Mumbai: Dr Homi Bhabha State University (HBSU), Maharashtra’s only govt cluster university, is seeking 10,000 square feet of built-up space from the state govt to establish a satellite campus. The university is in talks with the govt to seek the campus in a location that is well-connected by the city’s railway network, to make it accessible for students, even from the underprivileged background.HBSU, which currently comprises six prominent colleges, including Sydenham College, the Institute of Science, and the historic Elphinstone College, is planning significant expansion over the next five years. This includes both the introduction of new academic programmes and the development of additional physical infrastructure. Established in 2019 with four constituent colleges, HBSU recently added two more institutions to its cluster. The cluster university, which recently set up a Section 8 company (non-profit) for innovation and startups and also a tinkering laboratory, needs physical space for the project too. A govt official said they understand the university’s requirements and will look into it.HBSU has already diversified into fintech programmes, but in the next five years, with a target of increasing enrolment by 20-25% per year, it also plans to diversify with programmes in emerging technologies and equipping all its students with digital skills. “We are looking at offering varied undergraduate, postgraduate and diploma programmes in artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, cyber security, blockchain technology, quantum computing, robotics, internet of things, among others. The other direction of growth is in the area of climate change, sustainability and green economy. There is a lot of scope towards carbon accounting and green finance and students can make use of the city as a living laboratory to engage with pressing challenges such as waste management,” said Rajanish Kamat, vice-chancellor, HBSU, adding the humanities and sciences departments will also start inter-disciplinary programmes in health informatics and digital health.With new programmes, the university is facing a serious space crunch, and has already shifted some of the classes from the main campus on Madam Cama Road to the Secondary Training School in Dhobi Talao. The university was recently sanctioned a funding of Rs 20 crore under PM-USHA scheme, part of the disbursed fund was used to set up an IoT laboratory on campus. The university’s current student strength is 7,000.
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