The Mumbai University Institute of Chemical Technology (MUICT) has been selected to submit a proposal as a Lead Institution under the Technical Education Quality Improvement Program (TEQIP) of the Government of India.

The purpose of TEQIP is to enhance existing capacities of institutions to become dynamic, demand-driven, quality conscious, efficient and forward looking, responsive to rapid economic and technological developments occurring both and the national and international development. The program aims at reinforcing the performance of lead institutions and diffusing their special qualities throughout the technical educational system.

Background
MUICT was established within the University of Mumbai in 1934 through the efforts of the industry, with a program in chemical engineering and textile technology. It has since grown by leaps and bounds and its 11 divisions currently offer a large range of undergraduate and graduate courses covering the entire range of the chemical industry, with a total enrolment of 894 undergraduate, 277 Masters and 236 PhD students. It has an approved faculty level of 99 positions, of which only 66 are currently filled because of budgetary and regulatory constraints, and a support staff of 240.
MUICT is one of the top performing institutions of the country as well as internationally, by many standards. It has rates of production of PhDs, publications in reputed international journals, patents, output per faculty, PG/UG ratios and cost- effectiveness comparable to the best institutions in the world. Its close relationship to the industry has resulted in a relevant research program with a high level of implementation of innovations, a large consultancy program, a dynamic curriculum development process and a high level of financial support from the industry. Its highly motivated and qualified student body has a brilliant history of academic achievement and successful industrial placement. As a result, MUICT has received, and continues to receive, numerous citations and awards of excellence.
While these are all very desirable qualities and achievements, of which MUCIT is justifiably proud, and which it must seek to infuse into the technical education system, there are many challenges that MUICT must currently face, which, if not addressed, will hamper its capacity to maintain and diffuse these qualities. Its facilities are aging and overcrowded; its faculty is strained and overloaded due to the many unfilled vacancies; it is crippled by internal administrative inefficiencies and external regulatory restrictions; and its industry is facing fundamental challenges from the pressures of globalisation and the attractiveness of other forms of employment.
Having analysed its current status, its internal strengths and weaknesses, and the threats and opportunities presented to it by its environment, MUICT has decided to embark on a vast and ambitious program of institutional development to allow it to maintain its excellence and expand it in new directions, and confidently take hold of the opportunities it perceives in its environment.

Strategic Directions
The strategic plan that has emerged from this reflection aims at making MUICT more able to serve identified national priorities. These include a vast increase in human resources capable of undertaking focused research and development for the industry in support of increased cost-effectiveness, international competitiveness, energy efficiency, environmental management, and the development of rural populations, disadvantaged sectors of the population, and the large non-formal sector of the economy.
MUICT has identified a number of promising new products, processes and technologies that are environmentally friendly and that offer both the potential of a substantial increase in India's share of the global market in certain specialty areas as well as a wide application in the small-scale and non-formal sectors of the economy. In light of these priorities, MUICT has decided to realign its program and focus its energies on the development of research and educational excellence in the five key areas of process intensification, herbal technology, biotechnology, food technology and engineering and polymers and composites, and on developing its capacity, through these areas, to reach out and promote the development of communities and of the non-formal sector. This requires the development of new physical and human capacities and adjustments to the curriculum, both in its technical aspects as well as in its human, management and service aspects, to create complete professionals capable of a high level of technical competence and innovation and a high capacity for responsible and committed social action.
This ambitions outward thrust must be accompanied by a no less ambitious program of internal structural reform and organisational development. If it wishes to rise to the challenge, MUICT must be able to attract high quality students, recruit a large number of qualified faculty to fill its current vacancies, and substantially improve its administrative efficiency and effectiveness. This requires obtaining full autonomy under an independent Board of Governors/Management, achieving financial stability and vitality through a clear block funding agreement, coupled with dynamic generation of resources, and engaging in a systematic process of organisational change.
MUICT's strategic plan therefore has two main thrusts: increased social responsibility, through a research and human resource development program focusing on environmentally friendly, widely replicable technologies and a systematic diffusion of these innovations to the non-formal sector; and increased organisational viability through structural reforms and organisational development. TEQIP's design is particularly well suited to support MUICT in these strategic directions.

