Delhi University’s Hindu College is all set to get a dedicated research centre for undergraduate students. According to the latest update, the college will launch the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in March 2020, which will act as a dedicated research centre for undergraduate students at the college.
Currently, the construction for Centre for Interdisciplinary Research is underway and will be completed by March 2020. Hindu College has commissioned construction of a four-storey building on campus, which will house the new research centre.
As part of the research centre, the college is expected to get research laboratories for science programmes offered in the college — Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Computer Science, Mathematics and Statistics.
Additionally, the centre will also house a language laboratory with dedicated research cells and rooms for students working on research projects at the centre. Currently, Hindu College doesn’t offer a course in journalism or mass media, however it has decided to develop a dedicated media laboratory as part of the centre to aid students of Sociology Honours Programme who have a paper on Ethnographic Filmmaking.
Need for Undergraduate Research Center
Commenting on the development, Hindu College Principal Dr Anju Srivastava said that such a facility is the need off time in order to promote inter-disciplinary research. Moreover, introducing students to research activities and getting them interested in it will also pave way for students taking research as a more serious option in future.
She added that “For students, research will add to their credentials and also enable them to make an informed decision as to whether they want to continue or discontinue with the sciences after graduating.”
Research to be Voluntary
The Centre for Interdisciplinary Research will be voluntary activity and therefore will account to be part of the extra-curricular infrastructure available at the college. Research work carried out by students at the centre will not be mandatory.
The total cost for development of the Research Centre is pegged at Rs 7 to 8 crores with additional Rs 2 crore being allocated for purchase of equipment for laboratories. According to the college, the entire cost of Research Centre has been raised through “philanthropic donations”.