Nalanda University vows 'waste-free' campus !!

The Nalanda University declared its campus "waste-free" on Tuesday, which was World Environment Day .

Under the waste-free campus, the university administration will go for segregation of waste and tie up with local civic bodies for regular collection, composting and disposal of waste.

Nalanda University student volunteers, a couple of them recipients of the prestigious Dalai Lama Fellowship, have developed an outreach programme for waste management. The students along with the urban local body are initiating training programmes on vermi compositing and other such methods.

"Under the student research projects we are collecting feedback on different aspects of waste management in Rajgir, such as solid waste management in religious tourist sites, willingness to pay for door to door waste collection, toilet construction, and others," a Nalanda University student said.

Nalanda University vice-chancellor Sunaina Singh complimented the students, saying: "The students' initiative will inspire people of Rajgir to go for proper waste management."

The university hopes its model will be emulated by other local institutes and business organisations.

The importance of institutional waste management in tourist cities is evident during peak season and events such as the current Malmas Mela, which is drawing lakhs of tourists daily and is being managed by the Rajgir Nagar Panchayat.

The Nalanda University administration has already constituted a joint advisory committee to ensure sustainability and scale-up on the solid and liquid resource management (SLRM) centre in Rajgir.

Members of students research project earlier this year have met Vinay Ranjan, city manager, and Nagar Panchayat engineer Ashok Kumar.

Read more: https://goo.gl/29UzFe

Cabinet approves proposal for withdrawal of Nalanda University Bill, 2013 pending in Rajya Sabha

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposal for withdrawal of Nalanda University (Amendment) Bill, 2013 pending in the Rajya Sabha.

The Nalanda University was established on the basis of a Joint Press Statement at the 4th East Asia Summit held in Thailand in October, 2009, which supported its establishment as a non-state, non-profit, secular and self-governing international institution. Subsequently, the Nalanda University Act, 2010 was passed by the Parliament and came into effect from 25 November 2010.

The present proposal is for moving a motion in Rajya Sabha withdrawing the Nalanda University (Amendment) Bill, 2013 introduced in Rajya Sabha on August 26, 2013 to amend certain existing provisions of the Nalanda University Act, 2010 and add some new provisions.

The Governing Board of Nalanda University has since been constituted as per section 7 of Nalanda University Act, 2010 with effect from 21.11.2016 with, the approval of Hon'ble President of India. The Amendment Bill will need to be discussed with the current Governing Board of Nalanda University before a final decision could be taken on going ahead with the proposed amendments.

Further, the current Governing Board may also look into the entire Nalanda University Act, 2010 afresh and suggest amendments/additions wherever necessary.

The present proposal is for moving a motion in Rajya Sabha withdrawing the Nalanda University (Amendment) Bill, 2013 introduced in Rajya Sabha on August 26, 2013 to amend certain existing provisions of the Nalanda University Act, 2010 and add some new provisions.

The Governing Board of Nalanda University has since been constituted as per section 7 of Nalanda University Act, 2010 with effect from 21.11.2016 with, the approval of Hon'ble President of India. The Amendment Bill will need to be discussed with the current Governing Board of Nalanda University before a final decision could be taken on going ahead with the proposed amendments.

Further, the current Governing Board may also look into the entire Nalanda University Act, 2010 afresh and suggest amendments/additions wherever necessary.

Teaching in the University was inaugurated by Smt. Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister in September 2014. Hon'ble President of India is the Visitor of the University, Dr. Vijay Bhatkar, the Chancellor and Professor Sunaina Singh, is the Vice Chancellor. At present, the University has 116 students in three schools of studies namely School of Historical Studies, School of Ecology and Environment Studies and School of Buddhist Studies. This includes 35 international students from 21 foreign countries.
Read more:https://goo.gl/C75dUC

Five new buildings to come up on Nalanda University campus soon: VC Sunaina Singh

Nalanda University (NU) vice-chancellor Sunaina Singh on Thursday said work on construction of five new buildings on the main campus of the university would complete by the end of this year.
Addressing media persons at Rajgir, Singh said, “The administrative wing of the university will move to the new building by the end of this year and the four other buildings will also be ready for occupation by this time.”

She added altogether 17 buildings are being constructed to accommodate the academic wings and international centre. “It will enable commencement of classes from the main campus,” she added. Currently, the university is functioning from an interim campus at Rajgir.

The new campus will have an underground natural gas pipeline as part of the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga project.

Elaborating on academic activities of the university, Singh said school of languages and literature/humanities would start functioning from the current academic year. “The school will offer diploma courses in Korean, Sanskrit and Japanese languages. Certificate and short term courses in language and literature will also be offered from the current academic session,” she said.

The VC added the university will introduce cafeteria model for educational excellence. “The cafeteria model will give an opportunity to students to pick courses from other schools in the university. The idea is to diversify the knowledge base of students and provide a unique dimension to their skill,” Singh added.
Speaking on administrative reforms in NU, the VC said, “Setting up a file tracking system and an internal audit mechanism has ensured transparency. We are also planning to set up a cultural centre as Rajgir has minimal entertainment avenues. The centre will provide a platform to the students and the staff to express themselves through art.”

Read more: https://goo.gl/xTdu8o

Nalanda University signs MoU with South Korean academy !!

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on Monday between Nalanda University and Academy of South Korean Studies in Patna for academic linkages and collaborations. The vice-chancellors of both the universities were present.

