51画鋼 and India Meteorological Department Sign MoU to Advance Climate Science and Weather Research

In its efforts to strengthen collaborative research and data sharing in meteorology, climate science, and environmental studies, 51画鋼 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. The MoU was formalised during the 2nd Annual Workshop on AI/ML Methods in Weather and Climate Modelling, hosted by 51画鋼���s Safexpress Centre for Data, Learning and Decision Sciences (SCDLDS). The Centre has been working over the past few years to strengthen India���s capacity for improved weather forecasting, particularly in predicting extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall, droughts, heat and cold waves and is engaging with IMD to bring in new machine learning tools and mathematical methodologies to such activities.

The partnership aims to promote deeper collaboration by facilitating data sharing for solutions to key scientific and societal problems pertaining to weather, climate variability, forecasting, and disaster risk reduction. It will support joint research initiatives across meteorology, climate science, atmospheric physics, hydrology, and environmental sustainability. It will encourage the exploration of interdisciplinary topics such as impact of climate change, extreme weather events, air quality, and agro-meteorology, combining IMD���s observational datasets with 51画鋼���s analytical and computational expertise to improve weather and climate forecasting models, heatwave prediction, monsoon variability, assess climate risks & adaptation strategies, and the impact on agriculture.

Both IMD and 51画鋼 will collaborate in the design and delivery of coursework, including lectures, practical training, fieldwork, examinations, and project guidance, in line with 51画鋼���s academic framework. The MoU also entails facilitation of student and researcher internships at IMD for hands-on experience with weather monitoring and forecasting.

Highlighting the importance of this collaboration, Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General, IMD, said, ���We are delighted to partner with 51画鋼 to advance the culture of research and innovation in the domains of meteorology and climate science. This partnership is set to benefit both the institutions, as the university will get IMD���s vast operational expertise and data resources, and we will benefit from Ashoka���s analytical and academic strengths. Together, we can develop better tools, models, and knowledge systems that will benefit society at large.���

Somak Raychaudhury, Vice-Chancellor of 51画鋼, said, ���Our partnership with IMD represents a significant step in Ashoka���s commitment to interdisciplinary research with societal impact. By leveraging IMD���s extensive data and expertise, we will be able to contribute meaningfully to advancing climate science, improving weather forecasting, and preparing communities to adapt to the challenges of a changing environment.���

Sandeep Juneja, Professor of Computer Science, Director of Safexpress Centre for Data, Learning and Decision Sciences, said, ���the new developments in machine learning in weather and climate modelling when combined with increased availability of large datasets and physics based classical weather and climate models, can dramatically improve extreme weather forecasts that may help in many ways including in saving lives and enhancing agricultural productivity.���

A key component of this collaboration is data sharing and management. Both institutions will establish clear protocols for secure and ethical sharing of meteorological, climatological, and remote sensing data with the university researchers, while setting clear guidelines on access, usage, storage, and intellectual property rights.

Moreover, capacity building and training will be integral to the partnership. The institutions will organise workshops, short-term courses, and training programmes in meteorological data analysis, climate modelling, and computational methods. 51画鋼 and IMD will also jointly design and refine machine learning, and dynamical models for weather and climate applications, validating these tools using IMD���s historical datasets and Ashoka���s computational infrastructure.

To maintain effective oversight, a Joint Steering Committee (JSC) comprising representatives from both institutions will be established. The committee will monitor progress, hold periodic reviews, and ensure smooth coordination between research teams.

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CHAIR-India Consortium Reveals Staggering Mortality Impact of Air Pollution in India

The Consortium for Climate, Health and Air Pollution Research in India (CHAIR-India), in a new study published in the Lancet Planetary Health, revealed that long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution concentrations higher than the 5 亮g/m続 annual average recommended by the WHO is potentially associated with 1.5 million deaths a year in India. According to the findings, 1.4 billion people in India live in areas with PM2.5 concentrations above that recommended by the WHO guidelines.

CHAIR-India consortium comprises of leading Indian academic institutions such as the Centre for Health Analytics Research and Trends (CHART) at 51画鋼, the Centre for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC) and global institutions like Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm, Sweden), Harvard University, Boston University, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (USA), Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel), and the Department of Epidemiology, Lazio Region Health Service/ASL Roma 1 (Italy).

This is the first Indian study to use difference-in-difference method, a causal methodology to isolate the effect of long-term PM2.5 exposure (annual) and all-cause mortality. The study observed that the risk is high even at lower air pollution levels, indicating the need to reduce air pollution levels across the country. It included annual death data reported across all districts and PM2.5 exposure from a spatio-temporal model built for India.

