Overview

Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) is a state government-owned autonomous university in Kochi, Kerala, India. It was founded in 1971 and has three campuses: two in Kochi (Kalamassery and Ernakulam) and one in Kuttanad, Alappuzha, 66 km (41 mi) inland. The university was founded in 1971 as the University of Cochin through an act of the Kerala Legislature, which was the result of a campaign for postgraduate education in the state. It was renamed as Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) in February 1986. Its goals are to promote undergraduate and postgraduate studies and advanced research in applied science, technology, industry, commerce, management and social sciences. Admissions to both undergraduate and postgraduate courses are based on the Common Admission Test (CAT). Departmental Admission Tests (DAT) are conducted for some postgraduate courses. As of 2019, the university has 29 Departments of study and research, offering graduate and post-graduate programmes across a wide spectrum of disciplines in Engineering, Science, Technology, Humanities, Law & Management. The university has academic links and exchange programmes with several institutions across the globe. A new species of amphipod collected from the Cochin backwaters was named Victoriopisa cusatensis after the university in 2018. The motto of the university is Tejasvinavadhithamastu, which is taken from the Vedas and conveys "May the wisdom accrued deify us both – the teacher and the taught - and percolate to the universe in its totality". == Campuses == The university has three campuses: two are in Kochi, and one is at Pulinkunnu, Kuttanad, Alappuzha about 65 km south of Kochi in the state of Kerala. === Main (Thrikkakara) Campus === The main campus is 1.5 km (0.93 mi) off the National Highway 47 in South Kalamassery. The 180-acre (0.73 km2) campus includes the School of Engineering (SOE Campus), Kunjali Marakkar School of Marine Engineering, School of Management Studies, various Science departments, and the School of Legal Studies. === Lakeside Campus === The Lakeside campus, about 12 km (7.5 mi) from the main campus, is set on Fine Arts Avenue in Cochin city on the waterfront of the estuary. It includes the School of Marine Sciences, School of Industrial Fisheries, Department of Physical Oceanography, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Chemical Oceanography, Department of Marine Biology, Microbiology and Biochemistry, and the Department of Marine Geology and Geophysics. The School of Marine Sciences library is one of the largest marine science libraries in Asia. The school also has a research vessel for coastal water studies, and has academic interactions with other universities and research institutes within and outside India. === Pulincunnu Campus === The Pulincunnu campus in Kuttanad, Alappuzha District is 65 km from the Main campus. It is home to the Cochin University College of Engineering, Kuttanad (CUCEK) and the Cochin University College of Computer Applications (CUCCA). == Faculties == CUSAT is structured into nine faculties: Science Technology Engineering Environmental Studies Humanities Law Marine Sciences Medical Sciences and Technology Social Sciences === Faculty of Science === ==== Department of Physics ==== The Department of Physics of the Cochin University of Science and Technology was founded as the Department of Physics of the Ernakulam Centre of the University of Kerala in 1963 by Prof. K. Venkateswarlu. It is now a centre of excellence, well known within India and abroad for its contributions to teaching and research in both experimental and theoretical physics. Areas of interest include nanoscience and technology, optoelectronic devices, quantum computing, semiconductor devices, solar cells, holographic materials, high density storage batteries, astrobiology and quantum optics. Research is sponsored by agencies including UGC, AICTE, IUCAA, DST, DRDO, CSIR, IUAC, DAE, and KSCSTE. The department has extensive instrumentation, which is made available to outside users at a nominal charge. The department offers postgraduate programmes leading to the degrees of MSc (Physics), M.Phil. (Physics) and PhD. The Department of Physics conducts a science awareness programme in physics and the National Space Olympiad in association with the IUCAA Resource Centre, CUSAT and Edumithra Intellectual Services. === Faculty of Technology === ==== Department of Electronics ==== The Department of Electronics was established in 1975. Research areas include microwave electronics, microprocessors, underwater acoustics, ocean electronics, microwave propagation antennas, microwave image processing, pattern recognition, microprocessor