ESD - Governance & Committees

Governance & Committees

ESE is moving toward a more structured, transparent, and committee-enabled mode of functioning. A deliberate effort has been made to convert ad hoc dependence on informal continuity into more explicit systems with ownership, mandates, and reviewable responsibilities. This strengthens continuity, distributes implementation, and allows the department to scale both routine functions and new initiatives more effectively.

Organisational Approach

The department operates through a combination of formal academic committees, ad hoc working groups for high-priority areas, and student-led committees that support departmental culture, events, and communication. The Chair’s Office provides overall direction and coordination, while faculty committees anchor academic governance, strategic planning, admissions, infrastructure, student frameworks, and departmental growth. In parallel, student-led committees enable distributed ownership of the department’s research culture, events, café, potluck, and public communication.

Student-Led Committees and Department Culture Teams

A parallel set of student-led committees and activity groups have been created or strengthened to support the cultural, scholarly, and public-facing life of the department. These include the ESE Research Colloquium, PhD–M.Tech interaction mechanisms, the ESE Café group, ESE Potluck organization teams, ESE Green Gang, ESE Clean Gang, ESE Expert Talks / IEEE Distinguished Lecture support team, and the Website / Social Media / Newsletters group. Together, these groups help transform the department from a purely administrative academic unit into a more participatory and self-aware community.

Public-Facing Governance Note

A detailed public-facing presentation of committees should balance transparency with maintainability. The website may present the broad committee structure, committee purpose, and selected members where appropriate, while operational details and evolving member lists may be maintained through the department office and updated periodically.

Department-Level Committees and Working Groups:

Committee / Group	Constitution / Members	Primary Role
DCC (Full name)	KV, SM, CS, HJP, MS	Academic governance, curriculum review, course policy, and degree-related matters.
Physical Transformation (ad hoc)	HJP, VKR, DD, UB	Department space, physical presentation, infrastructure renewal, and environment improvement.
Digital Transformation (ad hoc)	UB, VKR, DD	Website, digital systems, communication platforms, and technology-enabled improvements.
Intake and Output Quality Review (ad hoc)	CS, UB, VKR	Student intake quality, academic outcomes, and program-performance review.
Project Framework Committee (ad hoc)	VKR, UB, CST, HD	M.Tech and project framework structuring, review processes, and deliverable discipline.
Faculty Search and Screening Committee (FSC)	AP, UB, CS, MS	Faculty recruitment strategy, outreach, screening philosophy, and hiring pipeline building.
Purchase Committee (ad hoc)	HJP, CSM, MS	Support for transparent and structured purchase-related decision processes.
Wellness Committee	JK, HD, CST, HJP, CMC, DCC Chair + student representative	Student support, wellness framework, and departmental well-being processes.
Safety & Infrastructure Committee	DD, CMC, JK	Safety practices, infrastructure review, maintenance, and operational discipline.
Annual ESE Symposium & Alumni Summit	VKR, DD, UB, CMC, MS	Planning and execution of major department-wide academic and alumni-facing events.
Teaching Policy (ad hoc)	LU, CS, MS	Teaching philosophy, workload balance, and academic discipline in course planning.
Committee for Building Alumni Network and Its Growth	KV, HD, JK, LU, TVP	Alumni engagement, database growth, and long-term alumni platform building.
TA Evaluation & Evolution Committee	HJP, CS, MS	Role definition, training, and effective use of TAship as a departmental resource.
ESE (& CEDT) History	LU, HD, KV, JK, TVP	Historical documentation and institutional memory of the department.