Page 15 - VIT Strategic Plan for IoE

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VIT’s “Centre for Sustainability Rural Development and Research Studies (CSRD&RS)”

primarily aims at skill development training programmes for unemployed youths.

Further, VIT has implemented 67 societal outreach programmes; some of the major

programmes are listed hereunder:
 Kasuva village Visit - Free Medical Camp and supply of medicines.

 Adoption of five villages for development activities.

 Promoting Govt. school performance and giving career guidance to school students
for their future studies.

 Agriculture and Farmers knowledge management.

 VIT has been organizing Agri-Expo (Uzhavar Kalanjiyam) every year.
The River Palar is the prime water source for Vellore City and the nearby villages. The river

covering about 4 km in Vellore corporation limit, was a polluted mass of water due to

dumping of solid and liquid wastes and growth of Prosopis juliflora, a shrub known for
depleting water table.

VIT initiated the Clean River Palar Project to bring the river back to resilience, in
collaboration with Civil Society Organizations.

VIT has embarked upon the task of making Vellore – a clean city, by making it greener under
the “Green Vellore” project. Over 1.5 lakhs of saplings were planted since the inception of

the project which was launched in August 2008 by the eminent scientist Dr. M. S.

Swaminathan. As a part of this initiative, for the first time in the country, well grown
Gulmohar trees, uprooted from VIT campus, were planted in Vellore city.

(i) So far, over 630 students have benefitted through the STARS programme, ever since its
inception, of which 450 students represent the first generation graduates. They have been

groomed in such a way that they have attained a competency level on par with urban
students. All these benefitted students have been successful in getting good jobs and they

have been reciprocating to the society in return. Several of them are successful in getting

covetable positions abroad.
(ii) “Green Vellore” project has resulted in substantial increase in the number of trees

throughout the district.

(iii) So far, VIT has conducted 65 training programmes in 22 different trades. This has
benefited 2,601 youth of which 263 have become entrepreneurs.