applications in signal processing and display devices. Research is sponsored by external agencies including the DST, ISRO, AICTE, DOE, DRDO, MOD and the state government. The department has international collaborations with Delft University (Netherlands), PolarizOne Corporation (Malaysia), University of Kent (UK) and University of Surrey (UK). The department offers postgraduate programmes leading to the degrees of MSc (Electronics) and MTech (Electronics) with specializations in Microwave & Radar Electronics and Digital Electronics, and PhD. The department conducts two national symposia as biennial events: the National Symposium on Antennas & Propagation (APSYM), and the Symposium on Ocean Electronics (SYMPOL). ==== Department of Instrumentation ==== The Department of Instrumentation was established in the year 1995 as an outgrowth of the University Science Instrumentation Centre (USIC), which offers instrumentation services including design and fabrication, glass blowing, and carpentry to science and technology departments of the university and external organizations. As an academic department, it now has research programmes in the areas of Instrumentation and Applied Physics, sponsored by external funding agencies including DST, DAE, UGC, AICTE, KSCSTE and TWAS. It also offers consultancy for the design and fabrication of experimental systems for teaching, research, calibration and industrial applications. The department offers a four-year BTech (Bachelors) course in Instrumentation Technology, two-year MTech course in Instrumentation Technology and two-year MSc course in Instrumentation. K N Madhusoodanan, professor of Department of Instrumentation was appointed vice-chancellor (VC) of CUSAT on 25 April 2019 by Governor P Sathasivam. ==== Department of Polymer Science and Rubber Technology ==== The Department of Polymer Science and Rubber Technology (P.S. & R.T.), established in 1971, is a pioneer in the areas of education and research in polymer science and engineering. Its BTech programme began in 1972, in collaboration with the Rubber Research Institute of India. It is funded by agencies including Nuffic (MHO, The Netherlands), Volkswagen Foundation (Germany), MHRD, AICTE, DRDO, DST, and UGC. ==== Department of Ship Technology ==== The Department of Ship Technology was founded in 1974 and is one of the pioneers in the field of Naval Architecture education in India. Its BTech programme in Naval Architecture and Ship Building began in 1975. The Naval Architecture programme is run in collaboration with the University of Rostock, Germany, and its graduates are in demand for positions in the shipbuilding industry, ship classification societies, R&D organisations, and the Indian Navy. The Ministry of Shipping (Government of India) approved the BTech course for the M.O.T. Certificate Examination, and the Indian Navy has recognised this department as a centre for the higher education of their officers. The Society of Naval Architecture Students in the department publishes an annual Technical Magazine, SHIPSTECHNIC. ==== International School of Photonics ==== The International School of Photonics (ISP) was founded in 1995. Research activities include the design and fabrication of various laser systems and laser components, investigations of non-linear phenomena in different materials using photothermal, photoacoustic and related techniques, time- and space-resolved studies on laser-induced plasmas, design and characterization of fibre-optic sensors, fabrication and characterisation of polymer fibres, preparation and investigation of photonic materials and studies on photonics theory, sponsored by funding agencies including DST, AICTE and UGC. The University Grants Commission designated Cochin University of Science and Technology as a "University with Potential for Excellence in the Field of Lasers and Optoelectronics Sciences" in March 2002, and provided a grant of Rs. 5 crore that was used to establish a Centre of Excellence in Lasers and Optoelectronics Sciences (CELOS). The Centre later merged with the International School of Photonics. The department offers postgraduate programmes leading to the degrees of MTech (Opto Electronics and Laser Technology) and PhD. ==== Department of Computer Applications ==== The Department of Computer Applications (DCA) was established in 1994. It offers a Masters in Computer Applications programme with the financial support of UGC and the Department of Electronics, Government of India. Research areas include information security, simulation and modelling, cryptography and coding theory, language computing, algorithms, pattern recognition, Web mining, applications of graph theory, image processing, data mining, networking