Rishihood University

 

Rishihood University is an impact-oriented initiative established in India. The university believes in an ‘ecosystem’ approach to learning rather than isolated training and research. Rishihood actively engages and nurtures an ecosystem for our academic areas as well as for the larger growth of the nation and society.

Our learning environment inspires people to achieve ‘Rishihood’. Our programmes and projects are designed so that each person associated with the university is motivated to contribute to society positively.

Located in Sonipat, the ‘hub for higher learning and research’, Rishihood University, with a vision to reimagine higher education in India for the next 100 years, aims to integrate lifelong learning transcending age, subject choice, and society by closely working with school students, individuals pursuing higher education and working professionals. Sahil Aggarwal, who also serves on the board of Vision India Foundation and the Rashtram School of Public Leadership has brought together an esteemed panel of advisors to help tackle asymmetry between learning and employability. “We are creating a learning environment that inspires people to achieve ‘Rishihood’. Our programs and projects are being designed so that each person associated with the university is motivated to contribute to society positively. At Rishihood University, we believe that we cannot educate students in isolation. For holistic development, students should be exposed to all possible disciplines,” explains Sahil Aggarwal.

Rishihood University is developing an ‘ecosystem’ approach to learning rather than isolated training and research, which actively engages and nurtures a conducive environment for our academic areas as well as for the larger growth of the nation and society. Some of the esteemed board of advisors of the University include Shri S. Gurumurthy, Journalist and Chartered Accountant, Ajay Gupta, CEO of Bachpan Play Schools (chain of 1000+ playschools) and Academic Heights Public Schools (chain of 100+ formal K12 schools), Maj General (retd) DN Khurana who also continues to be on the board of Indian Institute of Management (Lucknow), Dr. Harsh Mahajan, Padma Shri awardee and the President of the Indian Radiology and Imaging Association (IRIA). The university has also brought in Mr Suresh Prabhu, Member of Parliament and Former Cabinet Minister as the Founding Chancellor and Dr. Kamlesh Misra, a well-known and reputed strategist and innovative leader in conceiving, organizing and managing educational and research organizations, as the Vice-Chancellor.

“India’s spiritual wisdom provides solutions to many of the pressing problems of today such as sustainability, mental health, global peace, and harmony. As the name signifies, our objective is to inspire the students, faculty, and the community to reach ‘Rishihood’, the state of being a Rishi. Passionate and conscious individuals can create prosperous and harmonious societies.” asserts Mr. Suresh Prabhu.

“Academic topics do not develop in isolation. Knowledge is integrated and interdisciplinary. We prepare our learners to think holistically and provide a learning environment closer to real life,” opines Dr. Kamlesh Misra. Rishihood University believes in four kinds of interactions in academic disciplines to provide a holistic learning environment: Cross-disciplinary (viewing one curricular subject from the standpoint of another), Multidisciplinary (the combination of several content areas that are concerned with one problem, but without intentional integration, like intellectual property law and food technology), Plurdisciplinary (the combination of content areas that are somewhat related, like food and agriculture) and Transdisciplinary (beyond the scope of the disciplines; that is, to start with a problem and bring to bear knowledge from the disciplines). “Our schools are being established in a way that encourages all the four kinds of interaction and can collectively bring a larger impact” shares Dr. Misra.

Rishihood University believes in the philosophy of the Gurukul System, where a learning system is created and centred around the students. Here, everyone in this system is a learner, some at the basic level of understanding and others at a very advanced level. They all work together to create a curious mind which is in search of a deeper meaning of the subject and life in general. “Every student is important and we ensure that no one is left out from the process of change taking place. Teachers are role models where students see them working hard with them to ensure good learning and by engaging them through a hands-on process,” states Dr. Misra.

Rishihood is a new concept in higher education and everything that is done on the campus is centred around the student community. “We are on a mission to bring about a major transformation in the thinking of our students by focusing on two major elements. The first being the training of the mind, and second is the focus on character building. These two elements result in four different types of outcomes which are essential for the future of our youth and their careers,” explains Dr. Misra. Acquisition of knowledge and understanding are essential components of success and Rishihood University. Its faculty and its corporate affiliates work with students to ensure that they ignite the curiosity of the students to go deeper and deeper in search of new knowledge.

“It is important for our students to have the right attitude for success and we at Rishihood will work with students in groups and individually to help them approach life in a very systematic way, to understand our culture and society, to develop a sense of national pride, and have a balanced understanding of our rights and responsibilities as a citizen, says Sahil Aggarwal. Rishihood University believes that knowledge is not enough for success in the marketplace.

Instead, it is their firm conviction in the ability of a student to convert his knowledge into marketable skills that will determine his future in the corporate world. The university has specific programs and training to ensure that all its students have the right set of marketable skills which can give them a good start in the corporate world.

Rishihood faculty members will forge research alliances with the industry, work with students on industry-based projects, and spend time with industry mentors who bring to the university the latest developments of the corporate world. This ensures that the faculty members are updated with the latest trends in the industry. Industry-connect is an important aspect of the new-age higher education degree programs at Rishihood University. “We are building a network of corporate connect with the objective of not only having students do their training and placement but also to ensure that there is a good deal of knowledge sharing,” pinpoints Dr. Misra. The industry faces several problems that need immediate solutions based on research. Such research work that benefits the industry will be conducted at the various schools of the university and will involve high-quality researchers and students who will provide research-based solutions to the existing problems. For this purpose, Rishihood University is setting up the All India Researcher’s Home on the campus with all the facilities.

The University is also putting in place a system to receive research-based projects from the industry such as feasibility study, analysis of markets, pricing strategy, and helping in building prototypes for new products for the industry. “There is also a process in place to bring high profile speakers from the industry to share their experience and knowledge with students and faculty members. This is an important development in the area of higher education,” opines Sahil Aggarwal. Rishihood University has planned Executive Development Programs in collaboration with industry under the banners of the Corporate Knowledge Center at the campus.

Students who are seeking higher education qualifications today are going to be living in a world that is going to be defined by innovation and creativity. “We at Rishihood University have taken steps and have put processes in place where we will support innovation and creativity at all levels. To us, innovation means invention and commercialization. This implies that inventions or ideas already exist but what is missing is our ability to commercialize that idea,” explains Dr. Misra. To support and encourage innovation and creativity, Rishihood University has set up the School of Creativity and the School of Entrepreneurship for the first time in the country where students will work hand-in-hand along with their mentors from academics and the industry to identify a new or existing idea for commercialization, design and develop prototypes, and work on creating new markets for their products and services.

The university has planned the delivery of the program in such a way that they can move students from a system of dependent memory to a system of independent thinking and problem- solving. Dr. Misra adds, “This is possible when we allow our students to go into a learning mode rather than the teaching mode of delivery. We have set up labs and studios which are designed to get the best of the creative thinking of the student.”

The School of Entrepreneurship at Rishihood University has been set up with a clear objective of disrupting the field of entrepreneurship education. “Conventionally, entrepreneurship education in India has been just a simple MBA with a few courses in managing a family business and basic principles of entrepreneurship. We are introducing new age programs which differ both in content and delivery,” shares Dr. Misra. The objective of the MBA Entrepreneurship program at Rishihood is to prepare job creators for the new economy.

Undoubtedly, Rishihood University is an institute to look upon in the future, as it provides a very conducive environment for students to think outside the box and not use 20th-century solutions to solve the problems of the 21st century.

 

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