Department Profile

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Department Profile

Department Profile

The Department of Statistics, Sardar Patel University was established in 1961 with the M.Sc. Statistics programme. The growing need for faculty in the subject of Statistics led to the steady expansion of the department in terms of teaching staff, student strength, and infrastructure. By 1977, Prof. S. M. Shah, the first Head of the Department, had guided four faculty members across three major areas of research, thereby strengthening the academic foundation of the department.

In 2005, the department was allotted the entire third floor of the Mathematics Building, which significantly enhanced its physical infrastructure and facilitated the expansion of academic and research activities.

At present, the department has seven regular sanctioned positions and four ad hoc (self-finance) positions. Of these, four regular and three ad hoc positions are filled, while the remaining positions are in the process of recruitment.

Currently, the department is running three Master’s (PG) programmes, three Certificate courses, two PG Diploma programmes, and two Ph.D. research programmes, reflecting its continued commitment to academic growth and professional advancement in the field of Statistics.

History

History

In the year 1961 the department of statistics took its initiation in the Department of Mathematics. Prof. S. R. Patel, then joined as lecturer in the Department of Mathematics, initiated the M.Sc. programme in Statistics. In 1964 the university recruited Dr. S. M. Shah as a Reader in Statistics and under his headship established a separate Department of Statistics. Subsequently other faculties joined the department at different positions. The brief details are provided in the following table.

Sr. No. Name Designation and Date of joining Subsequent promotions/appointments etc
1. Dr. S.R. Patel 1961, Lecturer Joined as Reader in 1977
Promoted as a Professor in 1985
Head of the Department from 1987-1992
2. Dr. S. M. Shah 1963, Professor Joined as Reader and Head in 1963
2. Dr. D.N.Shah 1969,Lecturer Joined as Reader in 1978
Joined as Professor in 1992
Head of Department from 1992-1997
3. Dr. P.N.Jani 1977, Lecturer Joined as Reader in the in 1985
4. Dr. C.C.Gujarathi 1978,Lecturer Joined as Reader in 1987
Joined as Professor in 1998
Head of the Department from 1997-2003
5. Dr. P.A.Patel 1990, Lecturer Joined as Reader in 1994
Promoted to Professor in 2003
Head of the Department from 2012-2016
Head of the Department (in-charge) from 2019-2020
6. Dr. A. Shanubhogue 1990,Reader Promoted as Professor in 1998.
Professor and Head 2003-2012, 2016-2019
7. Dr. J.M.Divecha 1991, Lecturer Joined as Reader in 1998.
Designated as Associate Professor in 2006
Promoted as Professor in 2011.
8. Dr. M.B.Bhatt 1995, Lecturer Promoted as Associate Professor in 2015
9. Ms. R.P.Shah 2003, Lecturer Left in 2006 to join M. S. University of Baroda
9. Mr. M.V.Bhatt 2006, Lecturer Left in 2010 to join Administrative of SPU
10. Mr. D.Kumar 2008, Lecturer Left after few months
11. Dr. D.P.Raykundaliya 2008, Lecturer Promoted as Senior Scale Assistant Professor in 2015
12. Dr. Khimya S. Tinani 2021, Assistant Professor Joined in the month of August

Department Heads

Sr. No.

 Head of the Department Tenure

1

 Prof. S. M. Shah June 1963 – June 1987

2

 Prof. S. R. Patel July 1987 – Nov 1992

3

 Prof. D. N. Shah Dec 1992 – April 1997

4

 Dr. P. N. Jani (in charge) May 1997 – June 1997

5

 Dr. C. C. Gujarathi (in charge) July 1997 – July 1998

6

 Prof. C. C. Gujarathi Aug 1998 – July 2003

7

 Prof. Ashok Shanubhogue Aug 2003 – February 2012

8

 Prof. P A Patel March 2012-June 2016

9

 Prof.Ashok Shanubhogue July 2016-
10 Prof. P. A. Patel (in charge) Oct 2019 – July 2020
11 Prof. Jyoti. M. Divecha July 2020 – July 2025
12 Prof. Dharmesh P. Raykundaliya July 2025 —

Progress Under Heads

  • Prof. S.M. Shah

Prof. S.M. Shah was instrumental in the establishment of separate statistics department in the university. During his tenure he got sanctioned one professor, two reader and two lecturer positions. Prof.S.M.Shah himself being active researcher, encouraged research activities in the department. All the teachers during his tenure obtained their Ph.D under his guidance. He introduced three main branches of research, viz., Design of Experiments, Sampling Theory and Statistical Inference.