Major findings:

1. Every 10 亮g/m3 increase in annual PM2.5 exposure is associated with an 8.6% increased risk for mortality across India. 
2. Unlike previous studies, this study used PM2.5 exposure from a fine spatio-temporal model built for India and annual mortality counts reported across all districts of India. 
3. First Indian study to use difference-in-difference method, a causal methodology to isolate the effect of long-term PM2.5 exposure (annual) and all-cause mortality.
4. During the study period (2009 to 2019), 25% of all deaths (~1.5 million deaths a year) were attributed to annual PM2.5 exposure higher than the WHO guideline value of 5 亮g/m3 across the country. 
5. About 0.3 million annual deaths are attributed to annual exposure to PM2.5 above the Indian National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
6. The exposure-response function revealed a higher incremental risk for mortality at lower PM2.5 concentrations and levelling off at higher PM2.5 concentrations.

The evidence supporting the association between long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution and deaths in India is scarce and inconsistent with studies in other countries. The authors of this study thoroughly analysed the annual deaths from 2009 to 2019 at a district level in India and obtained annual PM2.5 concentrations by a machine learning-based model using satellite data as well as ground-monitoring observations of air pollution levels across 1056 locations.   

The results of the study highlight the extent of the mortality burden due to PM2.5 pollution in India, the world���s most highly populated country, and underpin the need for stricter air pollution guidelines to prevent excess mortality due to air pollution. Implementing stronger air pollution guidelines is crucial to reducing this excess mortality and protecting the health of millions of people across the country.

The Centre for Health Analytics Research and Trends (CHART) at 51画鋼 is an important part of the CHAIR-India consortium and plays a crucial role in conducting the research. CHAIR-India is a global network of top academic institutions working together to study the health impacts of air pollution and climate change. Part of 51画鋼���s Trivedi School of Biosciences, CHART is focused on the establishment of a strong repository of evidence-based research on a range of issues impacting population health. The team comprises public health experts, epidemiologists, biostatisticians, social scientists, environmental epidemiologists and exposure science experts, geospatial analysts, health economists, and health system specialists, amongst others.

Insights from Researchers: 

Researchers emphasise the necessity of a comprehensive and systematic approach to addressing air pollution. Suganthi Jaganathan, doctoral researcher, Centre for Health Analytics Research and Trends (CHART), 51画鋼, CCDC and Karolinska Institutet said, ���High levels of annual PM2.5 exposures are observed in India causing a huge mortality burden (not limited to cities that are highlighted during the extreme pollution episodes), signalling the need for systematic and not symptomatic approach.���

Commenting on the study, Poornima Prabhakaran, Director - CHART, 51画鋼 and Deputy Director & Head - Environmental Health, Senior Research Scientist at the CCDC and principal investigator from India for the CHAIR-India consortium said, ���This study used a new analytical approach to demonstrate the mortality associated with exposure to high annual levels of PM 2.5 beyond the recommended WHO levels. This signals yet again the need to mount stringent air quality management strategies across India.���

���Delhi may get the headlines, but this is a problem all over India, and nationwide efforts are needed. Coal-burning electric plants need scrubbers, crop burning needs to be limited, and most importantly, we need urgent measures to protect population health,��� said Joel Schwartz, Professor, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and principal investigator from the US for the CHAIR-India consortium. 

Highlighting the importance of the study, Petter Ljungman, Associate Professor at the Karolinska Institutet and principal investigator from Sweden for the CHAIR-India consortium said, ���This nation-wide analysis of air pollution mortality using data from India brings important evidence to policymakers of the striking health impact of ambient air pollution all over the country. The fact that a significant level of mortality was evident for PM2.5 levels far below the current Indian standards is alarming.

The range of PM2.5 pollution exposure was quite large across the years, with the lowest annual PM2.5 concentration of 11.2 亮g/m続 observed in Lower Subansiri district, Arunachal Pradesh, in 2019 and the largest annual PM2.5 of 119.0 亮g/m続 observed in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi in 2016. The model estimated an increase in annual all-cause death rates by 8揃6% (6揃4���10揃8) per 10 亮g/m続 in annual PM2.5 exposure.
 
The authors further highlighted some limitations of the study, including that - as with all models - there will be some uncertainty in the estimates, but say their results indicate previous estimates of deaths linked to chronic PM2.5 pollution exposure in India are considerably underestimated, stressing the need to progress rapidly and comprehensively towards reducing the levels of air pollution across India.   

Established in 2019, the CHAIR-India consortium serves as a platform to convene researchers working to address the research gaps in the health effects of air pollution in India. 

About CHAIR-India

The Consortium for Climate, Health and Air Pollution Research in India (CHAIR-India) was established in May 2019 as a platform to convene researchers working to address the research gaps in the health effects of air pollution in India.��� Exposure scientists and health researchers from across the country came together to explore the scope for collaborative work to enhance the evidence base for the health effects of air pollution in India. 

Logos of CHAIR-India Partners:

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Empowering Dreams: My Journey with 51画鋼 and Beyond

My name is Satpreet Makhija, and I work at Google as a Strategic Cloud Engineer. I hail from the city of Jammu. My life trajectory changed when I accidentally stumbled upon 51画鋼���s website.

