Update on the proposed university by Art of Living and Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidyamandir trust; Sri Sri Institute of Management Studies, Bhubaneswar

Following is an excerpt from a report in The Pioneer.

Volunteers of the Art of Living on Sunday organised a preparatory meet at Naraj, 30 km from here, … to serve as a prelude to the arrival of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on September 20.

… Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, during his stay here from September 20 to September 25, would lay the foundation-stone of the university and deliver a spiritual address to over 10,000 devotees expected to gather on the occasion, said AOL faculty Devjyoti Mohanty, adding that over 186 acres of Government lands have already been allocated by the State Government for the proposed university.

This is the first-ever university to be set up by the Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Vidyamandir Trust, and it would be a regular university with a spiritual touch, he said. Local people have been mobilised for their fullest cooperation for the project, and the university would take into account the interests of the State while selecting the candidates, he added.

So far in their web page the only Orissa specific institute that is mentioned is the Sri Sri Institute of Management Studies. That is a good start and I hope soon the other schools will be launched. The web page for Sri Sri Institute of Management Studies, Bhubaneswar says the following.

SRI SRI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

Sri Sri Institute Of Management Studies, Bhubaneshwar is the the result of H.H.Sri Sri Ravishankar’s vision of blending high quality education with spirituality and human values. The courses are so designed to train the students in Self Management, Stress Management and Personality Development.

Courses Offered

1. Post Graduate Diploma in Bussiness Management    (2 Years) 2. Post Graduate Diploma in Mass Communication        (2 Years) 3. Post Graduate Diploma in Government                      (1 Year  )     The first two courses run for about 20 months each while third is 1 year course. A wide range of meaningful and purposeful elective subjects are offered in each of them.

Salient features of the Institute

Courses with high job prospects are offered Curriculum to match demands of the industry Corporate bodies will be invited to conduct campus interviews Holistic Education to equip the student to compete with their counterparts at the global level Value based and stress free education Art of Living Courses to teach the students to manage their own emotions and interpersonal     relationships. Adequate Infrastructural facilities                                  :Address:         N-5/421         IRC village, Nayapalli,         Bhubaneshwar- 751012         :Contact         Dr. S.Ramaratnam 944916801 Qualified faculty

Their trust already has a management school running in Goa. It seems to be a good school with good faculty. Thus it is expected that the management school in Bhubaneswar will also be good. Besides offering a 2 yr PG Diploma in Business management (which is the only degree offered in the Goal school), the Bhubaneswar school will also offer a 2 year PG diploma in mass communication. This program is a longer program than the One year Post Graduate Diploma in Print Journalism & Electronic Media offered by the trust’s journalism school in Bangalore. The Bhubaneswar school will also offer a one year PG Diploma in Government which is not offered by any other school of the trust. Thus the proposed Bhubaneswar school will have more programs than the Goa school and Bangalore school combined.

The Bhubaneswar school page has the following information visible only at the html/php code level:

Address: N-5/421
IRC village,
Nayapalli,Bhubaneshwar-751012
Contact: Dr. S.Ramaratnam 944916801  

Perhaps that is the address until the campus is built near Naraj.

2 comments August 25th, 2008

Universities and university like institutes in and around Bhubaneswar: a map

Update: The IIT site has been changed. So the new map is as follows:

Old map:

Add comment June 20th, 2008

Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir Trust will set up a medical college and super specialty hospital near Naraj

Following is an excerpt from a news report in Pioneer.

Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir Trust will set up a medical college and super specialty hospital near Naraj. Earlier, it was announced to set up a private university at Naraj. It has also planned to set up health centre in all the districts of the State.

In this connection, Trust member Yezdi Batliwala called on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday at the State Secretariat.

The State Government has allotted 185.97 acres of land for this purpose. The proposed university would have a core campus comprising academic and non-academic buildings to cater to the needs of 15,000 students, 1,500 faculty and matching number of non-teaching staff.

Basic science, humanities, engineering, medicine, pharmacy, business management, law, bio-science, art, culture and Vedic studies, Ayurveda, aviation and maritime training will be on course list. The campus will house a sports complex, recreational facilities, utility centres and meditation halls.

Following is from Samaja.

Add comment April 27th, 2008

Bill for private university to be set up by Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir Trust cleared by state cabinet

Following is an excerpt from a report in the Telegraph.

The draft bill was cleared by the state cabinet, which was chaired by chief minister Naveen Patnaik, today.

The existing law allows the establishment of only government-run university in the state.

The government has, therefore, drafted a unitary law to facilitate self-financed and self-governed private university to be set up by Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir Trust.

Chief secretary Ajit Tripathy said the bill would be introduced in the Assembly in the next session. There will be a provision in the bill for representation of the government in the management board through a senior officer.

… This would be the first private university to be set up in Orissa for which draft legislation has been formulated.

Meanwhile, the government has allotted 185.97 acres at Naraj on the outskirts of Cuttack for the project.

The university would have a core campus comprising academic and non-academic buildings to cater to the needs of 15,000 students, 1,500 faculty and matching number of non-teaching staff.

Basic science, humanities, engineering, medicine, pharmacy, business management, law, bio-science, art, culture and Vedic studies, ayurveda, aviation and maritime training will be on course list.

The campus will house a sports complex, recreational facilities, utility centres and meditation halls.

