JNU will now allow international students to enrol at its School of Engineering

School of Engineering, founded in 2018, will now have 15% supernumerary seats for foreign students, according to JNU’s Academic Council.

The administration block at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University | Photo: Commons

New Delhi: International students will now be able to enrol at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)’s School of Engineering.

In a meeting held on 22 June, JNU’s apex Academic Council approved a proposal for 15 per cent supernumerary seats for foreign students at the School of Engineering. The thought behind the move is that it will help the school internationalise its student input, bringing in diversity.

The minimum eligibility criteria and other ancillary requirements for this programme are defined through the Ministry of Human Resource Development’s Direct Admission for Students from Abroad or DASA scheme. Screening and admission under DASA is primarily based on SAT subject scores (Mathematics Level-II, Physics and Chemistry).

However, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the admission process is delayed for this year, and is expected to start in September.

JNU vice-chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar told ThePrint: “Particularly those foreign nationals residing in NCR and in the rest of the country would find this opportunity highly rewarding.”

Importance of international students

The engineering programme at JNU began only in 2018, and V-C Jagadesh Kumar said that’s one of the reasons why the country’s second-ranked university, according to the government’s National Institutional Rankings Framework, doesn’t do nearly as well in international rankings.

“Top-ranking universities are very strong in science and technology and attract a large number of international students,” Kumar, also a professor of electrical engineering at IIT-Delhi, said.

“When international students are admitted to a university, it exposes both the local students and the international students to the diversity and cultural heritage of different countries. Since JNU attracts students from every part of India, international students will have the opportunity to learn about their languages, their ways of living, and establish lifelong new friendships,” he said.

“This process has the potential to connect the students across the world and promote peace and better inter-cultural understanding. It prepares the students to develop a holistic view of global issues, which is essential in today’s globalised world. International students will also become ambassadors of JNU and India, when they go back to their home countries,” the V-C added.