inter-library loan system, books, journals and thesis are lent out and borrowed from other libraries and when demanded by the Institutions. It also has a well furnished room with seating capacity of 50 persons. The University has subscribed to 6 data base in the form of CDROM i.e., CAB, AGRICOLA, AGRIS,VET, ASFA, BIOTECHNOLOGY etc.

Internet - The University has provided internet bandwidth of 1 Gbps to about 700 end users at the headquarters including the hostels through NMEICT Project.

Scholarships and Freeships - The University provide merit scholarships for the Under-Graduate students @ Rs.500/- each per month to the extent of 15% of the total strength per each class along with the benefit of free ship amounting to Rs.500/- per semester per student to 10% of the total strength of each class on the basis of merit-cum-poverty. Two Post-Graduate students of each discipline receive the University scholarship @ Rs.1500/- per month which has been revised and increased from the 2013-14 session. Merit Scholarship to one Ph.D. student of each department is also given @ Rs.2000/- per month.

Directorate of Extension Education – The University has a separate Directorate of Extension Education which refines technologies and disseminates knowledge to farming community through a network of KVKs in various agro-climatic zones. It also provides feedback to the research system for finding solution to the farmer's problems. It operates in the principle of teaching by doing and learning by doing and enables farmers to acquire up-to-date skills to boost up production in farming sector. Transfer of knowledge programmes are carried out through Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK), University Extension Block Programme (UEBP), Information and Communication wing, Distance Education, Video Project, Agricultural Technology Information Centre (ATIC), Kissan Call Centre (KCC) and Orissa Gender Resources Centre (OGRC). As of 2016, there are 27 KVKs (Farm Science Centres) under the University in 27 districts.

Distance Education Programmes – The University offers certain Distance Education Programmes to provide agricultural education to the literate farmers, farm women, school dropouts and unemployed youth for empowering them so as to go for self-employment. Courses in paddy cultivation, vegetable cultivation, fruits cultivation, dairy farming, honey bee keeping and others are conducted as and when required.  Locals are also kept up to date with latest technologies and skills through postal correspondence. There are about 721 certificate holders through distance education. They have assumed the role of key communicators on agricultural innovations in the villages. Twenty-one rural drop-outs and neo-literates have been self-employed through distance education and they have been able to get loan from the banks, using the certificates issued to them.

ARIS - The University is credited to be first educational institute in Orissa to develop campus wide Local Area Network with the FO cabling to all the Colleges at Bhubaneswar in 1996. The work was done under Agricultural Research Information System (ARIS) project funded by ICAR. Under the project the University has provided Internet facility to its staff and students through VSAT connected to NICNET. The ARIS project also imparts computer training to its staff from time to time. ARIS also has taken responsibility to develop the Website for University. From Year 2002, the University has migrated to STPI from NIC for improved Internet Connectivity with a bandwidth of 256 Kbps. Subsequently it was increased to 512 Kbps. From 2007 Internet Connectivity was available with a bandwidth of 2 Mbps.

University Employment and Guidance Bureau - The University Employment and Guidance Bureau functions in collaboration with the Students Welfare Division. The Bureau maintains a Career Information room to give information on various courses on higher studies in India and Abroad. It also disseminates information of Scholarship, Fellowship and Financial assistance available in India and Abroad.

Achievements

• OUAT is the consortium leader in three National Agriculture Innovation Project (NAIP) sub-projects and consortium partner in 3 other NAIP sub-projects funded by World Bank through ICAR