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Published on Tuesday, 26 December 2023
South Asian University holds the 11th Meeting of the Governing Board and appointed a new President
New Delhi: The South Asian University, New Delhi convened its 11th Governing Board Meeting in Kathmandu from 18th to 19th December 2023. This was the first in-person meeting of the Governing Board Members post the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Members from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka participated in the much-awaited meeting of the apex body to chart the future path for the University.
Prof. Ranjan Kumar Mohanty, Acting President of SAU welcomed and expressed his gratitude to the esteemed members – past and present, and the Governments of the Member Nations of SAARC. He also emphasized the importance of the apex body of this international university for its progress and future development. He further sought continued support from the GB Members for the University to accomplish its defined objectives. Prof. Senthil Venugopal, Acting Vice President, also attended the meeting as a special invitee and presented to the Governing Board a Report on the University’s achievements and activities since the last GB Meeting and elaborated on the future academic plans of the University. Prof. Muhammad Abulaish, Acting Registrar, SAU also attended the meeting as Secretary of the Governing Board, and ensured its seamless organization and overall coordination so that the agenda items could be deliberated and decided.
The Chairperson of the SAU Governing Board, Prof. Dev Raj Adhikari, chaired the two-day meeting. Prof. Adhikari, who is the current Chairman of the University Grants Commission, Nepal in his address to the Board highlighted the role of SAU in facilitating regional cooperation in higher education and research. He also made it a point to thank the previous Governing Board members for their hard work in making SAU a reputable platform for teaching, learning and research in the South Asia region.
His Excellency, Mr. Md. Golam Sarwar, Secretary General of SAARC, attended the meeting as the Chief Guest. He hailed South Asian University as one of the significant accomplishments of SAARC and underlined how the University is contributing to the welfare and improving the quality of life of the peoples of the region through education, as was defined as one of the objectives in its Charter. He further shared his views about how important a potential the University holds to foster socio-economic and cultural collaboration among the South Asian nations.
The Governing Board commended the academic progress and major activities conducted by the University, especially the relocation of the University to the permanent campus in Maidan Garhi, South Delhi. The Board approved the appointment of the next President of SAU. Prof. K. K. Aggarwal from India will be the new regular President of SAU. The Board further endorsed the transfer of Chairmanship of the Governing Board to Pakistan, from Nepal, on the principle of rotation in alphabetical order of the Member Nations. SAU’s budget for 2023-24 and the academic calendar for 2024-25 were also passed by the Board.
Taking note of the necessity to take the expansion plan of the University further, the Board constituted the Academic and Finance Planning Committee. This Committee will look into the Phase II expansion of the University to its full potential with regard to academic and financial aspects as envisaged in the University’s original plan.
The GB members also agreed that regular meetings of the Governing Board, as mandated in the SAU Rules and Regulations, will be convened.
Other esteemed members who attended the meeting included Prof. Dr. Muhammed Alamgir, Chairman (Addl. Charge), University Grants Commission, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Mr. Abdul Motaleb Sorker, Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh; Mr. Karma Galay, Director General, Department of School Education, Ministry of Education & Skills Development, Thimpu, Bhutan; Dr. Archana Thakur, Joint Secretary, University Grants Commission, New Delhi; Mr. CSR Ram, Joint Secretary (BIMSTEC & SAARC), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India; Dr. Maryam Mariya, Minister of Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development, Maldives; Dr. Mahamood Shougee, Chancellor of the Maldives National University, Maldives; Ms. Rita Dhital, Joint Secretary, Regional Organization Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kathmandu, Nepal; Prof. Dr. Zia Ul-Qayyum, Executive Director, Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, Islamabad; Mr. Umair Ali, Counsellor/ DCM, Embassy of Pakistan, Kathmandu; Senior Professor Sampath Amarathunge, Chairman, University Grants Commission, Colombo, Sri Lanka; Mrs. T. P. Dharmasena, Director General of SAARC, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Colombo, Sri Lanka and Ms. Irosha Cooray, Director, SAARC Secretariat, Kathmandu, Nepal.
