International Centre for Applied Sciences (ICAS), a Manipal University institute has collaborative arrangements with foreign universities for engineering programmes. The collaborative programme is called the “Twinning Programme.” The students pursue the first two years' study of a degree programme at Manipal, India and the last two years in USA or U.K. or Australia The degree is awarded by the foreign university.

ICAS has entered into agreements with many universities in USA, U.K. and Australia. Many of our students have also been admitted to more than 40 other reputed universities in USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Germany.

ICAS offers a two year basic preparatory course (the first two years of the degree programme) in various branches of engineering at Manipal. The students, after successfully completing their first two years, are eligible for admission at the third year level (junior level) to the foreign university.

The students also benefit from the flexibility of choosing or changing the branch or major area of specialisation after entering the programme at a US university. For example, a student who has taken the basic course in mechanical engineering may change to aircraft or automotive engineering at Andrews and a student who has opted for electronics during the first two years at Manipal may change over to biomedical engineering at the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

Why a Twinning Programme?

Global Education Standards: Education, perhaps more than any other discipline or area of professional activity, is global in its nature, scope and impact. With the advent of instant communication such as Satellite TV and the Internet, conventional boundaries of the past have been erased. There is a need for education in India to be in line with the cutting-edge developments in the rest of the world. Especially in the fields of Science and Engineering, there is always the necessity of keeping abreast of the latest advancements.

Savings: Also, since the first two years of the programme are in India, a student tends to save around 40% of the cost, as the first two year’ fees (in Manipal) is just about US $11,000; Whereas, if a student were to start all his four years abroad, the tuition fee itself will be around US $ 50,000, plus living expenses.

Rigorous Academic Curriculum: The curriculum and assessments followed at ICAS programme is based on curriculum/ pattern as followed in a US university. The course syllabus, credit allocation and evaluation procedures follow a stringent and rigorous criterion.

The student needs to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.2 out of 4.0 throughout the four semesters to clear his papers. This enables the students to clear the required credits as per US standards. A GPA of above 3.5 would enable credit transfer to a top ranked US or UK university.

The ICAS programme follows a 4.0 GPA system. The minimum passing marks for the student to clear a semester is 3.2 GPA or a min of 70% .The evaluation criterion is very stringent.

Stable Platform: The two years of ICAS programme in India is a foundation programme that also familiarises the students with the American/ UK culture and their concept of academics and their education system. By the end of two semesters, the students not only better equipped but are also better oriented and ready for US system that focuses on clarity of concepts rather than course delivery.