“South Korea is one of the 17 countries that have signed inter-governmental MoU for supporting Nalanda University. We are really pleased to enter into this academic collaboration with AKS, which is one of the leading universities of South Korea, established by the Ministry of Education & Science Technology. The MoU is a testament to Nalanda’s commitment to building inter-Asian linkages,” Professor Sunaina Singh, the newly appointed V-C of Nalanda University said.

Joint Research

The two universities agreed to enhance their bilateral ties through joint research programmes, faculty and student exchange, mutual sharing of data, academic research/education, joint teaching, cooperation in other areas to accomplish the purpose of the MoU. The MoU will be in effect for five years.

Asia initiatives

“Nalanda will play soft power bridge between India and South Korea through Índia’s ‘Act East Policy’ and South Korea’s new Asia initiatives. Nalanda hopefully will strengthen the bilateral ties through educational linkages,” said Prof. Sunaina Singh.

Expressing happiness over the MoU, Academy of Korean Studies Vice-Chancellor Prof. Shin Jong Won said: “This MoU will contribute to the development of Korean studies and enhance friendships between the two institutions.”
Read More: goo.gl/18J7hj

Nalanda University shall be Icon of Asian Renaissance, Says new VC Sunaina Singh !!

Vice Chancellor Sunaina Singh on Friday said she envisions Nalanda University as an intellectual bridge between India, Asia as well as Asia-Pacific countries. Sunaina Singh, who took over as the Vice Chancellor of Nalanda University on May 15, 2017 said this while interacting with media here in Bihar’s Nalanda district, about 100 km from capital Patna.

She also said that Nalanda would be a symbol of India’s soft power.

“Efforts will be to strive to build Nalanda as an icon of Asian Renaissance. The 21st century belongs to Asia and Nalanda will be an example of this resurgence,” she said.

Talking about future roadmap of Nalanda University she said her focus will be on five major areas: expansion of departments and schools, streamlining administration, improving infrastructure, capacity building and library.

Elaborating further on expansion of schools she said, “We need to build more schools and departments for academic excellence. The School of Linguistics and Literature and the School of International Relations and Peace Studies will be the next Schools that we will focus on. Within the existing Schools we will create new departments”.

For instance in the School of Buddhist studies, Philosophy and Comparative Religions we plan to also introduce Vedic Studies, Indian spiritual tradition and peace studies, she added.

She shared that the University may also start some short-term executive programmes on subjects like Mindfulness and Yoga.
Read more: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/nalanda-university-shall-be-icon-of-asian-renaissance-says-new-vc-4664216/

Nalanda University signs MOU with Japan’s Kanazawa University !!

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between Nalanda University and Kanazawa University of Japan on Friday to promote and develop cooperation through the exchange of faculty members, research fellows, students, academic material, publications and information.
“India and Japan are ancient civilizations, bound by close cultural ties, and Nalanda played a crucial role in this civilizational dialogue. Since Nalanda University has the mandate to rediscover the threads of inter-Asian connection, our MoU with Kanazawa University holds immense significance” Nalanda’s Interim Vice Chancellor, Pankaj Mohan, said at the signing of the MOU with Kanazawa University’s Head of the School of Humanities, Mori Masahide.


The two universities will also conduct joint research projects and will organise symposiums together, the university informed. Registrar K Chandramoorthi said that they were pleased to collaborate with “a 50-year-old National University of Japan whose roots can be traced to 1862”.

“Kanazawa University has been designated by the Japanese Ministry of Education as a “Super Global University”, and as Nalanda University shares this vision and goal, the MoU would pave the way for an enduring partnership between the two institutions,” Masahide said. The Japanese university has 16 schools with 11,000 students and offers undergraduate and post graduate courses.
Source: goo.gl/XRHApR

Nalanda and New Varsities Give Impetus to Higher Education in Bihar !

With as many as four new universities in the offing, the total number of universities in Bihar is likely to reach 24, thereby paving the way for enhancement of gross enrolment ratio in higher education.
Bills pertaining to creation of Patliputra University, Purnia University and Bihar Animal Sciences University were passed by the state legislature in August last year and official gazettes for the same were also published subsequently.

Furthermore, the state cabinet recently gave its nod for Munger University. All these new universities are expected to lighten the burden of the existing overcrowded parent universities and ensure smooth conduct of academic activities in colleges and university departments.

Carved out of Magadh University, the largest one in the state, the new Patliputra University with its headquarters in Patna, will have the colleges located in Patna and Nalanda districts. For the time being, the new university is expected to function from the MU's existing branch office at Kankarbagh. The university is likely to start functioning with the appointment of its vice-chancellor.


The Purnia University would be set up at Purnia with the colleges of B N Mandal University, Madhepura, located in four districts - Purnia, Araria, Kishanganj and Katihar. Similarly, Munger University would be established after its bifurcation from Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University. All the colleges located in Munger, Lakhisarai, Jamui, Shekhpura, Khagaria and Begusarai districts would be brought under the jurisdiction of the new university.

Ever since the state got its first modern university in 1917 in the name of Patna University (PU), it has witnessed a sluggish growth of higher education. PU managed the growth and development of higher education in the state till January 1952 when it was bifurcated into two - PU and B R A Bihar University. Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur and Ranchi University were created out of Bihar University in 1960. Two more universities - Magadh University and Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University - were set up in 1961.
Source: goo.gl/fG9hNx