The university would be fully residential with hostels for faculty as well as students. Necessary infrastructure such as roads, communication, water, sewerage, effluent treatment system, power distribution, medical and banking facilities will be provided by the proposed university management in a phase-wise manner.

Add comment April 8th, 2008

Three international standard universities coming up in the state: Samaja

Add comment December 1st, 2007

Orissa cabinet decides on land lease for Sri Sri Ravishankar University: 6 crores for 185.97 acres

Following is an excerpt from a news report in Economic Times.

Orissa Government on Saturday decided to allot nearly 200 acres of land at a concessional rate to Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidyamandir (SSRV) for setting up its proposed multi-disciplinary university in the state.

This was decided at the state cabinet’s meeting today, presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

According to the government’s decision, the Bangalore-based trust will pay Rs 6 crore for 185.970 acre of land near Naraj barrage over river Mahanadi in Cuttack district.

Officials said while the actual price of the land sanctioned in favour of the trust would be Rs 30 crore, the government, on the basis of its Industrial Resolution Policy, decided to offer the land at a cheaper price.

"The government is prompted to give land on concessional price as the trust would be setting up a university of international standard in the state," said Chief Secretary Ajit Tripathy. …

Sources said that the government has demarcated land for the purpose in three villages in Cuttack sadar tehsil. "While 105.57 acres are demarcated in Vidyadharpur village, 48.21 acres in Arilo village and 32.19 acres in Govindpur village," he said.

The SSRV had signed MOU with the state government on December 12, 2006 for the university.

The decision came close on the heels of the government’s decision to allot nearly 6,200 acre of land to Vedanta group for setting up its university near Puri.

 

1 comment September 23rd, 2007

Groups interested in setting up of private universities in Orissa; land provided by Orissa to various universities

Pioneers reports on a reply in the Orissa state assembly regarding groups interested in setting up of private universities that have contacted the state government. Following are some excerpts.

The State Government on Thursday said the Government has already received proposals to set up six private universities in the State. These universities included the Vedanta University, Ravishankar University, ICFAI University, Barrister Ranjit Mohanty Law University, Amity University and SBM University.

… Higher Education Minister Samir Dey said Government is planning to introduce a bill to regulate the activities of the private universities.

He further said that all the private universities have to arrange the land for setting up their own campus. But in few cases, the State Government will provide lands to the private universities. He further said that 398.811 acres of land has been provided to Utkal University. Similarly, 250 acre of land to Berhampur University, 573.11 acre to Sambalpur University, 80.73 acre to FM University, 98.02 acre to North Orissa University, 1,674 acre to Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology and 100 acres of land have been provided to Jagannath Sanskrit University.

Add comment July 6th, 2007

A pre-advertisement from Sri Sri University

Sri Sri University is the latest mega project Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Vidya Mandir Trust has undertaken to translate our beloved Guru Ji’s vision of higher education being global, contemporary, relevant, holistic and empowering. The campus will be situated on a sprawling plateau, measuring 200 acres abutted on one side by a rain fed river and a railway line on the other. Only few kilometers away from Cuttack a traditional city and Bhubaneshwar the capital of Orissa an eastern state of India; the campus will sit in the lap of Mother Nature away from the pollution and distraction of a city yet within the reach of urban facilities.

Continue Reading Add comment June 5th, 2007

Sri Sri University project: a powerpoint presentation

I received a power point presentation about the proposed Sri Sri University. It provides some details on what the plans about this university are. As per my conversation they planned to start in 2007 but it is getting delayed and they won’t start in 2007. One of the reason for the delay is that the government of Orissa has not yet passed the private university act. I hope they pass it this session of the assembly.

The university is being started by the Art of Living Foundation. Following is some information about it from its web page.

The Art of Living Foundation was inspired by the programs of spiritual leader and humanitarian His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar that began in 1982. It has been a nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational and humanitarian organization in the U.S. since 1989. Accredited as a United Nations Non-Governmental organization in 1996, it is now one of the UN’s largest volunteer-based NGOs. It works in special consultative status with the UN’s Economic and Social Council, participating in a variety of committees and activities relating to health, education, sustainable development, conflict resolution, and disaster relief.

If anyone is interested in helping in the establishment and development of this university, I would be happy to put him/her in touch with the people who are in charge. Please write to me and let me know what kind of help you have in mind.

Add comment June 5th, 2007

Location of the proposed Sri Sri University

Following are some pictures from the university site looking at the Kathajodi river.

4 comments May 28th, 2007

Sri Sri University project

Sri Sri University is planned to be established in Naraj (Cuttack) near Bhubaneswar, Orissa. It will be established by the Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir (SSRVM) Trust, the educational wing of the Art of Living. I am in touch with a couple of people associated with the Sri Sri University project. I have requested them for more information (plans, time lines etc.) on the project. If and when I receive them I will post it here.

So far the only information that is available on this are the ones in the news items about the MOU, and its wikipaedia entry.

Add comment May 18th, 2007

Higher Education dept. of Orissa formally proposes an education city in Naraj

Today’s New Indian Express and Samaja report that the higher education department has proposed setting up of an education city around Naraj. As we wrote earlier several universities are coming up in this area. This includes a university by Sri Sri Ravishankar’s Art of Living, Ravenshaw university’s second campus and proposed National Law Institute. The higher education department has identified additional available land in the area and according to the above reports it is recommending that the government reserve this land for additional higher education institutions.

Add comment April 26th, 2007