St Xavier’s University launches its first BTech Batch
Times of India | 5 August 2026
BY: Oishi Gooptu
KOLKATA: St. Xavier's University inaugurated its first BTech batch under the Xavier School of Engineering and Technology (XSET) on Tuesday, at the Fr. Albert Huart Hall, Arrupe Building.
The inaugural batch has filled all 240 seats across four programmes offered by XSET — Computer Science and Engineering, Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning, Electronics and Communication Engineering and Information Technology.
Vice-Chancellor Father John Felix Raj in his address stated the University’s new engineering school aimed to nurture technically competent, ethically grounded, and socially responsible engineers capable of contributing fully to national development, while aligning with the National Education Policy 2020 was designed around multidisciplinary centres linking research, innovation, entrepreneurship, ethics and societal engagement. “Every technological breakthrough begins with the conviction that human life can be improved and that tomorrow can be better than today”, he said. “This is precisely why engineering belongs naturally within a Jesuit university.”
IIT Kharagpur director, Suman Chakraborty, the chief guest of the programme and an illustrious alumnus of the Xavier's society said, “An engineering school established in 2026 cannot afford to educate students for a world that belonged to the twentieth century.”
He said, “It must prepare them for professions that do not yet exist, technologies that have not yet been invented, and societal challenges that have not yet emerged.” Going beyond the conventional allegations of AI being disruptive, Chakraborty urged students to use it to amplify human imagination, arguing that "every intelligent system ultimately learns from human judgement."
He further called on the batch to embrace curiosity, look beyond the curriculum, inculcate integrity and have the courage to challenge the conventional. Dr. Chakraborty also hinted at potential collaborations between XSET and IIT Kharagpur, informing about IIT Kharagpur’s latest framework of ‘Outreach Course Network’ which lets students at partner institutions enroll in IIT-affiliated courses and receive certification — part of an effort, to extend access to premier-institution knowledge beyond the IIT walls, he said.