The Higher Education Review

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." ­ Nelson Mandela

Educational institutions happen to be the centres of human resource development and the learners who come out of these centres are expected to be a part of the society and take up some responsibility including business. Good human resource with ethical and moral values will develop good business and good business will ultimately give good service to the society. Set up with the vision to serve the society by being a glob-al University of higher learning in pursuit of academic excellence, innovation and nurturing entrepreneurship is Sharda University.

Established in 1996, Sharda University is one of India's leading universities with an acknowledged reputation for excellence in research and teaching. The university boasts of outstanding faculty, world class teaching standards, and innovative academic programs. Being one of the leading educational institutions based out of Greater Noida, Delhi NCR and a venture of the renowned Sharda Group of Institutions (SGI), Sharda University has established itself as a high quality education provider with prime focus on holistic learning and imbibing competitive abilities in students.

Emphasizing on Holistic Learning
Approved by UGC, Sharda University prides itself in being the only multi-discipline campus in the NCR, spread over 63 acres and equipped with world class facilities. The institute is setting a new benchmark in the Indian education system by offering more than 200 pro-grams at graduate, post graduate, doctoral and diploma level. Talking specifically about School of Engineering and Technology, at graduate level broadly, the institute offers Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science and Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Biotechnology etc. As far a scourses are concerned, apart from regular courses that builds the fundamental, several other courses have been included by Sharda University which focuses on developing soft skills and bringing out innovation and creativity to the forefront.

For example, there is a course named Project based learning in the curriculum which is beyond textbook and requires brainstorming, creative thinking and meticulous execution. The students have got patents granted, published research papers in SCI/Scopus indexed journals, which is phenomenal. Then there is another course named Community Connect where the students embrace the responsibility towards the community and environment in which they operate. Along with the fundamental courses, these not so conventional yet impactful courses contribute massively towards holistic development of the students.

At Sharda University, there is a provision of scholar-ships and financial assistance to meritorious students based on their academic performance. A number of scholar-ships are offered to students depending on their academic credentials and their achievements in sporting and cultural arena. Also, the University grants full to partial waiver on tuition fees pay able by the student. The students on their satisfactory performance in Sharda University Admission Test (SUAT), Personal Interview (PI) and depending on their merit in qualifying exams, will be eligible for the grant of the merit scholarship.

Apart from merit scholarship, the University also provides several other scholarships such as Sports category scholarship where the students who have excelled in sporting activities at national and state levels are eligible for scholarships with 10% to 100% waiver on tuition fee in 1st year. It also provides 5% scholarship for the wards of Military/Para Military/Govt. Security Forces, Serving & Retd. Defence Personnel and `Innovative Idea' Scholar-ship where 10% to 100% tuition fee waiver is provided based on the innovation ideas that get selected by committee for innovation.

Striving to Imbibe Future Ready Abilities in Students
Addressing the increase in the potential of startups, Sharda University's Business Incubation Centre (BIC) was established in 2013 under the umbrella of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Govt. of India, New Delhi. The objective of the incubation centre is simple - to inspire and work with aspiring entrepreneurs to shape up business ideas into commercial start-up companies. In addition, the institution also provides infrastructural support i.e. office space, meeting room to the candidates etc. At every step, the individuals are mentored and nurtured for their acquiescent business ideas.

The University regularly organizes activities/events/lectures to

promote entrepreneurial spirit in the youth, invites in-house-faculty members and industry experts to mentor budding entrepreneurial students and alumni, coordinates and provides live project opportunities for the participants to provide them with industry interface and facilitates in setting up of a Next-StartUp/ Syncubator/ Xcelerator Center in the institute to incubate budding Startups at different levels of the entrepreneurial trajectory.

"For us career building is not only about placements, we give equal emphasis on higher studies and entrepreneurship as well. We have a unit, Sharda Skills, which is the skill development arm of Sharda University. There we have a team of industry proven subject matter experts and professionals such as certified psychologists, psychotherapists and master trainers having training and teaching experience of more than two decades in some of the top corporates of the country. They organize events and activities for the students on a regular basis which help the students in exploring the path of career building process." Says Dr. Parma Nand, Dean Academic Affairs and Dean School of Engineering & Technology, Sharda University.

Sharda University has signed more than 100 MOUs in past few years with different industries belonging to diversified field, most of the MoUs involve the participation of students along with the faculties. Some of the notable collaborators are Codon Biotech Private Limited, Origin LIFE Healthcare Solutions & Research Centre, National Re-search Development Corporation, Microsoft Corporation (lndia) Pvt. Ltd., Amazon Web Services Inc., ICAR-National Bureau Agriculturally Important Micro organisms (NBAIM), Advance Valves Pvt. Ltd. etc. The University also provides consultancy to industry and in past few years we have generated more than 50 lakh rupees as revenue. Some of the notable companies where we have provided consultancy are Meta-i Technologies Pvt. Ltd., EBEX Services Ltd., Jubilant Generics, Prakash Diesels Private Limited, Simon Electric Pvt. Ltd. and others.

The university continuously up-grades its academic offerings and services to meet the evolving demands of the global workforce and ensure that the industry standards are met. Sharda University is leaving no stone unturned in shaping the future leaders who will eventually contribute in building a better society for all.

Dr. Parma Nand, Dean Academic Affairs and Dean School of Engineering & Technology, Sharda University
This pioneering educator strives to ensure that the students equip themselves with the needed skills required to thrive in the world.