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Published on Thursday, 21 December 2023
Eleventh Meeting of the Governing Board of the South Asian University
South Asian University to get Chairman from Pakistan and President from India The South Asian University (SAU) – a flagship project of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) – convened Eleventh Meeting of its Governing Board on 18-19 December 2023 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The Governing Board Members from the Member States, and representatives from the SAARC Secretariat and SAU attended the two-day Meeting in Kathmandu.
H. E. Mr. Md. Golam Sarwar, Secretary General of SAARC, addressed the Inaugural Session of the Meeting as Chief Guest. In his address, Ambassador Sarwar expressed gratitude to the Government of India for hosting the University in New Delhi and facilitating its smooth functioning since its establishment. He thanked the Chairperson of the Governing Board for convening the Meeting and the Members for making it convenient to travel to Kathmandu to attend the Meeting. He also thanked the previous and present Chairpersons and Members of the Governing Board and Office-bearers of the University for their remarkable contributions to bring the University to where it stands today. “One of the objectives of SAARC as outlined in its Charter is to promote welfare of the peoples of South Asia and to improve their quality of life. This can best be achieved through education. The establishment of the South Asian University in New Delhi in 2010 is, therefore, considered as one of the significant accomplishments of SAARC,” Ambassador Sarwar asserted. He further said, “As the Centre of Excellence, the University holds great potential to foster socio-economic and cultural collaboration among the South Asian countries.”
Prof. Dev Raj Adhikari, Chairman, University Grants Commission, Nepal, chaired the Meeting. In his opening remarks, Prof. Adhikari welcomed the participants to the Meeting. He appreciated the role of SAU in facilitating regional cooperation in higher education and research. He also thanked the previous Governing Board members for their hard work in making SAU a reputable platform for teaching, learning and research in the South Asia region.
The Governing Board decided to appoint Prof. K. K. Aggarwal from India as the new President of SAU. The Board also agreed to transfer the Chairmanship of the Governing Board to Pakistan, after Nepal, on the principle of rotation in alphabetical order of the Member States, besides endorsing SAU’s budget for 2023-24 and academic calendar for 2024-25.
The Board also reviewed the progress and achievements of SAU since its last Meeting. It appreciated the untiring efforts of the Acting President, Acting Vice President, and Acting Registrar of SAU for their active role in successfully managing the affairs of the University during the transitional period.
As SAARC’s Centre of Excellency, the South Asian University is a unique seat of learning, research and creativity for the citizenry of the region, offering state-of-the-art learning and research facilities with a world-class faculty drawn from within and outside the region. Currently, the University has five Faculties with 7 departments, offering both Masters’ and PhD programmes to around 600 students under the guidance of as many as 55 faculty members. Around 2000 students and research fellows have been educated at the University thus far.
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Published on Tuesday, 23 June 2023
INDIAN EXTERAL AFFAIRS MINISTER (STATE) VISITED SOUTH ASIAN UNIVERSITY NEW CAMPUS
New Delhi: Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Education, Government of India, visited the new campus of the South Asian University in Maidan Garhi to take stock of the developments. Rudrendra Tandon, Additional Secretary, BIMSTEC and SAARC, Government of India, was also present during the campus visit. The Minister interacted with the university officials led by Prof. Ranjan Kumar Mohanty, Acting President, SAU. A detailed presentation was made to the Minister on various aspects of the campus. Later, the university officials took him round the buildings and facilities. The Minister appreciated the way the campus has developed, and especially mentioned about following the green building norms and zero wastage on rain water harvesting.
The University has initiated the shifting activities from its current Akbar Bhawan campus in Chanakyapuri to this new 100 acre campus, after it received the occupancy certificate last month. The university is starting its formal functioning from the new campus beginning the upcoming semester.