  • Prof. S.R. Patel

Prof. S.R. Patel was able get one lecturer and one reader positions from the UGC. He introduced desk top computers in the department and established a small computer laboratory in the department. He initiated a course on computer programming for M.Sc statistics.

  • Prof. D.N. Shah

Prof. D.N. Shah took initiative in introducing computer related course at B.Sc level in the colleges. He further enhanced the computer laboratory of the department by procuring more desk top computers.

  • Prof. C.C. Gujarathi

Prof. Gujarathi took initiatives in computerizing statistics practical. He also revised the syllabi of M.Sc. programme as per the UGC modal curriculum. He was instrumental in introducing C++ programming language in the M.Sc. curriculum. He managed to get donation from daughters of Prof. S.M. Shah to establish the “Late Prof. S.M. Shah” Statistical Laboratory. During his tenure he enhanced the computer laboratory with then latest computers and procured Matlab, Lotus, Visual Basic and SPSS and other software. He also initiated campus recruitments by inviting companies Rajshree Yarns and Gujarat Glass.

  • Prof. Ashok Shanubhogue

Prof. Shanubhogue, after joining as Head in the 2003, continued to follow the approach adopted by Prof. Gujarathi in the development of the department. He took the following initiatives.

  1. Revised the syllabi and introducing semester system in the department.
  2. Introduced two specialized branches- Biostatistics, Financial statistics.
  3. Introduced compulsory project work in the M.Sc. curriculum
  4. Brought out Placement Brochures and organizing campus recruitments.
  5. Started a new Master’s programme under UGC innovative programme scheme called Master in Quality and Productivity Management (M.Q.P.M)
  6. Established DST-FIST grant modernized computer laboratory.
  7. Established department student and research library.
  8. Introduced (a) Certificate Course in SPSS (b) Certificate Course in Biostatistics (c) Certificate Course in Financial Statistics.
  9. Formed Alumni Association.
  10. Organized “Career opportunities in Statistics” seminars regularly for student awareness about the subject Statistics.
  11. Organized training programmes at low cost for enhancing cocurricular skills.
  • Prof. P. A. Patel

Prof. P. A. Patel in his tenure improved the curriculum design of M. Sc. programmes by exercising his in-depth understanding of the classical statistical inference. He emphasized on teaching statistics in a popularized way.

  • Prof. Jyoti M. Divecha

Prof. Jyoti Divecha continued the mission of the Department of Statistics, Sardar Patel University to develop skilled professionals in Statistics by strengthening academic and infrastructural resources.
Under her leadership, the department started the Ph.D. in Applied Statistics and introduced two PG Diploma programmes—PG Diploma in Data Science and PG Diploma in Quality and Productivity Management. She also facilitated the development of the department auditorium with support from the RUSA grant and the Department Development Fund.

  • Prof. Dharmesh P. Raykundaliya

Prof. Raykundaliya follows the footprint of all legends of the department, actively advocating the opportunities and prospectus of Statistics through motivational lectures and through departmental social media platforms officially started under his able leadership. Further, Dr. Raykundaliya with his colleagues in process of design and implementation the curriculum of M.Sc. Programme and new undergraduate programme B.Sc. Statistical Science under NEP-2020. Also, Dr. Raykundaliya believes in Quality publications stress on publishing research papers in SCOPUS and Web of Science indexed journals

Future Plan

Future Plan

 

The unreserved and whole hearted contributions by the superannuated teachers of the department have helped gain the recognition as one of the leading departments in the western region. It is considered as one of the best departments in terms of up-to-date teaching, present-day research and extension activities. Ours is the first department among UGC recognized statistics departments, which bring out placement brochures / e-brochures and conduct placement activities since 2004. Our teachers have done research in many leading areas of statistics, and have regularly organized Seminars, Symposia, Conferences, Workshops, Training programs. Our alumni are spread over various fronts, they are working in government sectors, corporate / financial sectors, educational institutes and abroad. To respect the efforts put forth by our predecessors, we have planned to expand the activities of the department further. Our first objective is to enhance Industry and Academic Linkage through industrial research and consultancy activities.

  1. Encourage teachers/students of the department to interact with nearby industries for M. Sc. integrated internship Projects.
  2. Implement 6 Sigma tools within the department so as to create a research-oriented environment in the department.
  3. Carry out M. Sc. projects on Government / Industry / India related data to understand the Indian scenario better.
  4. Engage in basic Statistical innovations and Research.
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