The elite St Xavier's College is building a Rs 250-crore research centre for microbiology and biotechnology offering state-of-the-art facilities with industry collaboration in Rajarhat.
The new campus build at a plot of 17 acres will have full research facilities and would also offer undergraduate, post-graduate and PhD courses on microbiology and biotechnology, College principal Father Felix Raj said.
"The focus of all our research activities would be community development. All research has to benefit the people," he told PTI, adding that they would collaborate with industries and industry bodies like CII and FICCI so that the projects are linked with the market.
When asked about the funding of the centre, the principal said the money is being collected through their well-placed alumni, many of whom like ArcelorMittal's CEO L N Mittal and RPG's Sanjeev Goenka are big industrialists.
"We have already collected Rs 50 crore from the alumni network and as donations from other industrialists," he said while pointing out that the contributors have chosen to remain anonymous.
The alumni association is initiating 'Project Lakshya' where each contributor donates a minimum Rs 1 lakh to college funds.
Ranked amongst the top colleges in the country, St Xavier's, which has sought university tag, has been allowed autonomous status, besides the power to award degrees. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would lay the foundation stone of the proposed campus at a function here tomorrow.
In three years' time, the new campus would open its doors for students in the first phase, while the construction would be fully complete by 2019. Officials said the college's faculty would be encouraged to take up individual and group research projects from various sponsoring agencies like UGC and Department of Science & Technology where students can also participate.
The campus would also have residential facilities for around 1000 students, besides having libraries, alumni centre, community hall and a 3000-seater auditorium. The research centre will be the third campus for the college, which is hoping to be granted university status in a year's time. Besides its existing campus on Park Street, St Xavier's is already developing a second campus at EM-Bypass area.
"Our EMMRC (Educational Multimedia Research Centre), now housed at Park Circus, will be soon moved to this second campus. We plan to make this campus a communication hub with film studies, journalism, mass communication, multimedia and animation courses," the principal said.
With the premier Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) located nearby, St Xavier's would work in collaboration with them to offer practical training and internship to its students.