After the Inter-Government Agreement for the establishment of the South Asian University was signed at the 14th SAARC Summit in 2008, the South Asian University Act 2008 was passed by the Indian Parliament, and the University started its first academic session in August 2010 from the Old JNU Campus and shifted to the Akbar Bhawan campus the following year. In 2009, the Government of India allotted a 100 acre plot of land in Maidan Garhi, New Delhi for establishing the permanent Campus. It also provides the funding for the capital establishment of the university, including the campus construction.
The construction of the new SAU campus was carried out under three packages wherein under Package-I, boundary walls were constructed at a cost of INR 2.19 crore in January 2016. The first set of five buildings was taken up under Package-II with a tendered value INR 401.58 crore in June 2016 while seven other buildings and facilities for other services such as water supply, sewers, roads, electricity and utility buildings were taken up under Package-III with a tendered value of INR 588.38 crore.
It may be mentioned that the new campus has bagged the much coveted and highest “Five Star” Griha Rating for its efforts to conserve the environment during the construction and operation stages of the project. The certification is based on a variety of environment-friendly practices followed regarding Site Planning, Water Strategy, Energy Efficiency, Waste Handling Strategy, Social Impact and Transportation Planning.
The university will soon be announcing admission to induct its 14th batch of students. The student composition in this international university comprises scholars from the eight member nations of the SAARC, about half of which come from India while the remaining half are from the rest of the SAARC countries.
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About South Asian University:
South Asian University (SAU) is an international university established, funded and maintained by the governments of the eight member states of South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) viz. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. SAU started its operations from the academic year 2010. The university offers Master’s and PhD programmes in seven areas of studies that include Economics, Computer Science, Biotechnology, International Relations, Legal Studies, Mathematics and Sociology. SAU attracts students from all over South Asia, and its degrees are recognized by all the eight SAARC countries. Many of its graduates have already found employment in the region and some have been offered higher education opportunities in countries beyond South Asia. The university recently shifted to its permanent campus in Maidan Garhi, New Delhi.
For further information, please write to: prahlad@sau.int
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Published on Tuesday, 23 June 2023
INDIAN EXTERAL AFFAIRS MINISTER (STATE) VISITED SOUTH ASIAN UNIVERSITY NEW CAMPUS
New Delhi: Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Education, Government of India, visited the new campus of the South Asian University in Maidan Garhi to take stock of the developments. Rudrendra Tandon, Additional Secretary, BIMSTEC and SAARC, Government of India, was also present during the campus visit. The Minister interacted with the university officials led by Prof. Ranjan Kumar Mohanty, Acting President, SAU. A detailed presentation was made to the Minister on various aspects of the campus. Later, the university officials took him round the buildings and facilities. The Minister appreciated the way the campus has developed, and especially mentioned about following the green building norms and zero wastage on rain water harvesting.
The University has initiated the shifting activities from its current Akbar Bhawan campus in Chanakyapuri to this new 100 acre campus, after it received the occupancy certificate last month. The university is starting its formal functioning from the new campus beginning the upcoming semester.
After the Inter-Government Agreement for the establishment of the South Asian University was signed at the 14th SAARC Summit in 2008, the South Asian University Act 2008 was passed by the Indian Parliament, and the University started its first academic session in August 2010 from the Old JNU Campus and shifted to the Akbar Bhawan campus the following year. In 2009, the Government of India allotted a 100 acre plot of land in Maidan Garhi, New Delhi for establishing the permanent Campus. It also provides the funding for the capital establishment of the university, including the campus construction.
The construction of the new SAU campus was carried out under three packages wherein under Package-I, boundary walls were constructed at a cost of INR 2.19 crore in January 2016. The first set of five buildings was taken up under Package-II with a tendered value INR 401.58 crore in June 2016 while seven other buildings and facilities for other services such as water supply, sewers, roads, electricity and utility buildings were taken up under Package-III with a tendered value of INR 588.38 crore.
It may be mentioned that the new campus has bagged the much coveted and highest “Five Star” Griha Rating for its efforts to conserve the environment during the construction and operation stages of the project. The certification is based on a variety of environment-friendly practices followed regarding Site Planning, Water Strategy, Energy Efficiency, Waste Handling Strategy, Social Impact and Transportation Planning.
