I had a chance to attend the Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD) Foundation Stone Laying ceremony today. CM Kejriwal was the chief guest but most exciting thing for me was being part of something starting from scratch.
The plans look impressive with zero carbon footprint. AUD with DDA is supposed to be the custodians of the existing wetland park. Hope it actually works out that way.
The huge stage had all the dignitaries you could think of. In addition to CM Kejriwal, there was Manish Sisodiya, the cultural minister. I know him very well because I get messages in his name about cultural programs in Delhi. The MLA of Timarpur, MLA of Burari (?), Secretary of Higher Education, PWD and so on. I was pretty impressed to see the Vice Chancelor Prof. Lather, only woman on the male dominated stage, holding her
The architects had a beautiful video with commentary on the design of the campus. Much of it was about the beautiful views and how impressive it is going to look. Would have been much impressive if there were a couple of points about the design wrt the main function of the space – teaching, learning, research.
The Timarpur MLA Pankaj Pushkar, talked about the relationship of Institutes of Higher Education with the society in which it is embedded, the skillsets needed and the pedagogical models that cater to it. He thought that we are still using the colonial /European models of education created for the Industrial age and universities like AUD (with its focus on humanities) were trying to answer the question of how education relates to self and society in which one is embedded.
Mr. Sisodia spoke well. I really appreciated his speech, especially after Mr Kejriwal’s speech that sounded more like an election speech. Mr. Sisodia talked about collaboration (??) between Government and the University. The talks he used to have with previous VC Mr. Menon and how it enlightened him and pushed AUD to increase capacity. He also mentioned the Delhi oral history project, a recent collaboration between Delhi government and AUD. He talked about AUD as their go to experts when thinking of new ideas and introducing education reforms. If the sentiments he expressed are true and not just a politician’s speech, I am excited to see how it all pans out.
devayani tirthali 