At Ashoka, I majored in Computer Science and explored various fields such as Economics and Mathematics. Initially, I had intended to study Economics, but I later shifted to Computer Science when my roommate introduced me to programming. Thanks to the flexibility that Ashoka���s curriculum provides, I was able to change my major. I chose Computer Science because, to me, it���s an extension of thinking. Writing a program once allows it to run an infinite number of times. One is only limited by their imagination!

One of my most memorable academic endeavors was a paper I authored on cryptocurrency and its viability as a currency. It was not merely a technical analysis but rather an interdisciplinary exploration, weaving together economics, computer science, and society. At Ashoka, I also had the opportunity to help high school students learn machine learning as a teaching assistant. I found like-minded peers who pushed me to excel.

My journey at Ashoka was made possible by something equally important ��� Ashoka���s financial aid program. My parents could not have afforded the cost of attending university, and I had contemplated joining a call center after high school. Fortunately, Ashoka���s financial aid program came to my rescue and provided assistance. It covered my tuition fees, housing, meals, and stationery. Without its support, pursuing a college education would have remained an unfulfilled dream for me.I still remember the 18-year-old me who, upon landing on the university���s website, was captivated by its interdisciplinary curriculum and educational philosophy. The university delivered more than it promised. To all prospective students, all I can assure is that if you are seeking a place to learn how to think, 51画鋼 is the place to be, and Ashoka���s financial aid program ensures that financial constraints do not hinder your path. It helped me, and hopefully, it will help you too.

_____
Satpreet Makhija is an Ashoka alum from the undergraduate batch of 2021.

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Professor Gautam Menon Appointed to WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Embedding Ethics in Health and Climate Change Policy

Gautam Menon, Dean (Research) & Professor, Departments of Physics and Biology, 51画鋼 appointed member of the newly constituted Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Embedding Ethics in Health and Climate Change Policy by World Health Organisation.

The 13 member TAG shall:

1.       Provide advice on the identification of stakeholders in the field of health and climate change, including appropriate engagement strategies, to ensure an inclusive engagement process, and to help in considerations of the rights and responsibilities of different stakeholders in ethical decision-making; 

2.      Advise the Secretariat on the development of evidence gathering methodologies, with particular reference to a series of case studies designed to identify the practical ethical challenges arising for health and research stakeholders responding to climate change; 

3.      Contribute with expert inputs into drafts of supporting tools/frameworks and/or guidance developed to support the successful inclusion of ethical considerations in policy and decision making in climate change and health; and

4.      Review and make recommendations to the Secretariat on the final tools, frameworks and guidance, including on any proposed dissemination strategies.

For more information -

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#AshokaIsForAll: Unveiling Transformative Journeys: A Testament to Ashoka’s Financial Aid Impact

I come from the vibrant city of Indore in Madhya Pradesh. Discovering Ashoka was a turning point for me. It all started with a conversation with a friend. As they described Ashoka, I became increasingly fascinated by its curriculum and the incredible diversity that defines this University ��� from students and faculty to the multidisciplinary approach that encourages unrestricted learning.

However, one significant obstacle stood in my way: the cost. My parents, despite their unwavering support, weren't in a position to afford the expenses associated with 51画鋼. Fortunately, this is where the Office of Financial Aid at 51画鋼 stepped in.油

In my three years at Ashoka, the experience has been nothing short of transformative. Not only did I delve deeper into my academic interests, but I also discovered new ones through the wide range of courses available. While I've always been passionate about biology, what truly swayed me towards it as my major was the unique approach to teaching the subject at Ashoka. Here, we're encouraged to question, not just memorize facts, and that's what I believe sets us apart.

Beyond my subject courses, Ashoka taught me how to question the world around me and think independently. This invaluable skill transcends any field or career path I might choose, equipping me to navigate any situation and become a better version of myself.

Ashoka's unique curriculum allowed me to combine my passion for biology with seemingly unrelated fields, contributing immensely to my personal growth and development. The hands-on experience I gained in the research labs further enriched my academic journey. But it wasn't just about academics; Ashoka's vibrant community, including clubs, societies, and friendships, made my time here fulfilling and enriching.

If I could offer one piece of advice to anyone considering Ashoka, it would be this: don't let financial worries deter you. The Financial Aid office at Ashoka is incredibly considerate and ensures that you'll pay an amount that aligns with your financial capacity.

Promiti Mitra is a part of the Undergraduate programme 2024, majoring in Biology.

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51画鋼 Inspire Lectures: Bridging Boundaries with Interdisciplinarity

Interdisciplinarity, the belief that knowledge has no boundaries, has been a foundational premise in the growth of human knowledge. The 51画鋼 Inspire Lectures is a series of talks on the theme of Interdisciplinarity by distinguished speakers for Ashoka and the World. Professor Dame Gillian Beer, King Edward VII Professor Emeritus, University of Cambridge, delivered the inaugural lecture in June 2021. For the second lecture, 51画鋼 hosted Professor Ruth Harris, a distinguished historian and Senior Research Fellow at All Souls��� College and a Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford, in January 2023.