The university will soon be announcing admission to induct its 14th batch of students. The student composition in this international university comprises scholars from the eight member nations of the SAARC, about half of which come from India while the remaining half are from the rest of the SAARC countries.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
About South Asian University:
South Asian University (SAU) is an international university established, funded and maintained by the governments of the eight member states of South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) viz. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. SAU started its operations from the academic year 2010. The university offers Master’s and PhD programmes in seven areas of studies that include Economics, Computer Science, Biotechnology, International Relations, Legal Studies, Mathematics and Sociology. SAU attracts students from all over South Asia, and its degrees are recognized by all the eight SAARC countries. Many of its graduates have already found employment in the region and some have been offered higher education opportunities in countries beyond South Asia. The university recently shifted to its permanent campus in Maidan Garhi, New Delhi.
For further information, please write to: prahlad@sau.int
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Published on Tuesday, 23 June 2023
SOUTH ASIAN UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCES ADMISSION
New Delhi: The South Asian University has announced admission to its Masters and PhD programmes for the 2023-24 batch. The progammes on offer include Master’s and PhD in the areas of Economics, Biotechnology, Computer Science, International Relations, Legal Studies, Mathematics and Sociology.
The entrance test, to be conducted on 29 and 30 April 2023, will be a centre-based online testing system in select centres across South Asia. Applicants will be allowed to take the tests on scheduled time slots at the respective test centres.
SAU recently shifted its campus to its permanent campus in Maidan Garhi, New Delhi. Earlier it was operating from Akbar Bhawan in Chanakyapuri in the same city. While the student intake of the Master’s Degree programmes has been kept intact at 30 as in previous years, the number of seats for PhD programmes have been substantially increased. Admission to PhD programmes, this year, will be made through two channels viz. direct mode and entrance test. In the direct mode, certain categories of candidates will be exempted from the entrance test and the shortlist will be made on the bases of their CVs/SOPs/Research Proposals/Letters of Recommendations and called directly for the
interviews.
SAU offers a generous number of scholarships and financial support to students. Students are also granted specially-created multiple entry SAU visas. South Asian University was jointly established by the governments of the eight SAARC nations in the capital city of India. The student composition in this international university consists of scholars from the eight member states of the SAARC – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. About half the students are from India while the remaining half are from the rest of the SAARC countries, barring a few students from other continents. Each SAARC country has a quota but if the number of students from any particular country run short of the allotted quota, the remaining available seats are filled up by students from other countries as per SAU rules. Applicants from Non-SAARC countries can apply directly for admission giving details of their academic
credentials, without having to take the entrance test.
The last date for submission of applications at SAU is 31 March 2023. Candidates can apply through the university website www.sau.int. Further details such as curriculum, eligibility criteria, scholarships, faculties can also be accessed from the website.
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About South Asian University:
South Asian University (SAU) is an international university established, funded and maintained by the governments of the eight member states of South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) viz. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. SAU started its operations from the academic year 2010. The university offers Master’s and PhD programmes in seven areas of studies that include Economics, Computer Science, Biotechnology, International Relations, Legal Studies, Mathematics and Sociology. SAU attracts students from all over South Asia, and its degrees are recognized by all the eight SAARC countries. Many of its graduates have already found employment in the region and some have been offered higher education opportunities in countries beyond South Asia. The university recently shifted to its permanent campus in Maidan Garhi, New Delhi.
For further information, please write to: prahlad@sau.int
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Published on Tuesday, 12 June 2018
Sri Lankan Lady Bags Gold at South Asian University
The university also Awarded its First Set of PhD Degrees, along with 10 MPhil and 160 Masters Degrees
New Delhi, 7 June 2018: Niroshika Sajeewani Liyana Muhandiram from Sri Lanka topped the Master of Laws programme in South Asian University. Incidentally she was the only Sri Lankan who graduated this year from the SAU, which draws almost all of its students from the South Asia region. Niroshika received her Gold Medal for her outstanding academic performance at the third convocation of the South Asian University at Pravasi Bhartiya Kendra, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.
