Cuttack: On the auspicious day of Saraswati Puja and Basant Panchami on Feb. 5, 2022, Sri Sri University, Cuttack, Odisha, and Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal, an education wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh jointly organized a webinar relevant to the implementation of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Themed as “Alignment of National Education Policy 2020 with Sustainable Development Goals,” the webinar discussed the implementation of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a vision 2030 plan of the United Nations to make this world a better place to live. The webinar discussed the roles and responsibilities of higher education institutions to realize these goals.
While reiterating the commitment of Sri Sri University (SSU) towards contributing to a sustainable world, Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ajay Kumar Singh said that the very purpose of education is to make one free (Sa Vidya Ya Vimuktaye). He narrated the achievements of Sri Sri University towards each SDGs, which has won global appreciation with plantation of more than 1 lakh trees in one decade. Sri Sri University has documented the presence of 75 varieties of birds in the 188 acres campus, herbal gardens, and 40 acres of agricultural farmland with a focus on chemical-free farming.
Sri Sri University has been ranked by Times Higher Education World University Impact Rankings on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2021 in the band of 801-1000 based on all 17 SDGs. In the top four individual SDGs, Sri Sri University was ranked in the band of 201-300 for SDG 2: Zero Hunger & SDG 15: Life on Land and was ranked in the band of 301-400 for SDG 14: Life below Water & SDG 12: Responsible Consumption & Production.
Sri Sri University has participated in the global ranking on SDGs viz., UI Green Metric World University ranking on sustainability by Universitas Indonesia for 2019, 2020, 2021. Last year, its rank was 1st in Odisha, 6th in India, and 248th in Odisha with impressive improvements over the last two years.
From Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal, Dr. Umashankar Pachauri, National General Secretary was the Chief Guest of the webinar. He spoke about the importance of sustainability in development. Since modern-day, human beings forgot about sustainability, the development became mindless and threatened humans towards its very existence. Dr. Pachauri also narrated a story about Guru Shishya Parampara and highlighted how a Guru can transform the challenges into opportunities for the disciple and make him a world champion.
Prof. Sharat Kumar Lenka ji, State President, Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal, East Odisha during his address mentioned that the Indian education system was at its peak, with over 95% literacy rate in the year 1835 when Britishers entered the country. He emphasised the importance of the Sanskrit language in the education system of India to make it a Vishwaguru in the true sense. During the interaction, he appreciated the role of Sri Sri University in providing due emphasis to the Sanskrit language, launching MA (Hindu Studies) Programme in Sri Sri University from 2021 batch and providing multidisciplinary education in a holistic manner.
Among others, Shri Rajiv Nayan Ojha, Vistarak, Bhubaneswar Mahanagar presented Dhyey Vakya; Shri Rajkumar, Convenor, Yuva Ayam, Bhubaneswar Mahanagar presented Shanti Mantra; and Shri Lakhan Mahto, Co-Convenor, Yuva Ayam, Bhubaneswar Mahanagar presented Dhyey Shlok in the Programme.
Dr. Vijaya Lakshmi Mohanty, Head (Public Relations & Social Outreach) and Associate Professor, Faculty of Management Studies welcomed guests and audience in the event.
The students of Performing Arts, Faculty of Arts, Communication, and Indic Studies, Sri Sri University presented a musical rendition on Devi Saraswati and a group dance on theme Kirwani Madhurima.
Dr. Subrat Sarangi, Assistant Professor of Sanskrit in the Faculty of Arts, Communication and Indic studies, and Ms. Sweta Yadav, M. Sc. (Yogic Science) student performed the role of MC for the event. Ms. Mani Goswami, Deputy Dean VC Office & Assistant Professor, Faculty of Management Studies coordinated the Programme. Prof. Bindu Agarwal, Professor of Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Management Studies, Prof. J. P. Bhatt, Professor of Environmental Science, and many other faculty members and students attended the programme.
The event was live on Facebook. More than 500 people witnessed the webinar on the virtual platform. Sri Sri University with a vision of amalgamating the best of Eastern wisdom and western innovation has started its academia a decade ago. Privileged to be enacted as the first private University of the State of Odisha, SSU currently runs 49 programmes with more than 2500 students from all the states of India and 7 countries of the world.
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