I am privileged and honoured to have been given the
opportunity of serving as Vice Chancellor of Punjabi
University, Patiala, which is amongst the premier
institutions of higher learning. The University was
established on April 30, 1962 with a mandate to promote
Punjabi language, literature and culture, and was the second
university in the world to have been named after a language.
It has since emerged as a key institution for imparting
high-quality education and to perform cutting-edge research
in the areas of life sciences, physical sciences, medicine,
engineering and technology, business studies, law, social
sciences, languages, education, information sciences, and
arts and culture. It is a matter of great pride that the
National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has
awarded the University a Five Star grade in the first cycle
(2002-07) and A grade in the second (2008-13) and the third
(2016-23) cycles. Currently, the University has 65 teaching
and research departments, 275 affiliated colleges, 5
neighborhood campuses, 14 constituent colleges, 4 regional
centres. It enrols nearly 14000 students in various courses,
including a large number of them from rural areas with a
paucity of resources. The University's performance in
sports and games is exemplary, with the distinction of being
a 10-time winner of the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA)
Trophy awarded by Government of India to the Best Performing
University in competitive sports.
I envisage a very bright future for this prestigious
University and our endeavour will be to create an ambience
of academic excellence, to build a Knowledge Hub in Patiala
in partnership with neighboring institutions of higher
education in the region, to begin inter- and
multi-disciplinary skill-based courses in fields such as
Agroecology and Data Sciences, with a focus on developing
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning tools for
Punjab and Punjabi language, and to produce highly skilled
and committed graduates imbued with critical thinking,
scientific temper and humane, secular and ethical values.
From its inception more than 60 years ago, the University
has consistently scaled greater and greater heights due to
the distinguished contributions rendered by the faculty and
the zeal and work of the students, non-teaching staff and
other stakeholders. I sincerely acknowledge the seminal
contribution of each one of them.
Professor Arvind
Vice Chancellor, Punjabi University Patiala