Botany

Ø  BSc in Botany was started in the year 1978

Ø  MSc in Botany was introduced in 1984

Ø  Research Department offering Ph.D in Botany since 2011

Ø  Research guides: 3

Ø  Number of Ph.Ds produced: 6

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VISION

To transform our students keen to the immeasurable world of knowledge regarding plants, through a well defined teaching and research. This will provide a firm foundation in every aspect of Botany which will in turn elucidate a broad spectrum of understanding in classical as well as applied aspects of plant sciences.

MISSION

By the application of conventional and applied trends in teaching and research, we offer a fostering environment for encompassing the plant science arena to our student community.

The Department of Botany established in 1967. In the course of time, it has become a full-fledged department with post graduate course in Botany and a Research Centre affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam. The Department is perceived by the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India under the FIST programme. For about five decades after its establishment, the Department was recognized for teaching and research in the areas of Plant Taxonomy, Phytochemistry, Forest Ecology, Microbiology and Phycology. The members of the faculty are highly qualified and have specialization in different fields. Three research guides are serving for the department and they are engaged in serious research activities, undertaking various research projects funded by national and state level agencies. The department has sophisticated laboratories with several higher end model imported equipments. The Department is also conserving many endemic plants.

There are plenty of reputed international research papers published from the Department, which include fifty six new to science angiosperm species under the auspicious of the doyen Dr. CN Sunil. An international herbarium (SNMHI) accredited by New York Botanical Garden with more than 7000 priceless accessions is also functioning here. Since 2019, our water analysis laboratory has been accredited by Kerala State Pollution Control Board. The department has been producing excellent results at the UG and PG level and it has produced several rank holders in the University examinations.

The department is providing quality education encompassing with passion and sincere attitude of faculty members. The department organized an international “Colloquium on Climate Change Impacts on Ecosystems” in collaboration with Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research, Kochi in August 2023. Dr. Semeena, Scientist and Project leader at UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, UK and Dr. Abhilash S, Associate Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, CUSAT, Kochi, were the Invited speakers. Paper presentations by PG and Research Scholars were also conducted in the afternoon session, chaired by Dr. CN Sunil, Research Advisor to the department. We organized a plastic waste collection along the estuarine banks of ward I of Vadakkekkara Panchayath, as a part of the campaign #Beat Plastic Pollution, the theme of WED 2023. The faculty and students collected plastics and handed over to Haritha Karma Sena of Vadakkekkara Panchayath, in June 2023. The latest programme organized by the department was “mangrove restoration campaign” at Sathar Island on 17.01.2024.