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Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham

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Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham

Motto:
Shradhavaan Labhathe Jnaanam

Motto in English:
The earnest aspirant gains supreme wisdom

Established:
2003

Type:
Private

Chancellor:
Mata Amritanandamayi Devi

Vice-Chancellor:
Dr. P. Venkat Rangan

Faculty:
2000

Students:
12000

Location:
Coimbatore, Bangalore, Amritapuri, Cochin, Mysore

Website:

The Saraswathi Statue at the University Headquarters

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham or Amrita University is a multi-campus, multi-disciplinary research university located in India. Its five campuses are in the three states of South India, in Kerala at Amritapuri and Kochi, in Karnataka at Bangalore and Mysore, and in Tamil Nadu at Ettimadai. The University Headquarters are at Ettimadai, near the foothills of the Western Ghats, about twenty km from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. With an elephant-shaped hillock looming large in the background, this campus is considered as one of India’s most picturesque campuses.

The University offers bachelors, masters, and doctoral degree programs in computer science, engineering, business, biotechnology, nanotechnology, ayurveda, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, social work, journalism, education, and basic sciences. Areas of specialization which include Medical Informatics, Computational Engineering, Cyber Security, Clinical Research, and Oncology have been designed keeping in mind India’s National Development Plans. 12,000 students are enrolled in nearly a 100 different degree programs. Notable visitors who regularly interact with the students include the former President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who observed, “Amrita University has a major role to play in transforming our society into a knowledge society through its unique value-added education system.” .

Amrita University is only five-years old. It is young, considering that many of the eminent Indian Universities are at least a few decades old. Most renowned Universities of the West are also much older, some going back to over a century even. Yet, in its short history, the University has blazed forth new trails. Collaborative research is actively promoted by the University.

Contents

1 History
- 1.1 Early Years
- 1.2 Recent Developments
2 Academics
- 2.1 Schools
- 2.2 Admissions
3 Research
- 3.1 Centers of Excellence
- 3.2 Funded Projects
4 People
5 Traditions
6 Collaborations
- 6.1 National
- 6.2 International
7 References
8 See Also
9 External Links

History

Early Years

Recent Developments

Academics

Schools

Amrita Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Dentistry at Kochi Healthcare Campus (official website)

Attached to the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, a 1300-bed super-speciality hospital in Kochi that provides the best medical care regardless of the patient’s ability to pay, is the University’s healthcare campus. The Amrita Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Dentistry are all located on this campus. They respectively offer MBBS, Bachelors of Science (Nursing), Bachelor of Pharmacy, and Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree programs.

The School of Medicine also offers a large number of graduate programs including MSc in various disciplines, DNB (Diplomate of National Board), and PhD. In 2008, the first batch of MBBS students graduated with Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam presiding over the graduation ceremony.

Amrita Schools of Engineering at Amritapuri (official website), Bangalore (official website), and Ettimadai (official website)

The Amrita School of Engineering at Ettimadai predates Amrita University. In 1994, when it was established, it became the first Amrita institution for higher education. In 2008, the School celebrated its 13th Institution Day.

The three Schools of Engineering offer B.Tech degree programs in Computer Science and Engineering, Information Technology, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Instrumentation Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Aerospace Engineering. In addition, M.Tech and PhD degree programs are also offered.

Amrita School of Business at Ettimadai (official website)

The School offers a fully residential two-year MBA degree program. Equipped with infrastructure that rates as one among the best among Business Schools in India,

Amrita Schools of Arts & Sciences, Ayurveda, and Biotechnology at Amritapuri

Amrita Schools of Arts & Sciences and Education at Mysore

The University also directly offers degree programs in other areas. Its BA in Mass Communication, which helps prepare students for careers in journalism, short film making and advertising, is modeled on UNESCO guidelines. In fact, Amrita University was one among the first Indian Universities to adopt the UNESCO model curriculum.

MA in Communication Specialization in Journalism, Video Production, Animation, Advertising and PR, Web PG Diploma in Journalism

nanotechnology, social work, and basic sciences.

Admissions

Admission to the Amrita School of Business is based on the applicants’ CAT score as well as a personal interview. Foreign students can apply with their GMAT scores. Application forms go on sale in September each year and the last date for the receipt of completed forms is usually in January of the following year.

Admission to the M Tech program at the 3 Schools of Engineering is based on an interview and group discussion. Applicants with valid GATE scores receive preference. Application forms usually go on sale in April of a particular year and the completed forms are due back in May of the same year.

Admission to the MA (Communication) and PG Diploma in Journalism based on a Communication Aptitude Test conducted at the Ettimadai campus in June before the start of the new academic year.

From the year 2007, admission is through the engineering entrance examination conducted by Amrita.