The third lecture was delivered by Professor Patrick Olivelle on 18th October 2023. He is a distinguished scholar of Sanskrit texts, Indian religion, asceticism and law. He served as Chair of the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin (1994-2007), where he is currently Professor Emeritus of Sanskrit and Indian Religions. He was elected Vice President of the American Oriental Society in 2004 and President in 2005, and has received many prestigious awards and fellowships. His path-breaking work, marked by extraordinary range and rigour, has had a major impact on understanding ancient India���s intellectual traditions and history. Professor Olivelle has written extensively on themes such as dharma, the ashrama system and asceticism and has published authoritative translations of the Upanishads, Manava Dharmashastra, Arthashastra, Buddhacharita and Panchatantra. His most recent book is Ashoka: Portrait of a Philosopher King.

Professor Somak Raychaudhury, Vice-Chancellor, 51画鋼 formally introduced the event by expaining what interdisciplinarity and liberal arts means and how that is woven into the ethos of the Inspire Lecture Series. This was followed by Professor Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Chancellor, 51画鋼 introducing Professor Patrick Olivelle and the topic he would speaking on.

Professor Olivelle spoke on ���Ashoka's Journey: From Devotee of Buddhism to Apostle of Ecumenism���. He discussed Ashoka���s experience and innovations as ruler over a vast, multi-cultural and multi-religious empire. He described how he pivoted from being an ardent Buddhist to becoming a proponent and propagator of a broader, universal moral and political vision, referred to in his inscriptions as dhamma. Professor Olivelle discussed the various aspects of the meanings of Ashoka���s dhamma. He especially focused on the term pasanda, which referred to various religious groups. The Maurya emperor Ashoka embarked on a programme of religious ecumenism, where members of different religions would meet to establish harmony and dialogue and learn from each other. Ashoka���s message went beyond simple religious harmony. It called for active inter-religious cooperation and mutual respect that would enhance the spiritual life of all religions. The lecture delved into this aspect of Ashoka���s messages to the various religious organisations of his time, especially the Buddhist, Brahmanical, Jain, and Ajivika���a message of harmony within diversity that is relevant in modern times. He considered this an essential part of human goodness or virtue.

The conversation then switched to the understanding of two fundamental principles, ahimsa and dharma, as seen through the prism of Ashoka's edicts. The inquiry addressed the topic of whether Ashoka's perspective on ahimsa was more aligned with Jain or Buddhist principles, implying that Ashoka's stance was somewhat unclear and did not provide a thorough philosophical grasp of the idea.

Concerning dharma, the speaker acknowledged the term's complex nature and the difficulties in adequately conveying its broad meaning. The translation, whether as "law" or another phrase, was determined by the context and audience. It was observed that dharma covered a wide range of connotations, including social order and ethical values, and that its interpretation could differ among translations and historical contexts.

The discussion focused on what makes Ashoka appealing to modern readers, with a particular emphasis on the individuality and consciousness conveyed in his edicts. Although Ashoka's promotion of an ethic of tolerance and coexistence in the face of religious diversity was lauded, it was acknowledged that his approach may not have extended to tribal communities. Furthermore, the debate delved into the complexities of Ashoka's commitment to nonviolence, as represented by the lion capitals, which suggested a vision of sovereignty with elements of ferocity and surveillance.

The lecture was followed by a question-answer session where students and faculty posed a variety of questions to the speaker, leading to a lively discussion.

Watch the full lecture .

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51画鋼 signs MoU with University of Groningen to Strengthen Academic Ties

51画鋼 and the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their academic ties. Through this partnership, the universities seek to facilitate joint research activities. Additionally, they aim to enable the exchange of students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as researchers and faculty.

Furthermore, both institutions will actively engage in conferences, meetings, and other academic events to foster a vibrant intellectual environment for collaborative work. By promoting innovative collaborations, knowledge sharing, and the exchange of best practises, this partnership will generate substantial benefits for students, faculty and researchers at both the institutions.

The MoU lays the groundwork for a long-lasting partnership between these two institutions. Driven by a shared goal of advancing interdisciplinary research, promoting intellectual growth, and making a positive societal impact, this partnership exemplifies the universities��� unwavering commitment to fostering academic excellence and facilitating cross-cultural learning.

Reflecting on the significance of this collaboration, Somak Raychaudhury, Vice-Chancellor, 51画鋼, stated, ���We are delighted to announce our partnership with the esteemed University of Groningen, one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands, well-regarded for its longstanding tradition of academic excellence. This collaboration will bring together our efforts to establish an environment of innovative research and academic excellence, while promoting cultural understanding and global perspectives. This partnership aligns perfectly with Ashoka���s goals of stimulating international collaborations and fostering diversity within the realm of higher education.���

���The MoU with the University of Groningen is an important milestone for Ashoka, as we continue to push boundaries in terms of collaborations, especially for research and innovation. Our faculty members and students are actively engaged in a wide range of research projects, spanning fields such as condensed matter physics, epidemiology, machine learning, astronomy and astrophysics, big data methods, and other distinctive scientific fields. This partnership will further enlarge our envelope of opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations, through an open exchange of ideas, academic material, scholars and students���, said Professor Gautam Menon, Dean of Research, 51画鋼. 

