Four out of the top five Higher Education Institutes in the Private or Self-financed Universities category under the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) are in Tamil Nadu. The rankings were released on Tuesday over a video conference by the Vice-President of India Venkaiah Naidu in the presence of the Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal and other concerned officials and lawmakers.
The top spot was acquired by the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology Khordha in Odisha, followed by the other top four — SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, all in Tamil Nadu. BS Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science and Technology, Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Sastra Deemed to be University, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences and Vel Tech Rangarajan Dr Sagunthala R & D Institute of Science and Technology were the other institutes in the top 25. A total of 50 institutes were ranked and even between the sixth and the 50th, there are 13 universities from the state.
The rankings were decided on the basis of six main parameters — Programmes and Activities on IPR, Innovation, Start-up and Entrepreneurship, Pre Incubation & Incubation Infrastructure & Facilities to Support I&E, Annual Budget Spent on Promoting and Supporting I&E Activities, Courses on Innovation, IPR and Entrepreneurship Development, Intellectual Property (IP), Technology Transfer and Commercialisation, Successful Innovation and Start-ups and Funding Innovation & start-ups.
The Ministry of Education has initiated the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements to systematically rank education institutions and universities primarily on innovation-related indicators. ARIIA considers all major indicators which are commonly used globally to rank most innovative education institutions/ universities in the world.
"ARIIA ranking now getting wide acceptance among India HEIs and it will certainly inspire Indian institutions to reorient their mindset and build ecosystems to encourage high-quality research, innovation and entrepreneurship. Moreover, ARIIA aims at setting a direction for institutions for future development for making them globally competitive and at the forefront of innovation," said a statement from the Education Ministry.