Research

Centers of Excellence

The Center for Digital Health in Kochi participates in telemedicine projects to bring specialized healthcare to rural India.

Funded Projects

A prototype of an insulin-pump for diabetic patients has been developed. This will be available at a fraction of the price the pumps made in the West sell for, which are currently unaffordable by the large numbers of diabetic patients in developing countries. Biologists from the Amritapuri campus in Kerala and engineers from the campus in Coimbatore fabricated the insulin-pump.

Amrita MiTrans developed by Amrita Research Labs facilitates the delivery of high bandwidth information and multimedia entertainment in moving vehicles. Meant to support applications such as flight scheduling, location tracking and delivery of education and entertainment in private vehicles, the project is funded by Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council, of Department of Science and Technology.

People

Students

Faculty

The Vice Chancellor is Prof. P Venkat Rangan taking Amrita education to global standards.

Chancellor

The Chancellor of the University is India’s famous spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi, also known as Amma, or Mother. Affectionately referred to as The Hugging Saint . Amma started Amrita University in order to promote scientific research in India and provide the youth of the nation with access to quality higher education.

Amma says, “There are two types of education: education for a living and education for life. When we study in college, striving to become a doctor, a lawyer, or an engineer, this is education for a living. On the other hand, education for life requires understanding the essential principles of spirituality. This means gaining a deeper understanding of the world, our minds, our emotions, and ourselves. We all know that the real goal of education is not to create people who can understand only the language of machines. The main purpose of education should be to impart a culture of the heart; a culture based on spiritual values.” These thoughts of the Chancellor are the driving force behind Amrita University’s vision and mission.

Traditions

Meeting the Chancellor

Value Based Education

Giving Back

Amrita Alumni Association (A3) is an effort to bring the vast alumni body of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham together, with a vision of giving back to our alma mater. A3 is an unification of all the individual Alumni Associations that were active and were taking up projects on different levels. Since the past few months A3 has been undergoing a series of restructuring, all with the intention of making it more effective and outreach. Website

Collaborations

National

India’s Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), whose charter is to promote industry-university collaborative research.

International

In addition, it offers a dual degree program leading to an MS in Information Technology and MBA in collaboration with State University of New York at Buffalo, for working professionals at the Bangalore campus..

EURECA An exchange program between 7 Asian and 9 European Universities, funded by the European Union Amrita, IIT Kanpur, XLRI Jamshedpur,

References

^ “A B-school leveraging education and spirituality”. The Wall Street Journal, livemint.com (2008-08-24). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ “Amrita Varsity Launches Satellite Network”. The Hindu (2004-05-17). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ a b “Asian Communication Quarterly”. Media Asia (2005-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ “Early Warning System”. The Telegraph (2008-09-01). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ “Wireless sensors learn from life”. ICT Results (2008-08-25). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ “Education Hub”. Frontline (2008-02-15). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ “Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi”. Express Healthcare (2007-09-01). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ “Kalam’s Charter for Doctors”. Outlook Magazine (2008-02-05). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ “Top 15 Medical Colleges”. Outlook Magazine (2008-06-30). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ “Amrita School of Engineering celebrates Institution Day”. The Hindu (2008-03-08). Retrieved on 2008-10-01.
^ “Top 35 Private Engineering Colleges”. Outlook Magazine (2008-06-30). Retrieved on 2008-10-01.
^ “Placements”. Outlook Magazine (2008-06-30). Retrieved on 2008-10-01.
^ “A B-school leveraging education and spirituality”. The Wall Street Journal, livemint.com (2008-08-24). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ “Top 50 B-Schools”. Outlook Magazine (2008-09-29). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ “Media Course with UNESCO Model Curriculum”. The Hindu, Education Plus (2008-04-28). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ “Healthcare for the Other India”. Business Today (2008-07-22). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ “Telemedicine: Medical treatment from far, far away”. McGill Daily (2006-04-10). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ “System for Multimedia Information in Moving Vehicles”. livemint.com Wall Street Journal (2008-01-09). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ “Amrita Research Develops System for Moving Vehicles”. India PRwire (2008-01-08). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ “Amma: The Hugging Saint”. USA Today (2006-07-18). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ “Devotees flock to hug Indian guru”. BBC (2003-09-24). Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
^ “Compassion as philosophy of life”. The Hindu (2004-01-23). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ “Millenium World Peace Summit”. The World Council of Religious Leaders (2000-08-28). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ “Keynote Address at Parliament of the World’s Religions”. Mata Amritanandamayi Mission Trust (2004-07-13). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
^ “Amrita - New York Universities Launch Joint Programs”. The Hindu (2006-01-03). Retrieved on 2008-09-30.