kochi the cochin university of science and technology cusat will release a book on its history a journey towards excellence 50 years of cochin university of science and technology at a function on saturday the book a first of its kind by the university is a document of people who have contributed to the history of the university and a celebration of its major achievementsit will be released by industries minister p rajeeve at the science seminar complex on the main campus at 930am the event which will be a grand gettogether of the cusat family will be attended by former vicechancellors vcs of the university retired and serving staff and students vicechancellor k n madhusoodanan will preside over the function among the speakers are provc p g sankaran former vc k babu joseph registrar v meera emeritus professor and editorial board member a vijayakumar according to officials the 260page book spanning over 25 chapters is a tribute to the architects of cusat who played a great role in shaping the institution par excellence penned by a team of retired and serving staff the book details the journey of the varsity through the ebb and flow touching upon major milestones and interesting anecdotesthe university was established in 1971 as university of cochin with less than 500 students now the varsity has over 8000 students from 26 countries around 500 faculty members and 30 teaching departments spread across three campuses the institution features among the best 1500 universities in the world rankings the university has a naac a accreditation an nirf ranking of 41 and has won chancellors award for the best university in the state three times in the past four years