and software engineering. The department also provide MSc Computer Science with Specialization in soft Computing from 2016. The aim is to prepare the students with both theoretical and practical foundation in soft computing. The curriculum includes exposure to the current technologies like Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, AI, Big Data Analytics etc. ==== Department of Computer Science ==== The Department of Computer Science (DCS) focuses on academic programs in Information Systems, but also includes research on high-speed computing, human-computer interactions, information security, networked embedded systems, natural language processing, software engineering, and very-large-scale integration. It was instrumental in establishing the university computer centre and the CUSAT Intranet. The department offers postgraduate programmes leading to the degrees of MTech (Computer & Information Science), MTech (Software Engineering) and MTech (Computer Science with Specialization in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence), MSc Computer Science ( Artificial Intelligence & Data Science) and PhD (Computer Science / Computer Engineering or Information Science). Research laboratories include: 1. Artificial Intelligence & Computer Vision Laboratory (AICV) 2. Bioinformatics Laboratory (BI) 3. Cyber Physical Systems Laboratory (CPS) 4. Natural Language Processing Laboratory (NLP) 5. Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) === Faculty of Engineering === ==== School of Engineering, Thrikkakara ==== The School of Engineering was established in 1979 to offer part-time MTech programmes in the major disciplines of engineering (Civil, Mechanical, Electrical and Chemical Engineering) for practising engineers in and around Cochin. In 1995 the School introduced BTech programmes in Civil engineering, Mechanical engineering, Electronics and Communication engineering, Computer Science & Engineering and Information technology. Safety and Fire Engineering was added in 1996 and Electrical & Electronics Engineering in 2003. In 1981 the School added PhD programmes. As of 2019, the School had produced 53 PhDs and over 250 candidates were registered as research students. External funding for research activities is provided by agencies including DST, the Central Water Commission, ISRO, AICTE, Coir Board, and the Kerala State Coir Corporation. The BTech programmes offered by the school are accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) under the Tier-I system. The National Board of Accreditation (NBA) is a permanent signatory to the Washington Accord that sets standards for engineering undergraduate degrees in a number of countries. Undergraduate BTech courses (student intake in parentheses) Civil engineering (90) Computer Science and Engineering (90) Electrical and Electronics Engineering (60) Electronics and Communication engineering (90) Information technology (90) Mechanical engineering (90) Safety and Fire Engineering (60) Postgraduate MTech courses Full Time Information Technology (Software Systems) (18) Computer Science and Engineering (Networking Systems) (18) Civil Engineering (Geo-technical Engineering) (18) Mechanical Engineering (Thermal Engineering) (18) Electronics & Communications Engineering (Wireless Technology) (18) Part Time Civil Engineering (18) Mechanical Engineering (18) Chemical Engineering (18) Electrical Engineering (18) PhD programmes are available in all areas mentioned above. ==== Kunjali Marakkar School of Marine Engineering ==== The Kunjali Marakkar School of Marine Engineering offers a BTech programme in Marine Engineering. This is a full-time compulsory residential programme. Students wear Merchant navy Cadets' Uniform for classes. Physical training is compulsory for the cadets. The intake for BTech Marine Engineering is 80 per year. In 2014, a full-time two-year MTech programme in Marine Engineering (80 students) was added. The School also provides short term courses in an Engine Room Simulator for students preparing for competitive examinations conducted by the Directorate General of Shipping. ==== Cochin University College of Engineering, Kuttanad ==== The Cochin University College of Engineering, Kuttanad was established in 1999 and is owned by the Cochin University of Science and Technology. It is situated in a 42-acre campus in Pulincunnoo, Kuttanad, about 75 km away from the main campus at Thrikkakara. It is the only campus of CUSAT that is outside the Ernakulam District. BTech programmes are offered in: Computer Science and Engineering Electrical and Electronics Engineering Electronics and Communication Engineering Information Technology Mechanical Engineering Civil Engineering Computer