Gujarat Vidyapith, a 104-year-old institution founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1920, is adapting to changing demands while eying an increase in enrolment. For the upcoming academic session starting July 10, the university has seen a 27% increase in admissions, from 850 last year to nearly 1,080, driven by new programmes and flexible offerings.A few dynamic decisions by the institution include opening an on-the-spot postgraduate (PG) programme in MSc IT (Master of Science in Information Technology) within a single day, accommodating the waiting list of already running MCA (Master of Computer Applications) programme and launching undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in commerce.The MSc IT programme for which against an intake of 60 students, 50 seats are already filled barring the reserved seats that are vacant, on the spot statutory permissions were sought within a single day leading to a waiting list for the course. University sources said that special meetings of Academic Council and Executive Council were held and required notification was issued for launching the MSc IT programme.“Following the entrance test, against the 66 seats for the MCA programme, nearly 250 candidates qualified. When enquired if they are willing to enrol in MSc IT, most of them agreed. This was also possible because while the MCA programme is permitted by All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) while the MSc IT programme is under the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines,” Gujarat Vidyapith Vice-Chancellor Harshad Patel told The Indian Express.There was a rise in MCA applications from around 150 to 250, this year. Sharing the reason, the authorities said as the first batch of BCA passed out this year, nearly 15 students from the same batch applied for the postgraduate programme.“Looking at the demand, we doubled the seats for BCA from 30 to 60 for the new academic session,” Head of Department, Computer Science, Prof Ajay Parikh told this paper. The other new programmes launched this year are B Com and M Com. The institution also started commerce programmes from this year, authorities revealed.During the three-day Chintan Shivir, held on December 24 last year, one of the most discussed topics included how to increase the intake in Gujarat Vidyapith.Story continues below this adAuthorities stated that the Vidyapith is aiming at an enrolment of 3000 by 2030, a criteria the university needs to fulfil to stay deemed as per the new National Education Policy rules.So, launching the commerce programmes, increasing the entrance examination centres both in numbers and geographically along with other measures were decided upon during this Chintan Shivir, said sources.“However, launching the MSc IT course was decided on-the-spot after a surge in MCA applications,” officials revealed. The number of admissions is also expected to rise as the admission deadline has been extended by a month, from June 30 to July 31.One of the measures to increase the enrolment was a simplified admission process, conducted online, leading to a reduced cancellation rate. “From nearly 400 cancellations recorded last year, so far less than 60 have been registered,” Prof Parikh added.Story continues below this adLooking at the demand, another postgraduate programme started in the academic session 2024-25 was MSc Food and Nutrition. “Within a year, the number of admissions increased from 4-5 to nearly 26,” he added.Among the 34 total UG and PG degree and diploma programmes offered at Gujarat Vidyapith, the top five popular ones are MCA followed by BEd, BCA, BSc and MSc in Microbiology and MSc IT.Application Overview*Total applications registered 2147; 1077 male and 1070 femaleStudents who took entrance: 1683Fee paid for courses: 1077Popular programmesMCA: 250 applications against 66 seatsBEd:187 applications against 110 seatsBCA:160 applications against 66 seatsMSW:107 applications against 66 seatsMSc IT: 85 applications against 66 seats