Shimla: The Government of Himachal Pradesh, in collaboration with the industries anticipates, is mooting setting up a modern technical university in line with international standards, focusing on advanced research.

The initiative will be a two-phase process to establish engineering and management disciplines.

The first phase comprises of a time span of three years, which envisages a functional campus with basic infrastructure facilities. An amount of Rs.8 crores has already been sanctioned for the purpose.

Appointments will also be announced soon for the post of Vice-Chancellor and Deans for various faculties to carry out necessary responsibilities of the college.

For the second phase, students will be offered higher courses of study and their scope will not be relegated to the pure academics but will rather focus on applied research, which will be of use to industries.

In order to achieve this target, many advanced research centres will introduce postgraduate courses and higher courses like M.Tech and Doctorate.

In all, 13 such centres are proposed to be set-up in various disciplines like computer science, information technology, electronic, mechanical engineering, management, commerce and other branches.

International standards are deemed to be the basis of curriculum set up in the proposed university. Keeping in mind the globalization process, faculty members from reputed foreign institutions will be invited under exchange programmes.

The proposed university is expected to be fully computerized comprising of modern laboratories and lecture rooms. The setting up of such a university will help share the workload of the Himachal Pradesh University, as various technical institutions, currently associated with it, will be affiliated to the new university.

The government is also thinking to include the medical institutes of the state under the umbrella of the proposed university. It has already given nod to a private medical university.