Presided over by Mr Giriraj Mani. Pokhrel, Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Government of Nepal, the glittering event also saw the presence of Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, President, ICCR and Member of Rajya Sabha as the Chief Guest, Mr. Amjad Hussain B Sial, the Secretary General of SAARC along with other members of SAU’s statutory bodies from around the South Asia region.
South Asia has a common enemy called poverty and the young minds of the region should find ways and means to unleash the true potential of collective strength to transform the region through rapid economic growth and defeat this common enemy, Mr. Pokhrel said.
He further said as the current chair of the SAARC, Nepal would give full support and cooperation to the SAARC process and particularly to the South Asian University, which he said was a dream of the visionaries of the region. Mr. Pokhrel was presiding over the convocation as the nominee of SAU’s Visitor, who is the Chairperson of the SAARC.
While congratulating the students who received their degrees, Dr Vinay Sahasrabuddhe reiterated the importance of the day i.e. 7 June as it was on this day Mahatama Gandhi resolved to fight injustice when he was thrown off of the first class compartment of a train in South Africa. He said that the empowered youth of the region should fight for unity and harmony in the region and SAU could be converted into a universal fraternity university.
A total of 176 students were conferred Masters, MPhil and PhD Degrees in various programmes that include Applied Mathematics, Biotechnology, Computer Science, Development Economics, International Relations, Legal Studies and Sociology. 7 programme toppers were honoured with the SAU Gold Medal – one each from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and 5 from India. Students from the entire South Asia region were present at the convocation. Out of the total number of graduates, 21 were from Afghanistan, 17 from Bangladesh, 5 from Bhutan, 11 from Nepal, 5 from Pakistan and one from Sri Lanka and France while the rest 99 are from India. 10 students will get their MPhil Degrees – two from Nepal, one from Bangladesh and 7 from India. For the first time since its inception, South Asian University handed out its PhD Degrees to 6 of its scholars – one each from Afghanistan and Bangladesh and 4 from India, representing various Departments and Faculties.
In her speech, Dr. Kavita Sharma, President – SAU, congratulated the graduates and shared her hope for the region as more and more young minds of the region are equipped with cutting-edge knowledge in the fields of Science and Social Sciences, in an inimitable environment of camaraderie. She said that the co-operation among the students in South Asian University drawn from different parts of South Asia is nothing but inspiring.
Mandated to inculcate a sense of regional consciousness among the young minds of the South Asia region while imparting cutting-edge knowledge, South Asian University was established by the governments of the eight SAARC nations. The university took off in 2010 with two Masters Degree Programmes. Today, SAU offers seven Masters and an equal number of Doctoral Programmes.
SAARC Secretary General, Mr. Amjad Hussain Sial said that with the knowledge and education that the graduates have acquired from the University will play an important role in the development of the South Asian countries and the region. He also thanked the Government of India for allocating a 100 acre land in New Delhi and its magnanimous contribution for constructing the permanent campus of the university.
The construction of the permanent campus of the South Asian University is going on in Maidan Garhi in New Delhi.
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About South Asian University:
South Asian University (SAU) is an international university established, funded and maintained by the governments of the eight member nations of South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) viz. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. SAU started its operations from the academic year 2010. The university now offers Masters and MPhil/PhD research programs in seven disciplines that include Economics, Computer Science, Biotechnology, Applied Mathematics, Sociology, International Relations and Legal Studies. SAU attracts students from all over South Asia, and its degrees are recognized by all the eight SAARC countries. Many of its graduates have already found employment in the region and some have been offered higher education opportunities in countries beyond South Asia as well.
The university is currently functioning from Akbar Bhawan, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi and construction of the permanent campus has started over a 100 acre plot in Maidan Garhi, South Delhi in late May 2016.
For further details, please write to Mr. Prahlad, Public Relations Officer, SAU at prahlad@sau.int or call him at +91 9871494338