I N D I A S B E S T C O L L E G E S

C H R I ST U N I V E R S I T Y, B E N G A L U R U

Passport
TO AN
IT-OPIA
In the countrys IT hub, the BCA at
Christ is king. All thanks to a farsighted
faculty, an up-to-date curriculum and
an interdisciplinary approach
By Aravind Gowda
NILOTPAL BARUAH

BCA

T H E I N D I A T O DAY- N I E L S E N S U R V E Y
1

t is not unusual to see

a Bachelor of Computer Applications
(BCA) student at
Christ University sitting in a Psychology class or learning
German. The institute is known for its
inter-disciplinary approach.
Christ College (as it was known
before being granted deemed private
university status by the UGC) was
among the first to launch a BCA programme in Bengaluru. We have a
strong faculty, good at spotting trends
in computer sciences, says Prof Joy
Paulose, head of the computer science department at Christ University.
Sensing its immense potential, they
were able to persuade authorities to
allow them to set up a course in 2000.
We saw the need for such a well-designed course at the graduate level,

Vice -chancellor Father Thomas C.

Mathew with BCA students

BCA TOP
OVERALL RANK

QUALITY
REPUSTUDENT
OF
TATION OF
CARE
ACADEMIC
COLLEGE
INPUT

NAME OF THE COLLEGE

2014

2015

2016

CHRIST UNIVERSITY,

CHENNAI

BCA

T H E I N D I A T O DAY- N I E L S E N S U R V E Y

10

whats
exciting

I N D I A S B E S T C O L L E G E S

INFRASTRUCTURE

JOB
PLACEMENT

PERCEPTUAL
RANK

FACTUAL
RANK

OVERALL
SCORE

Interdisciplinary courses, holistic approach

Centre for Social Action facilitates social service in the areas of rural
development, women and child rights, farmers, community mobilisation
and climate change

Bhasha Utsav; Kannada Sangha, among the very few active associations that
has published over 250 books since 1974 contributing to local community

STUDENTSPE AK

100.00

77.84

SYMBIOSIS INSTITUTE OF COMPUTER STUDIES & RESEARCH

(SICSR), PUNE

74.21

INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES (IMS), NOIDA

67.49

STELLA MARIS COLLEGE, CHENNAI

63.72

BCA at Christ University isn't just a

computer science course. The course
is supplemented by related fields
that allowed us to get exposure,
such as classes in psychology, professional English and talks by
industry professionals.

WOMENS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE, CHENNAI

10

10

10

10

10

10

55.32

ROHIT NAMBIAR,
STUDENT OF 2016 BATCH

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER APPLICATION, KURUKSHETRA

UNIVERSITY, KURUKSHETRA

54.85

ST JOSEPHS COLLEGE, BENGALURU

53.61

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, BANASTHALI

UNIVERSITY, JAIPUR

53.09

10

MADRAS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE, CHENNAI

10

48.47

BENGALURU

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER APPLICATION, SRM UNIVERSITY,

TOP

**** Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Mesra and Loyola College, Chennai do not figure in the ranking as they did not share factual data on time

trends

Mobile apps

With India the fastest-growing mobile

apps market (growth in app usage
increased by 131 per cent last year,
according to a report by Yahoo!) and
emerging as major revenue stream
for companies, freshers are expected
to have knowledge about developing
mobile apps

GURU MANTRA

Students are integral to

shaping future technology that
can change the world. We ensure
we provide them the right training,
ecosystem and academic support.
PROF JOY PAULOSE,
HoD, COMPUTER SCIENCES

Cloud computing
Mandatory for every student to
know basic concepts of cloud computing (network of remote servers
hosted on the Internet to manage
and process data)

Big Data Analytics

Helps companies break up data for
relevant use. Students need to be
aware of basics

122

INDIA TODAY MAY 30, 2016

TOTAL
SEATS

TOP
RECRUITERS

HIGHEST
SALARY

LAST YEARS
CUT-OFF

80

Oracle,
Capgemini,
Cognizant

Rs 6.5
lakh

90

PER ANNUM

as not every student was interested in

pursuing an engineering degree in
computer science, says Fr Paulose.
The industry too spelt out a demand
for BCA students.
Today, the degree is among the
more coveted ones at Christ, attracting students not just from across
India but from other countries as
well. Thousands apply for the course
but only 80 eventually make the cut.
One of our biggest strengths,
says Father Thomas C. Mathew, Vicechancellor, Christ University, is the
faculty development programme. Our
faculty has to continually upgrade the
industry knowledge and skill sets.
The university benchmarks its curriculum with best practices in the industry. To do this, it involves experts from
the private sector. The faculty receives
the best of inputs from tech companies in the city for the upgradation of
its syllabus which has to be in sync
with the prevailing trends in the industry. This is the primary reason why
BCA students from Christ secure
placements in some of the best technology companies in the world. We
dont focus just on academics, we also
help students improve their soft skills,
communication and diction, analytical skills etc, says Fr Mathew.
A three-year programme with six
semesters, the BCA at Christ is definitely not meant for the faint-hearted.
Students can avail of high-speed internet on the campus and do many of

their assignments online. They are

expected to prepare beforehand, so
that class sessions are interactive.
In the first semester, a course in
Foundational Mathematics is compulsory for all students. Communicative English is essential in the
second semester. By the time they
reach the third or fourth semesters,
students have to opt for a course from
another discipline.
The idea is to make education
holistic, says Fr Mathew, as it is not
enough these days to have a technical
qualification. When our students pass
out of university, we expect them to
excel in academics, have good communication skills, demonstrate leadership qualities and show commitment
towards society.
Founded in 1969, the Christ
University operates out of three campuses and has 44 departments. It has
more than 16,000 students from
across India and 40 other countries.
It offers 44 undergraduate and 35
postgraduate programmes across
multiple disciplines.
Christ has a strong alumni association and ex-students give back to
their alma mater in a myriad ways.
You might find some of them coming
back to the campus on weekends and
chatting with current batches of students. They take great pride in being
Christites, as Christ University students like to call themselves.
Follow the writer on Twitter @AravindShiv