The Higher Education Review

A Spiritual leader and Humanitarian, Pujya Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is promoting global peace, human values and spirituality for more than three decades now. In his words, “Education is a vehicle for transformation or metamorphosis of the self and an aid to the growth oF economy.” He envisioned a worldclass University that would promote both the ancient values of the East combined with Western innovation. His vision found life as Sri Sri University (SSU), which came into operation in the year 2012.

SSU has set its own unique norms that challenges the conventional education system. The education imparted at the University is a perfect blend of academics and spirituality. The University aims to impart holistic education in order to develop visionary thinkers with social-consciousness who are willing to ‘Learn, Lead, and Serve’.

SSU has been lauded for its efforts in promoting value-based education and has been recognized in several prestigious forums. It has received the ‘Best University in Holistic Education Award’ 2015, ‘Prakruti Mitra Award’ 2016 from Ministry of Forest and Environment, ‘Best Innovative University Award’ 2017, ‘Best University-Trends Setting Synthesizer of Traditional and Global Outlook Award’, ‘Best Boot Camp Start-up award’ 2018 to name a few. The university is approved by the University Grants Commission,

The Association of Indian Universities, AICTE, Council of Architecture, National Academic Depository & All India Survey on Higher Education of MHRD for offering various courses in different fields. The University restructures and introduces new courses with focus on industry needs. The Bachelor in Travel and Tourism (B.T.T.M) program is one of the recent additions in its list of courses.

“A full-time 4-year course, B.T.T.M aims to train job-ready professionals who can contribute to the Travel, Tourism, Hospitality, and Airlines industry. The faculty is strategizing ways to make the B.T.T.M course more comprehensive and productive,” says Atish Kumar Verma, Sr. Admissions Executive – Operations, SSU.

"The B.T.T.M course curriculum is prepared following feedback from academia as well as Industry experts in a way that it covers eighty percent of Travel and Tourism papers together with other subjects"

The B.T.T.M department is making a strategic plan and will soon sign an MoU and obtain membership with travel bodies like Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), FIATA, and Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC).

The B.T.T.M course curriculum is prepared following feedback from academia as well as Industry experts in a way that it covers eighty percent of Travel and Tourism papers together with other subjects like Management, English, Foreign Language, Hospitality, Computer Applications, Geography, Personality Development, Accounting, and Field Trips.

“In the B.T.T.M course, there are two semesters which

are exclusively dedicated for training. Summer Internships and the On the Job Training (OJT) in the sixth and eight semesters are an integral part of the curriculum," Verma said. The faculty embraces innovative teaching methods so as to keep the students updated on the trends in the Travel and Tourism sectors.

"The department provides complete guidance for the successful placement of the graduates. Top brands from the Travel, Tourism & Hospitality industry are invited for campus recruitments,” Verma added. The placement cell of the University conducts soft skill training and mock interviews to prepare students for the placement process. The campus which is spread over 187.5 acres of lush green land and located on a hilltop beside the bank of the tributary of river Mahanadi at the outskirts of Cuttack is an added attraction for the students.

Encompassing state-of-the-art facilities, SSU is an alcohol-drugsmoke free and vegetarian campus. It is considered as one of the ‘Happiest Campuses in India’. The University together with academics ensures that students are involved in extracurricular activities like sports, martial arts, fests and the like. To inculcate life skills among students, Art of Living programs that focus on yoga, meditation and breathing techniques are conducted.

To ensure that a students’ stay at the campus is a blissful one, the University acknowledges a mentoring programme where a group of students have a mentor who they can reach to for guidance. The University is home to students from across the globe like South East Asia, Japan and Russia. “The expansion plan of the University includes a New Academic Block and an Ayurveda hospital,” concludes Verma.