Chief Industry executives and 40 entrepreneurs came together and joined hands to raise Rs 2000 crore for establishing a STEM University (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) University, “Plaska” (which connotes tree of knowledge) with an idea to promote entrepreneurship, innovation, and high quality research. The Proposed amount of Rs 2000 crore is a four-folds higher than the government’s expenditure on any IIT (Indian Institute of Technology).
Vineet Gupta, education entrepreneur said “The project will address India’s largest challenge through applied research and foster an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship.”
He further added “The university will catalyse 1,000 startups over a period of time.”
The University will be built in Mohali, Punjab within campus spanning over 50 acres with emphasizing on core engineering, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and Mathematics. The University also aims at promoting interdisciplinary learning by combining liberal arts with science.
The Group constituted of various members including Info Edge Ltd, Naukri.com director Hitesh Oberoi, Tech Mahindra’s C.P. Gurnani, Hellion Ventures’ cofounder Ashish Gupta, Genpact’s chairman and Clix capital, Pramod Bhasin, Dilip Pathak, Warburg Pincus UK partner, Vineet Gupta and D’Décor’s managing director Ajay Arora. Rs 400 crore has already been alloted for the planned project.
Many famous foreign universities have joined Plaska’s advisory board which included prestigious universities such as Stanford, Research Institutes and Purdue University.
According to the contributors, Plaska will focus on educational approach and will encourage students for entrepreneurship and leadership in technology companies. The University has a aim of putting science and technology at its core and with a vision to support future leaders who can contribute to entrepreneurship ecosystem.