Nalanda 20

Building a world-class multidisciplinary research university in India: With 1.4 billion people in India, which is close to 1/6th of world's population, Nalanda 2.0's current mission of making India's higher education system world class is a win-win for India and its people and the global humanity. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation are expected to disrupt industries, jobs, and labor market around the world. Thus, more than ever before, higher education is going to provide a critical foundation for fulfilling lives, careers, and lifelong learning. India is also facing several mega challenges such as food, water, health, poverty, energy, environment, and climate change, which need sustainable solutions now. Unfortunately, India's higher education is in crisis. In a post-COVID-19 world, Nalanda 2.0's mission is more important and urgent than ever before. In early 2018, Nalanda 2.0 assembled an exceptional group of over 20 leaders in academia, business, and start-ups to build a world-class multidisciplinary research university in India. The team now includes over 60 leaders and professionals, who are alumni of and affiliated with 11 of the top 25 research universities in the world and bring over 600 years of full-time experience in top higher education institutions from around the world. They are based in India, Australia, Singapore, UAE, and the US, and bring wisdom, experiences, and access to a vast network of additional experts to build the university. Initially code named the University of the Future (UFI), in 2020, we named it Ekagrid. After close to three years of dedicated efforts, planning, and engaging with stakeholders, we are now poised to launch Ekagrid in 2022-2023. We have: Built an exceptional founding team consisting of Board of Directors, Chancellor, COO and CDO, Global Advisory Board, Campaign Committee, and volunteers, Developed an actionable plan, Established a Section 8 company, Selected a legal counsel, external auditor, and accounting firm that are assisting with all legal and compliance related matters, Deeply engaged with several state governments in India for land and regulatory approvals, Established a growing network of professors and researchers who are ready to partner or join the university. From April 2021 to March 2022, made steady progress despite the headwinds caused by COVID-19 variants such as Delta, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and related economic turbulence and friction in travel. Signed two Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) with the Karnataka Government - one for acquiring 200 acres of land in Bengaluru, and second for passing the Ekagrid Private University Act. Also secured a MoU with a premier research unity for collaborating on research and education programs. Key discussions are underway for raising funds to launch Ekagrid. The expectation is that once one anchor donor makes a formal commitment, then additional donors will follow.

Advising Governments: Policy-level interventions can have a significant impact quickly and at a large scale. With this in mind, we have met and shared ideas for transforming India's higher education system with leaders, policy makers, and influencers. This includes the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), New Education Policy (NEP) Committee, and several state governments. In the NEP Draft report (published June 2019), Shail Kumar, Nalanda 2.0's President, was acknowledged in the "Eminent Persons" sub-section of this report (Page 461). Several of our recommendations are incorporated in the report. There is also a growing acknowledgment of our assessment of the challenges and opportunities facing the higher education system and proposed solutions. In 2019, in partnership with the Government of National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi we spearheaded an effort to transform its higher education system. This included assembling a High-Level Committee consisting of leaders from academia, industry, government, and civil society from India and the US, and developing a draft report. When implemented, the recommendations in the report have the potential of making NCT of Delhi the Knowledge and Innovation Capital in the nation. In 2020-21, as part of building Ekagrid, Nalanda 2.0 is advising governments about the value of world-class multidisciplinary research universities. Starting May 1, 2021, we are longer focused on this program.

Educating stakeholders: Before a problem can be solved it must be first acknowledged. Nalanda 2.0 is educating stakeholders on the importance and urgency of transforming India's higher education system by writing blogs and articles, giving talks and interviews, participating in panel discussions, and meeting decision makers and influencers. Shail Kumar, Founder and President, Nalanda 2.0, wrote a book on this subject titled: Building Golden India: How to unleash India's vast potential and transform its higher education system. Now. Many decision makers and influencers have read this book. In 2017, a Nobel Laureate presented this book to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We have made presentations and had interactive sessions at Amazon, Salesforce, Workday, UC Berkeley and Stanford University. Been interviewed by PanIIT USA, The INDUStry Show, and news media. Given talks at the IIT Leadership Conference in the Bay Area and participated in education panels at the Berkeley India Conference and Harvard India Conference. Over 1,500 students, faculty members, influencers, and IITians have attended these talks and panel discussions. We conducted a FB Live event that has so far reached over 6000 individuals and has been viewed by over 2000 unique viewers. In addition, we have written several articles and blogs, which had over 100,000 views and over 10,000 likes and shares. In 2020-21, as part of building Ekagrid, Nalanda 2.0 is educating philanthropists and political leaders about the value of world-class multidisciplinary research universities. Starting May 1, 2021, we are longer spending any more incremental effort on this program.