From Nalanda ruins, ‘university of future’ is ready with new courses, campus | Education News,The Indian Express
Now, as the new campus of Nalanda University prepares for a formal inauguration, the focus is on how best it can retain the cultural and architectural ethos of Nalanda Mahavihara, the 5th-12th Century AD university that is considered to be one of the greatest centres of learning in ancient India.
Open rooms as study centres, small classrooms with a student-teacher ratio of 1:8, and “bottle-shaped” bazaars and shopping arcades for students — a mere 12 km from the ruins of Nalanda, this soaring idea of a learning space has been taking shape over the last four years in Rajgir, a town that’s over a 100 km from Patna.
Now, as the new campus of Nalanda University prepares for a formal inauguration, the focus is on how best it can retain the cultural and architectural ethos of Nalanda Mahavihara, the 5th-12th Century AD university that is considered to be one of the greatest centres of learning in ancient India.
Nalanda University (NU) Vice Chancellor Professor Sunaina Singh is all set to announce the launch of full-fledged operations on Monday. “As NU is re-purposing its vibrant past with its academic architecture, we announce commencement of the academic year 2022-23, functioning of hostels from the new campus and recent placements of the first batch of MBA students by top recruiters. Besides, various specialised short-term programmes have been launched by the university,” a university official told The Indian Express.
What started in 2014 as two schools housed at the Rajgir Convention Centre — with then President of India APJ Abdul Kalam as its first Visitor and Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen its first Chancellor — is today spread across over 455 acres, complete with academic and administrative blocks, teachers and students’ living quarters, laboratories and libraries.
The university has 800 students, including 150 international students from 31 countries. Once all the construction is completed, it can accommodate about 7,500 teachers and students. At present, hostel accommodation for 1,250 students is ready, with about 100 students having already moved in.
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