How did BITS Goa and Hyderabad develop so quickly?
Posted On - Aug 3, 2021Naturally, BITS Goa and Hyderabad weren’t planned randomly. There are years of strategic planning behind the establishment of these campuses.
I learned from one of the faculties of BITS Pilani that the late Mr. K. K Birla wanted to expand BITS campuses way back in 1990s and assigned the task to the administration to find a suitable location for the second campus. During the tech boom of the 90s, IT companies were setting up shops everywhere in cities like Bangalore, Mumbai. They strategically choose Goa as it is between these two locations and well-connected because of its airport. The location also helped them attract faculties from IIT Bombay and IISc Bangalore. Mr. Monahar Parrikar, then CM approved the project quickly, and that’s how it was possible to set up the Goa campus so quickly.
The Hyderabad campus also has a similar story. Mr. Chandra Babu Naidu, the CM of united Andra Pradesh back then, requested BITS to set up a campus in Hyderabad. He provided land for the campus and construction work was quick to follow. When the first batch joined in 20008, the infrastructure was already done.
I have a friend at BITS Goa and he got to know from some senior members of the faculty that the late K.K. Birla, the previous Chancellor, wanted BITS to be expanded out of Pilani as early as the 1990s itself. The task was given to the administration for finding a location suitable enough for establishing a second campus.
The administration set up the campus in Central or South India since that was where most of the big institutes were.
Another big factor was liberalization was rampant in India in the 1990s. IT institutions were established in cities like Bangalore, Mumbai (then Bombay), etc. Since Goa is between Bombay and South India, it was a perfect fit. Thanks to the airport, Goa is well connected. Which also made it easy to recruit faculty from IISc Bangalore and IIT Bombay.
Manohar Parrikar, one of the best chief ministers of India supported BITS wholeheartedly which led to the completion of the project very quickly.
Due to Goa’s airport, the placements got a big boost. The infrastructure also is improving by the year due to the increasing fees.