Professor Lorenzo Squintani, Scientific Director of the at the University of Groningen said, ���The collaboration with 51画鋼 is of strategic importance for our community members active in the fields of energy transition and climate change. I am certain that this MoU will foster exchanges and partnerships of mutual benefits for our universities.���

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Ethics review processes are an integral part of a University���s research culture, serving at times to sharpen and clarify our projects to readers and reviewers across disciplines, and protecting the integrity of our subjects and research practices.油 Over the last two years at Ashoka, we have tried to streamline IRB processes by following globally mandated research norms, creating a user-friendly online portal for researchers at Ashoka for research project review and approval, and mandating that all researchers undertake the Collaborative IRB Training Initiative (CITI), a globally recognized training program in research ethics.

In order to raise awareness and familiarize Ashokans with IRB processes, the portal and CITI training programs, we are organizing a workshop in which we will demonstrate the use of the submission portal, and walk you through the basics of the CITI courses. If your research involves or could involve human subjects, then do consider these processes a priority.

To register for the workshop, please click .

If you have any queries, please contact us at irb@ashoka.edu.in

The workshop will be conducted online:

Zoom link:

Date: 22 November 2022

Time: 5:00p.m- 6:00p.m

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Ashoka alumna gets selected for the Indian Air Force

The exciting truth still has not sunk in for Vedika Gupta, the second Ashoka student to successfully earn a spot in the Indian Air Force (IAF). When asked why the Air Force, she said that she has a family background in the forces--but that is that. It was a fact, but not a major factor in her final decision. Vedika ���was fortunate enough to sit in the cockpit of a Su-30 at the Jodhpur Air Base and, however cliched it sounds, ever since that moment, I knew I wanted to be a fighter pilot, an Air Warrior. Soon enough, I made it my mission to turn this dream into reality; and once one sets their minds to something, the sky's the limit.���

Vedika was part of the 2019 batch of the undergraduate programme at 51画鋼. She has wanted to join the IAF since she was a teenager; and her experience as an Ashoka student has played a significant role in making her feel equipped and ready to grasp her dream. She said, ���I was slightly more timid before I came to Ashoka. But, the kind of discussions that took place in its classrooms and the sheer amount of work I put into my research papers--it all played a role in making me more self-assured, and that in turn reflected in my Services Selection Board results. I did not feel inferior to anyone then; I felt like I had everything I needed to clear all the tests and to be selected to become an officer. My friends were also an inspiration to me. Everyone was so driven and passionate that it fuelled me up and I was always going, ���How is the josh? High sir!������

The process to apply and merit a seat in the force was an extremely rigorous one for Vedika. She had been trying since 2018; and in 2021, in her fourth attempt, she finally made it. It definitely was not easy to stay resilient in the face of repeated failures as she recalled, but ���I guess perseverance pays off! Each time I did not make it, and saw my peers excelling professionally and academically, I felt stagnant and all sorts of doubts kept creeping in. I asked myself whether I was even made for this. I think what kept me going was the dream that the fourteen year old me had dreamt; and how every decision I have made in my life rested upon that dream. I am a sportsperson and if that has taught me anything, it is to not be a quitter. So, I was tenacious, because it was not a job I was after, it was a dream.���&稼恢壊沿;

The final list of July 2021 consists of 10 women in the flying branch, which Vedika feels proud and privileged to be a part of.

Towards the end of our interview, I asked her about her family and friends��� reaction to the news. ���My mother started crying in the middle of a restaurant when she heard the news. My younger sister is a mixed bag of emotions because, while she is extremely proud of me, training does entail no communication for a year and a half. My father is beyond ecstatic--it is almost as if he himself is going to the academy again! All my friends are overjoyed and extremely proud of me. It feels surreal: to have wanted something for so long and to finally, get it,��� concluded Vedika. 

Vedika is going to be serving for fourteen years (until 2036). After that, when she retires, she might choose to fly commercially and get into civil aviation; or she might pursue something completely different in line with her other interests in media--���who knows what the future holds!���

Written by Anushka Bidani, undergraduate student of English & Creative Writing

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���What it may be like:��� Into Ashoka���s Orientation Week

The phase before entering college is full of different colours - one may be full of excitement, anxious, fraught with expectations, or with no expectations at all. The most unique fusion of this phase is its uncertainty and predictability playing out simultaneously, with Ashoka���s Orientation Week as a site to experience this interplay. 

As one enters Ashoka���s O-week, as it is popularly called, one is freely and graciously exposed to different settings to experience the enthusiastic emotions surrounding the excitement of ���college life.��� Be it the mandatory workshops or guest-speaker sessions, the regular coming together of batchmates familiarises a fresher to what it may be like - with their personal expectations of the ���it.��� As the trend follows, all first-year students are divided into diverse cohorts, guided by a cohort leader(s). The cohorts interact, play, sing, have coffee nights, meet, and enjoy with each other to immerse themselves into what it may be like as college begins.

