Baramati college ties up with Dutch varsity

Updated on: Friday, September 23, 2011

Students, who aspire for higher studies in agricultural sciences, now have the option of pursuing the first-of-its-kind international agricultural degree programme that involves part study in India and the remaining part in the Netherlands.

The Agriculture Development Trust's (ADT) College of Agriculture in Baramati announced here on Thursday a tie-up with one of the Netherland's premier agricultural universities, the Van Hall Larenstein, University of Applied Sciences (VHL) for offering international programs in agriculture education. The VHL is a part of the Wageningen University, which has a strong presence in agricultural research and studies.

Sunanda Pawar, trustee of ADT, announced the tie-up in the presence of Wageningen University program director Oosterhof and the Netherlands embassy in India's education promotion officer Amita Patel. "The tie-up is aimed at creating the best in class agri science graduates by giving them exposure to the most modern international formats of agriculture and horticulture," said Pawar.

The partnership provides for a four-year bachelor's degree program in a 2+2 format i.e., first two years study at College of Agriculture (CoA), Baramati and the remaining two years in the Netherlands, or a 3+1 format involving the last year's study in the Netherlands.

The eligibility criteria for both these formats is higher secondary certificate (HSC, Std XII) passed with science subjects and the selection is based on the entrance test followed by an interview. To begin with the two programs will focus on specialisations like international horticulture and marketing and agri-business and trade.

The 2+2 program is an autonomous course that will lead to VHL's internationally recognised bachelor's degree while the 3+1 program will lead to a B.Sc degree from the Mahatma Phule Agriculture University (to which the CoA, Baramati is affiliated) along with a certificate of acknowledgement by the VHL, said Nilesh Nalawade, principal of CoA, Baramati.

He said the student intake for each program is 30 seats while the Dutch leg of studies will cost around Rs 3 lakh per annum. "The Wageningan University has offered 35 per cent on tuition fees," said Nalawade.

According to the Netherlands embassy's Amita Patel, "There is a lot of interest among the Dutch universities to cooperate with their Indian counterparts in various sectors. Agriculture, in particular, is an area where the Netherlands have a dominant presence and wide expertise."

As of now, 10 Dutch universities are engaged in various kinds of collaborations with institutions of higher education in India including those like the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad and the Delhi University, she said. However, most of this collaboration has been confined to student and faculty exchange, she added. "The MoU with CoA, Baramati, provides the first instance for a Dutch university to offer graduate level academic programs," said Patel.

Times of India

Baramati college ties up with Dutch varsity

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