HYDERABAD: Telangana Council of Higher Education (TGCHE) has prepared a strategic development plan (2025–30) for the Dr Manmohan Singh Earth Sciences University of Telangana, for which foundation stone was laid in Kothagudem recently.

The document focuses on benchmarking the university’s academic structure, pedagogy and research environment with leading global institutions, while adapting best practices to the Indian context.

A senior TGCHE officer said, “There is a plan to launch UG, PG, PhD and certificate programmes in Geology, Environmental Science, River Science, Coal Geology, Mining Technology and Remote Sensing. Centres for Climate Change, Seismology, Mineral Exploration and Water Resources will also be established. Similarly, to emerge as a global leader in earth sciences education, research and innovation, there is a plan to study the academic structure of several renowned domestic and foreign universities, including University of Cambridge/Durham University-UK, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and IIT Banaras Hindu University.”

“Then we will be adopting their best practices to the Indian context (NEP 2020 and AI integration). Further, several institutions which include educational institutions, government sector, industries and several voluntary organisations will be collaborating,” he added.

The university requires 64 dedicated teaching posts for the eight initial BSc and MSc courses, as there is currently no existing faculty for these earth science disciplines.

Recruitment for these positions will commence soon.

Expected outcomes over the next five years include over 2,000 graduates, postgraduates and research scholars trained in high-demand earth science fields, research contributions in mining sustainability, river health, disaster risk and climate adaptation, and tangible improvements in local water quality, mine safety and community livelihoods.

The university seeks to be recognised as a national centre for earth sciences within a decade.