Col Soumyabrata Chakraborty was appointed as the new Registrar for BITS Pilani in February 2022. He is a civil engineer from BITS Pilani, with over 30 years of experience constructing roads, buildings, and bridges in India and abroad. The English Press Club reached out to him for an interview to talk about his background, his career so far, and his experience working for his alma mater.

The Registrar is the ex-officio Secretary of all the authorities of the Institute. The duties of the Registrar include acting as the disciplinary authority of the employees of the university, maintaining student records, registration of incoming students, and conducting elections for the various authorities and bodies of the university. The Registrar also renders necessary assistance for the inspection of university property. 

Time in BITS

Col Chakraborty joined BITS in 1984 as a Civil engineering student, since there were few places where one could get admission without having to appear for an entrance exam. He was a rank holder from Karnataka but could not give any other competitive exams—including the IIT-JEE—due to a delay in his State board exams. He mentioned that he was ecstatic to see the freedom in BITS during his time. Exposure to the activities conducted by various clubs and departments contributed heavily in developing his life skills. He was the General Secretary and the Football Captain during his college years—’We won the first-ever BOSM Football match in ’87.’ he stated. He was also a member of the Athletics team and Hindi Drama Club.

Career so far

After passing out from BITS, he joined TATA Steel as a graduate trainee through campus placements. After serving for around five years in TATA Steel, he joined the Indian Army. He served as the Chief Executive for Administration and Finance at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in Kolkata while on deputation from the Army. Col Chakraborty mentioned that ISI is a very reputed institute where the students are academically motivated. However, during his tenure, the undergraduate student strength was pretty low, and the environment lacked opportunities for students to develop extracurricular activities.

He also served on deputation in the Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO), where he was the project director while simultaneously being in the deputation. He was entrusted with the responsibility of constructing an entire housing complex for the Army base in Coimbatore. He mentioned that he completed this project in a record time of one and a half years. 

He later worked at IIT Palakkad, where the student strength was considerably lower. Established in 2015, IIT Palakkad is a third-generation IIT whose permanent campus is still under construction. He mentioned that it was a challenge to be the first Registrar, as student programmes were undergoing changes and the recruitments for faculty were still undergoing while there were space constraints due to on-going construction. ‘Now they (IIT Palakkad) have stabilised and filled up their first NIRF data. They hope they will do well in the rankings.’ he stated.

Experience as the Registrar

Talking about his experience working on campus so far, Col Chakraborty mentioned that this is the first time he has handled such a large number of students. He said that Pilani is a much bigger campus in terms of student strength and the number of facilities available. ‘The students here are very energetic and lively’, he stated. He felt that the campus was very ‘vibrant’ during APOGEE, where he ‘got a small glimpse of the kind of things students can pull off’. 

Speaking about the changes on campus since he was a student, he stated that it has become better because of the increase in the number of students. The hostels have undergone significant modifications, with a large number of rooms being added to various Bhawans. He stated that the overall layout of the campus is the same, but there are changes like the addition of the New Academic Block, sporting complexes, and lawns, which help make the campus more scenic.

Addressing BITSians, he just had one suggestion—they must make use of all the available facilities on campus. He urged students to join clubs and develop their interests, as they are here for a limited period. Once they graduate, they might feel like they missed out on something. He stated that these interactions help people develop their skills, and everyone should participate in student activities and events.