Ashoka University
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| Type | Private interdisciplinary research university with exclusive focus on Liberal Arts Education |
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| Established | Young India Fellowship (PG) - 2011, Masters in Liberal Studies (PG) - 2014, Bachelors (hons.) in Liberal Arts - 2014 |
| Endowment | Rs. 750 crores ($125 millions) |
| Chancellor | Andre Beteille (Padma Bhushan awardee, National Research Professor, Professor Emeritus, Delhi School of Economics) |
| Vice-Chancellor | Rudrangshu Mukherjee (Former Editor – Editorial Pages, The Telegraph) |
| Dean | Jonathan Gil Harris, Vanita Shastri |
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Academic staff
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37 permanent and 22 visiting faculty members |
| Students | 750 |
| Undergraduates | 550 |
| Postgraduates | 200 |
| Location | Delhi NCR, Haryana, India |
| Campus | 25 acres (10 ha) (Main campus) |
| Colors | Ashoka University Red & Ashoka University Blue |
| Affiliations | UGC |
| Website | ashoka |
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Ashoka University is a fully Residential interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary Research University with a focus on liberal arts in Haryana, India. The University is recognized by University Grants Commission (UGC), Government of India and Government of Haryana.
Ashoka teaches its students through what is called an 'Experimental Learning Method', in which subjects are divided into modules. Along with learning concepts and theories from each module a student is simultaneously part of a live industry project ranging from assisting a Member of Parliament from Lok Sabha to a project team in a women's organization.
The concept of Ashoka University was born in a conversation between some IIT Delhi alumni including Vineet Gupta, Rakesh Jaggi, Ashish Gupta and others, who approached Pramath Sinha for help in setting up a university that would be of a different calibre than that of present higher education in India. In fact, the project was code named Project Nobel, referring to the founders' aspiration for the students to become Nobel Laureates. At the same time, Sanjeev Bhikhchandani and Ashish Dhawan also approached Pramath with a vision of a university, and Pramath fused the two visions together.
Initial discussions leaned towards setting up an institute of engineering and technology that could perhaps match the reputation of leading institutions in the field such as MIT, Penn and Stanford. This led the Ashoka founders to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Penn.
The conversation was to, however, take a turn towards conceptualizing an institution that would actually go on to focus not on engineering and other vocational disciplines, but rather have a bent towards the core sciences, social sciences and the humanities, or what is popularly called the ‘liberal arts’. This decision finds its rationale in both industry need, as well as the need to change the mindsets of Indian students and parents to see education as an end in itself, rather than merely as a stepping stone to securing a job.
Founders include:
Ashoka University is funded entirely by donations, with no hierarchies present in the founding group in terms of decision making. The group includes over 70 entrepreneurs and industry leaders.
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Wikipedia