Mahindra Group launches university in Hyderabad for interdisciplinary programmes

The Mahindra Group on Friday announced the launch of Mahindra University (MU) in Hyderabad. The goal is to eventually develop multi-skilled leaders armed with interdisciplinary academic excellence. It is to integrate the study of science and technology with the humanities, ethics, philosophy, and design. But for a start, it will expand the offerings under its engineering school that it set up six years ago in Hyderabad and subsume it into the university. It has a roadmap and it intends to launch a School of Management (2021-22), School of Law (2021-22), Indira Mahindra School of Education (2021-22), School of Media & Liberal Arts (2022-23) and School of Design (2023-24). In all, it aims to have an estimated 4,000 students and over 300 faculty members across the various schools at Mahindra University over the next five years. Currently, it has 1,000 students and 72 faculty members. The current fee structure has stayed unchanged with Rs 4 lakh towards tuition fee and Rs 2 lakh for hostel accommodation each year.

Speaking to Businesstoday.in, Professor Yajulu Medury, Vice-Chancellor, Mahindra University says, this year they will be running the current engineering course (offered by its Ecole Centrale School of Engineering that was set up in 2014). It currently offers courses in mechanical, civil, EEE and computer science and to this, three new programmes are now being added: AI, electronics and computer engineering and computational mathematics. In the final year, the students can pick up electives based on their interest. The current building of the Ecole Centrale, he says, has enough facilities for the next couple of years but when school of management and school of law are to come up, additional buildings will have to come up. What also changes immediately, as professor Medury says, is being able to operate as an autonomous university. "It gives us autonomy and start post graduate and PhD programmes".

A note issued by the Mahindra group says that the various university programmes will be located on the 130-acre (35 acres for the buildings and where the engineering school is currently located)  and will offer undergraduate, post graduate and PhD courses. Mahindra University is part of the Mahindra Educational Institutions (MEI), a not-for-profit subsidiary of Tech Mahindra.

The Mahindra University was launched virtually by Telangana minister for IT, K T Rama Rao. A note issued by the Mahindra Group quotes the minister Rao as saying: "The idea of integrating technology and humanities with mainstream higher education curriculum is setting up not only young people but the entire nation for success. Mahindra University, supported by the prestigious Mahindra Group will surely address the growing demand for future-ready talent".

Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group and Chancellor, Mahindra University, says, "Mahindra University will strive to deliver a more balanced education, combining the latest technology with Liberal Arts, to create next generation leaders that have a holistic world view." Adding to this, CP Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra and Board of Management, Mahindra University, says, "The university will also provide access to multi-disciplinary learning focussed on leveraging the power of Artificial Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence. This will help the students develop new-age competencies and inculcate entrepreneurial thinking to enable them solve complex challenges faced by the society."

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