Founded in 1857, the University of Calcutta is the oldest modern university in the Indian subcontinent. Spread out over multiple campuses in and around Kolkata, the University of Calcutta offers higher education degrees and fosters research through the faculties of Science, Arts, Commerce, Technology, Business Management, Education, Journalism, Law, Agriculture, Home Science, Music, and Fine Arts, as well as its various centres. There are currently 155 affiliated colleges under the University of Calcutta. The University caters to students from a wide cross section of society, including first-generation learners. The University of Calcutta has long established itself as a centre of excellence in research and teaching, and is home to a dedicated team of faculty and staff. In recent years, even during the pandemic, the University has been awarding a high number PhD degrees, and almost all its postgraduate students have either gone on to pursue higher education degrees or have been placed successfully through the placement cell. The University of Calcutta is dedicated to furthering its educational goals not only in India but also globally, and it has signed MoUs with a large number of international universities from all over the world.
In an effort at the conservation of its rich heritage the University has recently undertaken extensive renovation projects. These include the renovation of its historic and heritage Darbhanga Building and Asutosh Building, as well the restoration of old original paintings by eminent artists of Bengal such as Nandalal Bose and Jamini Roy. The University of Calcutta is also home to the prestigious Asutosh Museum of Indian Art. The first public museum in any university in India, the Asutosh Museum was established at the University of Calcutta in 1937, and holds rare historic sculptures, paintings, folk-art objects, textiles, and terracotta from across India. The museum is also undergoing renovation and will be opened up to the general public. There are also plans for guided heritage walks.
During the Covid 19 pandemic, the University of Calcutta not only held online classes, examinations, workshops and seminars, but also made educational resources developed by its faculty freely available online for everyone to access. The Calcutta University Library has also undertaken extensive digitization of its archives, which hosts some of the earliest documents regarding the Indian higher education system since the nineteenth century. The Library has undertaken various modernization and computerization projects under the INFLIBNET programme of the UGC. The Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) of the library has databases of books, journals, theses, dissertations, and other research materials. In addition, the University also provides electronic access to a large number of national and international journals and databases to its users in all the campuses. In its physical archives the Library also has rare books and paintings. The Library has also recently opened up to the general public.
The University of Calcutta is dedicated to modernization and the highest standards of education. The University has a large number of fully functional smart classrooms. It also has latest scientific labs with modern equipment. There are also many career entrepreneurship hubs across its multiple campuses. These career hubs perform an indispensible role in facilitating skill-development, liaison with industry, and the overall development of entrepreneurship. The University of Calcutta also places great emphasis on sports and organizes various inter-collegiate competitions. It also boasts of an active National Service Scheme (NSS) and has undertaken various outreach programmes including adopting slums. Plans are currently underway to also adopt a village.
Website: https://www.caluniv.ac.in/
