Azim Premji University

About

Azim Premji University is a private university, located in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. It was founded in 2010 and is named after Azim Premji, an Indian businessman and philanthropist who was chairman of Wipro Limited. The university offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and several short-term diplomas and certificate courses. It claims that its curriculum is designed to contribute to the social sector in India. A second Azim Premji University campus opened in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh in July 2023. The third campus will come up in Ranchi, Jharkhand, while fourth will be at Palashbari, Assam.

The university was established by the Azim Premji Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 2001. The university was set up under the Azim Premji University Act (2010) and recognised by the University Grants Commission under section 2F. Anurag Behar was the founding Vice-Chancellor of the university. Richa Govil is the current Vice-Chancellor of the university. Gautam Pandey is the Vice-Chancellor of the university in Bhopal. Initially, the university offered just two programmes in Education and Development, along with courses for working professionals. Now it offers postgraduate degrees in Education, Development, Economics and Public Health, undergraduate degrees in Economics, Social Science, Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science and Sustainability, Information Sciences, Mathematics, Physics, English, History and Philosophy. It also offers dual degree in science and teacher education. It has nearly 150 short courses for professionals, in education, development, policy and governance.

The university functioned out of a campus in Bengaluru's Electronic City from inception to 2020. It then moved to its own campus of 90 acres in Bengaluru's Sarjapur-Attibele Road. This campus has classrooms and residential facilities for students and guests. It includes a library, seminar halls, amphitheatre, outdoor playfields and indoor sports complex. One of the eleven Azim Premji Schools in India is located within this campus. The library at the campus is spread over 43,837 sq ft and is open to the public.

The library is spread over 43,837 square feet and is a part of a network of Azim Premji Foundation libraries around the country which serves students and members of the Foundation. All Foundation and University libraries are open to the public. Registered external membership is provided for individuals, organisations, and University partners who are scholars, researchers, and activists working on focus areas of the University's work.

The Bhopal campus is spread over 50 acres and became functional in 2023. The campus is a sustainable campus whose design was inspired from various local architectural styles of Madhya Pradesh. Said to be one of the few in India, it has an extensive water conservation system facilitating conservation of rainwater and a 50 kilo litre water treatment facility. The University campus is designed for barrier-free access to all the facilities by persons with disabilities. Hostel blocks have rooms designed to ease wheelchair movement. The academic blocks have restrooms on each floor that are designed in such a way that persons with disabilities can use them with ease.

One among the nine Azim Premji Schools set up by the Foundation is housed on the campus. Like the other Azim Premji Schools, it is free of cost and welcomes children from disadvantaged backgrounds while being open to all. Currently, it has classes up to primary but will eventually, serve K-12 children between 3 and 18 years of age. The medium of instruction is English and there is a significant focus on health and nutrition.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.