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In the QS World University Rankings 2023, Shoolini University, a diverse private university with a concentration on research, has quickly risen to the top 1,000 rankings. In an interview with Careers360, Atul Khosla, vice-chancellor, discussed how the institution stayed research-focused and is prepared to support any deserving student.
Q. Every programme Shoolini offers is a science – management science, legal science, pharmaceutical science, yogic science. Help us understand this framing of the courses.
Let me briefly recap before I explain. Three things led to the rise of Shoolini. First, any university in the world needs to contribute genuine research and innovation, in our opinion. Without in-depth research and innovation, a university is not a university. The second belief is that you must work with those who are less fortunate and ensure that everyone has access to high-quality education. The third belief is that because we operate in the field of integrity, we must ensure that everything we do is genuine non-profit and faithful to our objective. These are the three tenets on which we founded Shoolini, and since we place a high priority on the study, we consider everything in the universe to be “science.”
It’s only a word, science. The world we live in and the things we do are both examples of science. We are interdisciplinary since we study yoga sciences, hospitality, law, and technology. We also study computer science, artificial intelligence (AI), biology, natural science, media, and management science. The NEP discusses interdisciplinary learning. We started doing that as soon as we existed. Our platform for research and innovation is really distinctive.
For instance, according to the QS rankings, we are India’s third-best private institution. We fall into the global [bracket] of 800 to 1,000. What a noteworthy accomplishment! This is a result of our unwavering commitment to research and innovation. More than 1,000 patents have already been submitted by our students. Many of these are currently being commercialised, and many patents have already been issued. Additionally, we think that as a university, we use a lot of technology, provide our curriculum in a brutally efficient manner, and deliver the infrastructure. So, to put it briefly, we think of our university as being disruptive and extremely different from other huge, established universities.
Q. How do you select students for admission?
We don’t care about marks. We don’t think grades accurately represent a student’s aptitude. We therefore combine our entrance exam with other international standards like the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), and we also conduct interviews with every student. We search for a blend of basic aptitude and the capacity to learn and innovate. We have an admission-to-application ratio of more than 1:50 for several programmes, such as our summit research programme, the first undergraduate research programme in India. Since we began it five years ago, we have received more than 50 applications for each available seat. There are kids here today from nine nations and 26 different states.
Q. What does the school of advanced chemical science focus on?
Every science is based on chemistry and chemical science. We, therefore, have a separate advanced school of science that is investigating problems with water purification, medicine, a confluence of biology and chemistry, and a confluence of chemistry and physics to address challenging challenges like water, energy, and electricity.
Q. How many of your students are on scholarships?
Twenty per cent of our students receive financial aid of some kind. Many of them travel free of charge. Our student funding costs account for a considerable portion of our expenses. Through friends and family, we raise funds for endowments and scholarships. We don’t offer scholarships that are more like marketing ploys here; instead, they are more need-based. I’ll highlight Shoolini’s study and attention to pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds as two aspects of his work. Our rankings show that what we do is right, and if other colleges wish to take our lead and benefit from our work, I will be pleased to share what we have discovered with them.
