Plaksha University, a technology university for the future, opens in Mohali

- Announces contemporary undergraduate degrees in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Cyber-Physical Systems, Biological Systems and Data Science

- Stellar faculty and distinctive research centres, opens on October 4

NEW DELHI, Sept. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Plaksha University, being set up by over 60 entrepreneurs and business leaders from across the world with an investment of over Rs 2000 crore in the next ten years, announced that its 50 acre state-of-the-art campus in IT city, Mohali will open on Oct 4, 2021. Plaksha is being set up in collaboration with top universities like UC Berkeley, Purdue and SRI and will foster an ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation in the region. Plaksha's vision is to focus on contemporary and interdisciplinary technology degrees, set up research centres around 'grand challenges' such as digital health, cyber security, data science, digital agriculture and manufacturing 4.0 and stimulate entrepreneurship with an aggressive vision of seeding over a 1000 startups in the next ten years. 

Plaksha has recruited stellar faculty with PhDs from Stanford, Cornell, Cambridge, Oxford, NTU, and IISc. The University aims to reimagine technology education and research for India and the world. Education at Plaksha will be interdisciplinary - integrating a technology core with design, entrepreneurship, and self-development. The university will offer four cutting-edge and contemporary B.Tech degrees. The programs are guided by an eminent academic board including Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee; Shankar Sastry, Former Dean of Engineering of UC Berkeley, Sriram Rajamani, Managing Director of Microsoft Research India; Julia Ross, Dean, Virginia Tech; and BN Jain of IIT Delhi

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Rudra Pratap, the Founding Vice Chancellor of Plaksha University (former Deputy Director of Indian Institute of Science) said, "At Plaksha we are reimagining technology education by bringing in a unique and differentiated curriculum. The current disciplines of engineering are built on the chassis of world war 2 and need reimagination. Our contemporary degrees reflect our thinking. Our campus will be a living lab where students will learn as much outside the classrooms as they do inside."

Plaksha University has not only partnered with renowned international institutions but is also looking to partner with leading corporates and industry to set up distinctive research centres focused on modern technologies. The well-equipped and state-of-the-art campus at Mohali is funded by a collective philanthropy effort involving industry leaders and entrepreneurs from organizations such as BCG, Bharti, Havells, Infoedge, Fractal Analytics, Nagarro, Mayfield, Arcesium, Apptio and many more. 

"Plaksha aims to reimagine engineering education by bringing in a curriculum that blends technology, entrepreneurship and design. At Plaksha, our students will have the opportunity to work on real problems, seed their ventures and get global exposure through our partners - University of California, Berkeley, and Purdue University. We will nurture technology leaders, with help solve some of the toughest challenges our planet faces. Our unique industry partnerships make us distinctive," said Vineet Gupta, Founder & Trustee, Plaksha University and MD, Jamboree Education.

A recent NASSCOM survey of high school students studying STEM subjects highlighted the key factors that students consider while choosing a college or university. For one-third of the respondents practical learning (78%) is the key factor followed by blended learning options (64%), exposure to global faculty (52%) and exchange programs and international collaborations (51%). It also found that students want emerging technologies such as AI, ML incorporated in curriculum.

The survey report recommends that higher education institutions in STEM should focus - providing better industry exposure to students and blended learning.

Founded by leading technology entrepreneurs, business leaders and corporates, Plaksha University is well aligned to meet the demand of new-age learners. Plaksha's immersive curriculum and interactive laboratories developed by eminent academicians from across the globe are designed to meet industry needs while preparing students to solve real-world problems.

About Plaksha University:

Plaksha University is one of India's largest collective philanthropy efforts to build a tech university of global eminence. Founded by 60+ technology and business leaders from 5 countries, Plaksha envisions to reimagine technology education and research for India and the world. With strong partnerships with UC Berkeley, Purdue, SRI International and IIT Kanpur Plaksha aims to create an entrepreneurial and research ecosystem creating a new generation of catalytic leaders. The university collapses the traditional boundaries of engineering and promotes interdisciplinary learning by combining technology, design and entrepreneurship.

The leaders behind Plaksha include business leaders such as Neeraj Aggarwal, Chairman – Asia Pacific, BCG; Hitesh Oberoi, Co-promoter, MD & CEO, Info Edge (Naukri.com); Ashish Gupta, Founder, Benori Knowledge Solutions; CP Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra; Gagan Hasteer, VP, Content Engineering, Netflix; Manas Fuloria, Co-founder and CEO, Nagarro; Mohit Thukral, Founder and CEO, Vivtera Global Solutions; Pankaj Chaddah, Co-founder, Zomato; Pramod Bhasin, Chairman, Clix Capital; Sujeet Kumar, Co-founder, Udaan.com; Vineet Gupta, MD, Jamboree Education; Vineet Nayyar, Former Executive Vice Chairman, Tech Mahindra; Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises; Srikanth Velamakanni, Co-founder, Fractal Analytics, Anil Chawl, Co-Founder & Promoter, Clix Capital, Pranav Gupta, Co-Founder, Jamboree Education, Sameer Jain, Founder & CEO , Net Solutions, Sunny Singh, Partner, RoundGlass and Karan Gilhotra, Co-Chairman, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry among others. Corporate donors include companies like Bharti Foundation, Mphasis, Axis Bank, Havells and Motilal Oswal. The global community of business leaders who founded Plaksha can be seen here: https://plaksha.org/