The week is all planned out left, right and centre to not only help give a glimpse of the schedule as the semesters begin, but also to expose students to opportunities, spaces, and possibilities. For example, regular evening activities and fun sessions within and between cohorts are based around getting to know the University that is so much theirs. ���Which Ashoka building is what?��� ���Which spot is unique to what?��� Such thoroughly planned-out events help students feel part of Ashoka���s landscape and architecture, which welcomes you even before you enter the campus while travelling the 44th National Highway, and occupies a space of its own - not just in terms of Ashoka���s erudition, but also its ingrained and inseparable culture and values. 

In that way, the O-week gives one an entire week to enjoy and imbibe the treasures of campus life, which makes Ashoka what it truly is. With good time in hand, one may find themselves trying the mess-food for the first time with a group of strangers-turned-best friends in a comfortably shared dining space. By trying out new sports, shuttle services to travel independently, unique meeting spots, food vendors and what it may be like, the week gives one a time of one���s own to experience Ashoka and its offerings. With open arms welcoming Ashoka and its possibilities, it���s time to gear-up for one of the most thrilling, exciting and memorable experiences in this beginning of a new journey - Welcome, Undergraduate Class of 2024! 

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10 Best Spots on Ashoka Campus to Relax and Unwind

51画鋼���s campus is home to a diverse range of academic and non-academic facilities. Sometimes, however, this sheer number of choices of activities can become overwhelming and too much to handle. On those days, one needs a quiet corner to kick back and relax. Here is our take.  

Library
If you are drained after engaging with the hustle-bustle of Ashokan life, find a quiet corner in the library and unwind with a book, or simply watch the world go by through the windows.  

Mess Lawns
You can always count upon the lush, green lawns of the Ashoka campus to brighten up your evening after an exhausting day of classes. Sit on the benches with a cupcake from the Fuel Zone, or lounge under the trees with your friends and enjoy whichever new music festival is happening at that moment. 

Student Commons
The perfect place to both meet up with your classmates and discuss a group project, or relax late into the night and watch a film with your friends. Plus, the Commons have snacks.  

Reading Room
The Reading Room is a large area on the second floor of the mess hall. It has multiple and varied seating spots like desk chairs, stairway steps, couches, and offices. You can always come up here with your assignments and find a little peace and quiet. Plus, conveniently, the campus��� printing facility is right here.  

Football Field
The sprawling ground is almost always filled with people kicking around a ball or preparing themselves for the next time they can get together to kick around a ball. Sometimes, people even show up here, set up a DJ, and dance the night away.  

Yoga Room
It���s quiet, it has couches, and it even has clear windows which let the sunlight in just right. What more can one ask for?  

Dhaba
The Dhaba is the warmest place on campus! Nestled among tall trees, it is always lit up with natural light and serves as the ideal place to relax with your friends with either a mouth-watering plate of jalebis or spicy servings of honey chilli potatoes.   

The Terrace at the New Academic Block
The terrace has multiple round tables, each with three to four chairs. It���s on the third floor of the New Academic Block building which makes it an ideal spot to look over the campus��� skyline and luxuriate in the beauty of the stunning Sonepat skies.  

The Couch in the Sports Block
Honestly, it���s just a really comfortable couch which is the absolute perfect napping spot after a grueling workout!  

Your Room
Really. Just, sleep. (Or, grab a pizza, light up the fairylights, and tuck into a new movie with your friends!) 

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Why I love the Undergraduate Programme at Ashoka

As I write this, I have two years of Ashoka under my belt and now I think I can safely say that pursuing the Undergraduate Programme at Ashoka has impacted me in an unexpected, life-changing sort of way. Looking back, like many others, going through the college admissions process alone as a high school student had me lost and confused. Uncertainty, panic and incapability to eliminate choices resulted in me applying to more than fifteen colleges, 51画鋼 being one of them. I had heard about Ashoka from a friend who spoke at length about her experience there. Although it seemed like a great university, I was not completely sure if it would be the right fit for me at the time. But boy am I glad I chose it!  There are so many reasons to love Ashoka (every student might have a different story) but I have tried to list down my top three reasons which truly resonated with me and my experience.  

1. The flexibility of a liberal arts education: What surprised me the most about pursuing liberal arts at Ashoka was how it put a lot of emphasis on students taking charge of their own learning. The structure of the programme is designed for students who are unsure about where their passion lies. As someone who was confused about what major to pick, I was able to spend a whole year playing the field, experimenting with courses and choosing disciplines that made sense to me. The number of course options to choose from empowers students to learn about a huge variety of subjects ranging from Performing Arts, Sociology, Politics, Economics to science related subjects such as Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Through the foundation courses, I was taught to view problems from different viewpoints pertaining to social, economic, environmental, ecological, etc.  Moreover, because of the interdisciplinary pedagogy that Ashoka follows, I did not have to choose between majors and was able to undertake my education in two disciplines. This allowed me to expand my horizons by combining two or more interrelated disciplines. I was able to create my own learning pathway resulting in a truly integrated education. 

