University of Pune

The University of Pune (formerly the University of Poona), located in northwestern Pune, is one of India's premier universites. It was established on February 10, 1949. Spread over a sprawling 400 acre (1.6 km²) campus, the university is home to 46 academic departments.

History
The University of Pune was established under the Poona University Act, passed by the Bombay legislature on February 10, 1948. In the same year, Dr. M.R. Jayakar assumed office as the first vice chancellor of the university. Shri B.G. Kher, Chief Minister and Education Minister of the government of Bombay, helped ensure the university received a large allocation of land for their campus. In early 1950, the university was allocated over 411 acres (1.7 km²). It is also known as the 'Oxford Of The East'.

Jurisdiction
Initially the university had a jurisdiction extending over 12 districts of western Maharashtra. However, with the establishment of Shivaji University in Kolhapur in 1964, the jurisdiction of the university was restricted to 5 districts, namely Pune, Ahmednagar, Nasik, Dhule and Jalgaon. Out of these, two districts -- Dhule and Jalgaon -- are attached to the North Maharashtra University established in August 1990.

Affiliations
In 1949, there were only 18 colleges affiliated to the university (includes famed colleges such as the Fergusson College), with an enrollment of over 8000 students. Thereafter, the number of colleges increased, and in 2004, the university had 46 graduate departments, 269 affiliated colleges and 118 recognized research institutions, with an enrollment of 170,000 students for both the undergraduate and graduate courses in different faculties.

Research
70 research institutions have been recognized by the University of Pune for research. These include institutions of national importance like the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), National Centre For Cell Science (NCCS), National Institute of Virology (NIV), Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) among others.

Other research organisations which associated with the University of Pune are:

* National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (runs the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope)
* Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (home to the PARAM range of supercomputers)
* Institute of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology (IBB)

Schools,Centres and Departments

Institute of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology (IBB) -
Institute of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology (IBB) is an autonomous institute with an affiliation to the University of Pune. It was established with a view to promote research and development activities in bioinformatics and biotechnology, with a focus on creation of high quality research environment and human resources. IBB is situated on the campus of University of Pune, India.

Department of Chemistry (DOC) -
The Department of Chemistry is one of the earliest departments established by the University of Pune and ranks among the Top 5 Departments in India for excellence in Chemical research and pedagogy. It has received the "CAS" status (Centre for Advanced Studies in Chemistry). Prof. S. R. Gadre of the Theoretical Chemistry Group has been well-known for his significant contributions to research and training.

Computer Science Department (PUCSD) - The MCA programme offered by this Dept. ranks among the top 10 in the country and students graduating from this school have been employed by Forbes-listed multinational companies.

Department of Electronic Science

Department of Management Sciences (PUMBA) - Business school of University of Pune. It is counted among the best University business schools in India. It has envious placement record and alumni are well placed in the industry. See PUMBA Online

Department of Physics

Department of Biotechnology - This department of University of Pune, is well known for contributing to the academic status of the development of biotechnology education in India. In 1985, National Board of Biotechnology selected University of Pune as one of its five centres for imparting training in M.Sc. Biotechnology. To date, this department brings several merits.Student website

Atmospheric and Space Sciences

Department of Environmental Science- The Department of Environmental Science was first established as an interdisciplinary school of the University of Pune in1978. As a first step, Environmental Science was introduced as an optional course in all the science departments. In view of its immense popularity, a one-year course, B.Sc. (Applied) was started in 1986, which was subsequently converted into a two-year full time M. Sc. course.

Centre for Modeling and Simulation (CMS)

Interdisciplinary school of scientific computing (ISSC)

Department of Communication and Journalism (DoCJ)

Department of zoology