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the first in Gujarat to be awarded
NAAC’s ‘A’ accreditation.
Direct talk. “MU is a unique higher
education institution because our
360 degree education prepares stu-
dents for life, not just for workplaces.
Our specially designed 3M teaching-
learning structure to develop the
mind for markets and mindfulness,
empowers students to sharpen their
cognitive capabilities, become job-
ready and learn to live mindful and
joyous lives. We are a young private
university and our initial focus is
to create a conducive environment
for hands-on experiential learning
which will encourage our students
to develop creativity and innovation
Kosta: from Stanford to Rajkot via ISRO capabilities,” says Kosta, also author
of over 150 research papers and
High-flying vice chancellor books on engineering education, and
recipient of several awards including
the Bharat Gaurav, Jewel of India
minent educationist and engineering at the low-profile NRI- and Kohinoor of India.
former ISRO scientist DR. funded Charotar University of Sci- Future plans. With this four-year-
EYOGESHWAR KOSTA is the ence and Technology (CHARUSAT), old university now fully on stream,
Rajkot (Gujarat)-based vice chan- Changa village (Gujarat) of which he the management has drawn up a
cellor of Marwadi University (MU, was appointed dean in 2007. During three-year growth plan bearing in
estb.2016). Sprawled across a 52-acre his seven-year tenure in CHARUSAT, mind challenges of the digital ‘new
world-class campus, this greenfield Kosta addressed 250-plus career normal’. “We intend to invest Rs.30
soft-launched private university guidance seminars and delivered 75 crore over the next three years for
provides 22 undergrad, postgrad STEM lectures. developing IT infrastructure and for
and doctoral study programmes in However in 2011, at the insistence the construction of a modern floodlit
engineering, law, science, business of close friends in Rajkot, Kosta ac- sports stadium and cluster design
management, computer applications, cepted the position of director of the hostels. Currently, we have 3,000 in-
pharmacy and physiotherapy to Marwadi Education Foundation reg- residence students and over the next
9,000 — including 900 international istered in 2008 by Ketan Marwadi, three years, we intend to become
— students from 31 countries, men- chairman and CEO of the Rajkot- a 5,000-strong wholly residential
tored by 500 highly qualified faculty. based Marwadi Shares & Financing multi-disciplinary university which
Newspeg. In mid-March soon after Ltd and Jitubhai Chandarana, chair- will transform the higher education
the Covid-19 outbreak forced closure man of Chandarana Intermediaries landscape of Gujarat,” says Kosta.
of all education institutions country- Brokers Pvt. Ltd to design technical Wind beneath your wings!
wide, MU made a seamless transition curriculums, digital pedagogies, Paromita Sengupta (Bangalore)
to digital learning. rural technologies, leadership pro-
History. An engineering and project grammes and a School of Thought
management alum of Delhi and the (2014) among other programmes for Energetic
blue-chip Stanford (USA) universi- the foundation.
ties who pressed on to earn a Ph D In 2016 when Marwadi Univer- entrepreneur
from Jabalpur University, Kosta sity was established by a special
began his career in 1992 with the legislation of the Gujarat legislative
Bangalore-based Indian Space Re- assembly, Kosta was appointed vice RAVEEN TYAGI is the Mum-
search Organisation (ISRO) and later chancellor of this state-of-the-art bai-based managing direc-
served with Teledyne Wireless, Cali- university with a built-up area of 1.6 Ptor of PACE (estb.1999) and
fornia, USA. In 2003, he returned to million sq. ft. The following year, co-founder (with Jatin Solanki) and
India and signed up as a professor of MU’s technical campus became CEO of EduIsFun Technologies Pvt.

60 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2020