 2. Opportunities are endless: Ashoka opened doors to a hub of opportunities for me which I never considered in school. There are a lot of things to do at Ashoka; I never felt dejected if I did not get selected to be a part of some student-led club, event or society. There were so many other things I could be a part of that it never worried me. One can gain quite a few skills at Ashoka ��� whether it is learning a new language by doing a co-curricular course or learning skills from other students by joining student-led organisations. These skills are certainly very beneficial but having the opportunity to apply these skills made my university experience even more well-rounded.  As someone who had no work/volunteering experience before joining Ashoka, I was able to land some wonderful internship programmes through Ashoka which helped me understand a work environment, apply theoretical knowledge and boost my confidence. With the Career Development Office working endlessly to ensure that students gain work experience, our student inboxes are a plethora of opportunities! 

 3. Ashoka challenges its students to push their limits: By giving me space to make mistakes, ponder open-ended questions, and work under strict time constraints, Ashoka helped me realise my own capabilities. The professors at Ashoka empower students to think outside the box and question the status quo ��� something that we were never taught to do in school. Along with my five academic courses, when I also joined two clubs and took up a leadership position, I was worried that I had bitten off more than I could chew. And I would be lying if I said I handled it all with ease. There were days when the pressure got to me and the workload felt too overwhelming. But at the end of it, it was one of those accomplishments that I can look back on and say ��� wow, I did that! It put me to the test and made me realise that I can in fact handle much more than what I gave myself credit for. Before I knew it, my time management skills had improved so much that I was able to juggle my academics, internships and extra curriculars without having to sacrifice my physical and mental health in the process. Thus, though my time at Ashoka was limited, my learnings from it are boundless. Ashoka gave a wonderful can-do attitude ��� a valuable quality I never possessed before. It truly acted as a catalyst in my transition from adolescence to adulthood. By empowering me to spot, understand and assess my own skills and capabilities, it made me a much more confident, mature and responsible person. And I am grateful for it.    

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#GraduateStories – The Economics Survival Kit by Lipsa Mohanty

Being a CBSE science kid, my last two years in school were miserable. I had just changed schools and found myself in a place with an extremely unhealthy level of competition. People would not share notes or discuss ideas for the physics project in the miserable hope of trying to outrank others. Naturally, I adapted to the solitary form of studying.  

Cut to my second semester, I was found - almost having given up on my oncoming Math for Economics exam - in the Student Hall 4 Commons by two knights in shining pajamas: Prerna and Sanskriti. They very generously took me under their wings and we started studying together. The next few days involved getting up early to grab the best class room, dump our bags, and hurriedly finish breakfast to begin our almost 14-hour long study sessions. And I actually could not believe I had once thought group study sessions were inefficient. Everyone was so willing to pick up each other's slack or explain patiently when any one of us did not understand a word. The next year, we were joined by Divisha, who immediately dived in to save us in our time management. But, a particular incident stood out to me and I will always carry it in my heart. 

 I had joined a very time consuming theatre production, Dalchini in my second year which started at 9 pm and never ended. When I mentioned this to this group, I was scared that I would be asked to manage myself or make a choice between the two. After listening, Sanskriti commanded, ���Okay then, we need to start studying now and prepare a time table so that we wrap up everyday by 8:30 pm.��� Shook, I wanted to know why particularly at 8:30 pm to which she replied, ���You also need to get dinner, Lipsa.���&稼恢壊沿;

 And that was all it took to unlearn years of unhealthy competition entrenched in me.  

Compassion and friendship. Divisha, Prerna, and Sanskriti have been my survival kit for these three years. They have helped me when I slacked while also making me feel like a worthwhile addition to the group. A lot of my learning has happened in our discussions at ungodly hours, both academic and otherwise. This is my only 'advice' to the incoming students: please reach out to people. People at Ashoka are willing to help and most importantly, you do not have to do it alone.

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51画鋼 Convocation 2020 and 2021

51画鋼 hosted the joint Convocation Ceremony for the classes of 2020 and 2021. The graduation ceremony was an opportunity to celebrate the academic and non-academic achievements of the students who completed Undergraduate Studies, Ashoka Scholars Programme (ASP), and the Master of Arts programme in Economics and English. 

 The University conferred degrees to 1,125 students at the virtual ceremony. The degrees were conferred by Professor Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Chancellor of 51画鋼. The graduating students were also addressed by Professor Malabika Sarkar, Vice-Chancellor of 51画鋼.  

Nobel Laureate Dr. Eric Maskin, Adams University Professor and Professor of Economics and Mathematics at Harvard delivered the Keynote Address. In his address he said,

 "It is a notable accomplishment, even at the best of times, to graduate from university. But to work, study, and complete all the requirements of a degree amidst a worldwide pandemic----a pandemic that continues to take a terrible toll on your country---is truly an extraordinary accomplishment, and I offer the classes of 2020 and 2021 my deepest congratulations and admiration. You should be very proud of what you have done."

