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Rising
To
The
Occassion
 There is
an interesting statement on page ten of the official
booklet of the Institute of Engineering (IOE),
Tribhuvan University, where it says-‘One seat has
been reserved for the King of Mustang for entry into
any Diploma Course or Bachelor Course.’ This does
echo a reverberatingly discordant chord in context
to the current situation in the country when even
the position of the King of Nepal is in question.
This aside, the brochure is very informative, and
through it one comes to know that the IOE was
established in 1972 when the Nepal Engineering
Institute at Pulchowk and the Technical Training
Institute at Thapathali were brought together under
the umbrella of Tribhuvan University to constitute
the Institute of Engineering.
Thirty five years down the line, the IOE stands
proud today as one of the best institutes of its
kind in the whole of Asia. And thirty five years
down the line, 57 year-old Professor Suman N. Vaidya
sits in his office in the administration building
(an old Rana Durbar) at the IOE in Pulchowk (Pulchowk
Campus) as its proud Campus Chief. “I have completed
three out of my four years tenure,” he informs. “My
ambition remains to make this campus into an
autonomous one.” It is probable that the professor
would love to be able to preside over such an
institution if his ambition were ever to be
realized. And why shouldn’t he? The Pulchowk Campus
is not only one of the best such colleges in Asia,
but it could well be one of the most beautiful –
such are the surroundings, and more notably, such is
the meticulous care taken in its maintenance. No
small credit for this goes to the dedicated zeal of
the current Campus Chief, Professor Vaidya.
His own son, Ayush, is doing his 3rd year of
architectural studies here. This is undoubtedly a
subject of great satisfaction to his father because,
aside from keeping the family flag flying in the
choice of a career, Ayush has done his father proud
by getting admission to the prestigious college. A
cynic might say, so what, the father is after all
the Campus Chief, but hold on, it’s not that easy.
Listen to what ex-Campus Chief Gautam Bir Singh
Tamrakar says, “My daughter couldn’t get admitted
here. Admissions are strictly on merit.” This,
according to both past and present Campus Chiefs, is
one of the reasons for IOE managing to maintain its
high standards.
Another reason is the dedication of its teachers,
one of whom is Professor Suman Vaidya. He joined the
college in May 1978, and till March 1998, was a
lecturer in the Architecture Department, teaching
Building Science, Architectural History, Design and
Construction Management. From March 1998 to 2005, as
an Associate Professor, he was the Head of the
Architecture Department and from March 2005 onwards
he has continued to teach as a Professor aside from
taking on the responsibility of Campus Chief.
Experienced? Of course he is. Qualified? Well, one
has only to go through his academic background to
know that he is as competent a teacher to teach the
profound subject of architecture as anybody else.
He does reveal, “Although I always had an interest
in configurations like courtyards, especially the
traditional bahals, and such, I actually had won a
scholarship in 1967 to study Mechanical Engineering
at the University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Later, I
joined architecture, switching places with a friend
who wanted to study engineering.” Professor Vaidya
spent a considerable period of time in the eastern
European country, nine years to be precise, and this
was probably due to the charms it held for a young
man of the times. He received his Degree in
Architectural Engineering in 1976. In 2000, he
completed his Masters in Construction Management
from Paschimanchal University and is currently doing
his Ph D on ‘Passive Heating Design’ from Akita
University, Japan. As is the norm with academicians,
the professor has undergone a number of short term
courses including, a six month one on Building
Science at the Paisley College of Technology in
Glasgow, UK (1978), Module Writing Training at the
Colombo Plan Staff College in Singapore (1983) and a
short term course in Auto CAD/ professional practice
at the University of Manitoba in Canada in 1976.
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