SRINAGAR: A five-member NAAC Team is visiting the Islamic University of Science and Technology to assess it for NAAC accreditation on a set of parameters including curriculum, teaching-learning, evaluation, research, infrastructure, student activities, governance, consultancy and extension, and innovative practices. The NAAC peer team comprises distinguished experts from various reputed institutes in the country. Since the last cycle of accreditation in 2015, the IUST has made significant progress in terms of introducing new courses, infrastructure development, promotion of innovation, research, and outreach activities. IUST has come a long way since its inception, with 29 departments/research centers, two nursing colleges, and a polytechnic, together offering 55 programmes.
During the last year, the university has bagged 24 research projects with a total outlay of Rs. 2901.27 lacs. In keeping with the National Education Policy 2020, IUST has a great potential to emerge as an important research institution in the country with a significant contribution to teaching, research, innovation, and outreach. The university leads in terms of patents/design registration with 15 patents/designs having been published/awarded in the last few years. In addition, IUST has been a trailblazer in a variety of endeavours. It is the first University in J&K to receive NABL certification for its Food Technology Lab as well as the first in the state to offer new programmes such as Food Technology and Actuarial Mathematics. The University has been rated as a high-performing institution in the implementation of the World Bank-sponsored TEQIP project and has been rated as Band ‘Performer’ at the national level in the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievement (ARIIA) in 2021. As a responsibility toward its citizenry, the University has established an outreach directorate and rolled out various programs to reach out to the community. Production of the first community newspaper ‘NAAD’, and setting up a community radio station on the campus are among the IUST’s new initiatives.
Professor Shakil Ahmad Romshoo, Vice-Chancellor said that the university is committed to quality education, critical enquiry, and intellectual/professional freedom. He said that IUST has prepared itself on all the parameters for its interface with the ranking agency.

KR Desk