Project Objectives
The specific objectives elaborated for inclusion in the current proposal for funding under TEQIP include the following : 1. Increasing the annual production of PhD and Masters graduates by about 50%, to 65 and 145, respectively;
2. Focussing research and human resource development on the five selected areas of excellence, which will account for about 40% of the institution's annual output of graduates, publications, patents, consultancies, seminars and conferences.
3. Establishing three new post-graduate courses, with a total enrolment of 90 Masters students in the areas of Green, Bioprocess and Herbal Technologies.
4. Improving the quality of education, through systematic curriculum and staff development and upgrading of classroom, laboratory, library, information processing centre, and hostel facilities, to reach a composite score of at least 80% for student and employer satisfaction.
5. Analysing the special needs of disadvantaged social groups and women and developing formal programs to address them
6. Establishing a partnership with a selected Network institution resulting, through collaborative research, technical support and sharing of facilities, in increased joint outputs and an increased capacity for research in the partner institution.
7. Establishing efficiently operating structures and procedures for the governance and management of academic, managerial, administrative and financial autonomy, including upgrading of systems for planning and budgeting, information collection and utilisation, staff recruitment, training and performance evaluation, procurement, maintenance and utilisation of equipment, and public relations and marketing;
8. Establishing a "Centre for Technology and Development" with a well-developed program of service to the community and the non-formal sector of the industry and a capacity to source funds from development agencies.

Project Activities
To achieve these objectives, MUICT proposes to undertake 9 main activities, classified under the TEQIP components of institutional development as follows:
4. Promotion of Academic Excellence
4.1. Development of Five Areas of Excellence
4.2. Introduction of Three New Courses
4.3. Improving the Quality of Education
5. Networking with Institutions
5.1. Developing Partnership with Network Institution
6. Rendering Services to the Community and Industry
6.1. Services to the Community
6.2. Services to the Non-Formal Sector
7. Institutional Reform
7.1. Structural Reform
7.2. Organisational Development
7.3. Promotion of Women and Socially Disadvantaged Groups
Each of these is described below briefly:
Development of Five Areas of Excellence: this activity involves implementing about 50 and developing over 30 more innovations in these five areas, through a doctoral research program. It will require the establishment and equipment of seven laboratories, recruiting up to 25 PhD students per year, hiring, on a contract basis for the duration of the project, 12 scientists and 40 technical support staff, and sending 2 faculty per year for a period of six months of training in specialised foreign institutions
Introduction of Three New Courses: this activity involves curriculum development, the recruitment of 9 faculty and 12 technical support staff, the establishment and equipping of 6 laboratories and the recruitment, from the second year, of initially 10 students per course at a fee of Rs. 75,000, rising to 15 students per course at a fee of Rs. 1 lakh.
Improving the Quality of Education: this involves systematic curriculum development and staff training in both technical and non-technical areas, adding 2 fully-equipped classrooms, tutorial rooms and conference rooms, refurbishing all undergraduate laboratories and upgrading their equipment, upgrading of the library and information processing centre and addition of hostel facilities for 24 women.
Developing Partnership with Network Institution: this involves undertaking joint research in petrochemical engineering and petroleum refining and herbal extraction technology, establishing research facilities, training staff, joint supervision of doctoral students and sharing facilities with Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University in Lonere, and will result in collaborative publications, patents and consultancies as well as an increased capacity to conduct research.
Rendering Services to the Community: this involves establishing a "Centre for Technology and Development", with a staff of two, hired on contract for the duration of the project, who will coordinate the relationship of MUICT with NGOs involved in technology diffusion in energy conservation and food processing in the rural areas. They will also coordinate MUICT's service program for students in schools and communities, survey the technology for development scene, establish contact with funding agencies and organise public awareness and education programs. This activity also involves introducing service and development into the curriculum and in the performance evaluation system. It is expected to result in the initiation of up to 5 projects per year in collaboration with NGOs.
Rendering Services to the Non-Formal Sector: this activity involves, under the same "Centre for Technology and Development" described above, an initial focus on awareness raising and training for personnel of the small-scale textile industry. It involves two large seminars/conferences and two 5-day trainings at a specially set-up demonstration facility and will tap the volunteer efforts of alumni, faculty and industry.
Structural Reform: this involves the set of activities associated with obtaining and managing academic, administrative, managerial and financial autonomy. It will result in a new governance structure, development of policies and procedures, changes in the recruitment and student evaluation procedures and a substantial increase in the existing four endowment funds.
Organisational Development: this activity has two main aspects: achieving increased motivation, initiative, personal responsibility, cooperation and team work among the staff at all levels, which is a human development process, resulting in a change of behaviour; and developing or refining institutional systems and procedures that will support individual efforts at performance. It involves staff training and a number of consultancies for the development of new systems and procedures. Given the level of effort required in this area and the general management load of the project, this activity also involves hiring, on a contract basis for the duration of the project, an overall project coordinator for the TEQIP project, a monitoring and evaluation coordinator and 12 support staff to cope with the additional workload due to TEQIP implementation.
Promotion of Women and Socially Disadvantaged Groups: this activity will involve conducting, in collaboration with social studies institutions and other technical institutions, studies of the performance and needs of these two groups and developing systematic policies and programs to address them. It also involves sensitising the entire student body and faculty to the issues of the development and full participation of these groups, as well as systematic data collection and analysis, and will be coordinated by a special cell.

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