I met my friend KS Viswanathan, the head of new initiatives at the Azim Premji Foundation (APF) a couple of days ago in Bangalore and asked him for some details about the Azim Premji University (APU). This is what I learnt from an informal chat with him.
- The APU will be an institution of excellence in the area of education to develop outstanding education thinkers & leaders, and also serve as a think tank for long-term education change and sustainable development. Akin to the IITs, AIIMS, IIMs and the NLSUI respectively focussed on Science & Technology, Medicine, Management and Law, the APU will in effect be an IIE focussed on Education.
- The APU's vision is to promote, conceptualize and create a paradigm shift through development of outstanding leadership, research, knowledge and ideas for education and allied development sectors.
- The objectives of the APU include
- Creating Intellectual Capital: through research based theory and outstanding, creative and socially committed leaders and thinkers. Expand the frontiers of knowledge in education and allied disciplines
- Practice informed by sound theory: Serve as a national education resource center and present an alternative authentic voice for educational and social change
- Demonstrating models for effective development of teachers and education leaders
- The APU has been set up through a section 25 company and will be autonomous and self-funded with no dependency on funds from the Karnataka Government.
- The Azim Premji University Ordinance 2009, was passed by the Karnataka Government in November 2009.
- The APU is being set up on 50 acres of land in Sarjapur, near Bangalore. The land is being provided by the section 25 company, which is acquiring it directly from the owners.
- It will be a fully residential university.
- The APU will not be aiming to recover all its expenditure from tuition fees. Any budgetary gap between income and expenditure will be bridged by funds provided by Section 25 company being established by Azim Premji.
- The first students will join the university in 2011. The APU will start by offering masters level courses and eventually also run a Ph.D. program.
- Apart from the classroom lectures, the students at the APU will be required to do field work in schools as an integral part of their learning.
- The APU, in addition to developing education professionals and contributing to research will work towards strengthening the educational space by:
- Increasing the public debate on alternative approaches towards educational excellence
- Creating possibilities and opportunities to promote innovation and piloting of new ideas/approaches
- Supporting state and central governments to move towards a quality education revolution
- Serving as a resource centre for the country in the areas of education and development
- Emerging as a centre of excellence in education policy and implementation
