Former President Pranab Mukherjee Graces JK Lakshmipat University’s Laureate Award 2018

One of India’s most esteemed academic institutions, the JK Lakshmipat University,has honoured distinguished luminaries for their contributions to the nation and society since 2014. On the 3rd of October 2018, the university campus at Mahapura, Jaipur acknowledged individual excellence and also the former President of India and the face of a billion people, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, to bestow on him the Laureate Award 2018 by JK Lakshmipat University, for his exemplary contribution in public service, governance and nation building.

Shri Mukherjee delivered his insightful opinion on “Youth and Nation Building” during the 5th Shri Hari Shankar Singhania Memorial Oration, a unique segment constituted to commemorate JKLU’S first Chancellor Shri Hari Shankar Singhania.

The former President of India expressed great appreciation for the JKLU Laureate Awards in promoting the cause of youth and education. “India is one of the youngest nations in the world with 65% of the population under 35 years of age. To reap this demographic dividend, so that does not become a demographic disaster, it is very important that youngsters are trained and educated properly” observed Shri Pranab Mukherjee. He stressed on relevant education and “vocationalizing their skills”. Quoting from such authorities as Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Rabindranath Tagore, Shri Mukherjee explained how he viewed India as a conglomeration of people with 120 different languages and 1600 different dialects, 7 major religions and originating and assimilating each other from various places throughout history. This definition of a nation for a country like India cannot be narrow. It could not be located in a European classification of the nation-state that emerged from the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. 

The Chancellor of JKLU, Shri Bharat Hari Singhania took this opportunity to express his views and said, “Youth in India are contributing to Indian economy significantly by adopting innovations and choosing Entrepreneurship as their career.JK Lakshmipat University was established in2011 with a vision to provide value-based quality higher education. With a view to making it one of the most innovative institutions of higher learning and research, in its chosen fields, the University is engaging itself with leading institutions in the world to further its academic and research agenda. Besides grooming good quality employable youth for nation-building, the University is focused on orienting the young minds towards Community Service through various missions launched by the government of national importance while pursuing excellence in whatever they do.”

“To further our agenda on academic and industry collaboration, an MOU with the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands and six other academic and corporate bodies were signed during the year. Five papers received ‘Best Paper Awards’.In recognition of their academic contributions, ten faculty members were nominated to various national and state level government/governing bodies and professional societies. The University regularly organized and participated in in115 academic and professional events during the year. This included 9 sessions with seasoned academic and industry professionals under a Distinguished Lecture Series. Major events like the6th International 5G Conference and an Industry-Academia Conclave were organized over the year”, informed Dr. R L Raina, Vice Chancellor, JKLU.

JKLU is known for bringing innovative distinction to management and engineering education through its pivotal concept of experiential learning, inter-disciplinary approach, learning by live application and building professional competencies in its students via collaboration with pioneering institutions abroad such as Olin College of Engineering, Boston, USA. Additionally, with the Pinnacle MBA Program, learners are provided with hands-on training through live demonstrations, critical interaction with simulated problems, projects, and business cases. These innovative teaching and learning approaches help JKLU students experiment with real-life job roles, access entrepreneurial acumen through engagement with industry leaders, and compete for investment ideas via seeding through the JKLU business incubator. As a part of the prestigious Atal Innovation Mission, the JKLU incubator provides educational institutions with seed funding for new and unique ideas. In this respect, it joins the elite company of several IITs and IIMs, the topmost institutes of excellence in India and renowned across the globe.