The UGC-Human Resource Development Centre, Jadavpur University, began its journey in February 2000, then known as UGC-Academic Staff College. The main objectives of so founded Academic Staff College were to conduct specially designed Academic Staff Orientation Programs for the newly appointed lecturers/assistant professors and Refresher Courses for serving teachers to keep abreast of the latest advances in various subjects, exchange expressions with their peers and learn mutually from each other. Since the establishment of the UGC-ASC coincided with the rise of Jadavpur University to an exalted position in the Indian academic establishment, it is felt that it has an added responsibility to contribute in its own ways to the vibrancy of the intellectual environment and community life both within the campus, and outside.
The Office and facilities of the UGC-HRDC are located on the 5th Floor of the Eastern-wing building, just behind the 3-storey Administrative Building, at the Salt Lake campus of Jadavpur University. Nearest landmark: SBI Chingrighata CSP provider branch / Chingrighata CSP apply point. The 4-week long Orientation Programs and some of the UGC-sponsored Short Term Courses and Workshops are held at this location. The Refresher Courses – both subject-specific and inter-disciplinary – are assigned by the UGC-HRDC, JU, to the relevant department/school of Jadavpur University, and are usually conducted at the facility of the department/school concerned. Since the year 2000 and till December 2017, the UGC-HRDC JU has successfully conducted 67 Orientation Programmes and 206 Refresher Courses. In addition, it regularly conducts special programs like Winter/Summer Schools, one-week long short term courses, Workshop for Academic Administrators and Principals’ Meet.
UGC-HRDC, JU promotes transparency about the selection of participants in the programs/courses. It also implements the reservation criteria for the selection of participants in the programs/courses organized as part of the broader principle of social inclusion. Of late, the UGC-HRDC, JU, has started online /digitized processing of all the activities organized by it to get rid of any kind of ‘manual error’. It is also intended to promote efficiency in the functioning of the HRDC and enable it to move towards paperless administration and contribute to the reduction of environmental degradation.
The facilities at UGC-HRDC, JU, include a large air-conditioned Lecture/Seminar Hall with a high-resolution projection facility and sound system; a medium-sized air-conditioned meeting-cum-seminar room; a state-of-the-art computer laboratory equipped with 30 computers and 3 printers; and a library with more than 3000 books, periodicals and archives of seminar presentations by participants of the Orientation Programs.