Chancellor Rudrangshu Mukherjee congratulated the graduating students and said, ���A convocation is always an occasion for joy. In spite of the travails that we are all enduring, the students would have experienced the benefits of Ashoka���s liberal education. One important lesson a liberal education imparts is to think about a better future and to imbibe hope in our lives. This lesson is particularly important for this graduating batch since the pandemic has taught us the power of hope and the power of compassion. 

���To the graduating students: the knowledge that you have acquired in 51画鋼 use it with sympathy and intelligence. Never stop learning from the University of Life.���&稼恢壊沿;

 Speaking at the Convocation, Vice-Chancellor Malabika Sarkar said, ���I have every confidence that the values that the graduating students have imbibed, the intellectual curiosity that has now become their second nature, and the many areas of knowledge that the students have discovered will equip them to lead fulfilling lives. 

 ���Congratulations to our graduating students. The experience of graduation is as much a journey into a world of immense possibilities as the comfort of knowing that you now have an alma mater. I wish you joy, fulfilment, and success and hope that you touch and transform the lives of many others.���&稼恢壊沿; 

In the batch that graduated in 2020, out of 546 students, 369 students received their bachelor���s degree, 22 students received their master���s degree, and 155 students received their ASP Diploma.  

In the batch that graduated in 2021, out of 579 students, 353 students received their bachelor���s degree, 33 students received their master���s degree, and 193 students received their ASP Diploma.

  The University also conferred Academic Awards to some students for their excellent performances from both the classes of 2020 and 2021. In the class of 2020, 55 students have been conferred academic awards while in the class of 2021, 49 students have received the awards. 

 Congratulations to everyone who graduated this year.  

You can watch the ceremony below. 

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Student Life at 51画鋼

With a web of co-curricular, extracurricular and sports programmes and support, 51画鋼 works to strike a fine balance between keeping students engaged in activities which are both fun and intellectually challenging.

51画鋼 cultivates and promotes student learning and development, with a strong commitment towards diversity, inclusion and mutual respect; physical and mental wellbeing; cultural enrichment and creation of opportunities for empowerment. We aspire to create a new generation of student learners and leaders who are exposed to critical thinking, become effective communicators and油pursue innovations.

Student Affairs at Ashoka encompasses Student Life, Residence Life, Dining and Sports and Exercise. Through these components that make up Student Affairs, the Office works toward creating a robust learning and living environment outside the classroom. Each of these branches occupies and crafts intellectually stimulating spaces in their own right. Be it the creative and extra-curricular domain of Student Life; the active and invigorating space on the sports fields; or the ingeniously curated space of the residences ��� each one provides a scope and potential for harnessing skills and talents in a wide sphere of learning.

Click  for our Virtual Tour.

Click here to Connect with Us.

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51画鋼 appoints eminent jurist Justice Madan Lokur as University Ombudsperson

51画鋼 today announced the appointment of Hon���ble Mr. Justice Madan Lokur, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, as the University Ombudsperson. The Ombudsperson will provide impartial and independent guidance to the Ashoka community. The appointment of Justice Lokur further strengthens the University���s efforts at institutionalizing its processes and practices.油油

According to油Prof. Malabika Sarkar, Vice-Chancellor, 51画鋼,油''It is an honour for the University that Justice Lokur has agreed to be Ashoka���s first Ombudsperson. With his vast experience and distinguished career, he commands the respect of the entire University community.���油油

The Ombudsperson will make recommendations to faculty, staff and the University leadership on matters that are referenced to his office. The Ombudsperson will also counsel the complainants on avenues within and outside the University for redressal of their issues. As an external person with no conflict of interest, the Ombudsperson will provide counsel and guidance to Ashoka community members on a confidential basis.油油

Any member of the Ashoka faculty or staff can reach out to the Ombudsperson for any issue they believe is not being satisfactorily resolved through the University���s existing processes.油

The primary role of the Ombudsperson will be to ensure faculty and staff well-being, to provide a confidential and safe space for them to be heard, and to provide a forum should there be concerns in the realm of harassment, inappropriate behaviour, unprofessional conduct, abuse of power, unlawful termination of service or restrictions on university policy on freedom of expression and to advise both the faculty/staff member and the university on the resolution of disputes regarding the same.

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Meet the undergraduate admissions team to clarify your doubts this Thursday, 17 June 2021 at 6:15 PM.

With Round 4 deadline approaching (23 June 2021), we would like to help you with your Ashoka undergraduate application.

Join us for an interaction with the admissions team on Thursday, 17th June at 6:15 PM to clarify all your doubts regarding the application form, timelines, Ashoka Aptitude Assessment, interview and any other queries related to the admissions process.

We would encourage students to apply in Round 4 without XII Board marks to secure their college admission without their board exams. The last date to submit your application is 23rd June 2021. 

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Professor Rahul Mukherjee, Distinguished Statistician and National Science Chair (Designate), joins Advisory Group, Statistics and Data Sciences, 51画鋼

Professor Rahul Mukherjee, internationally acclaimed statistician and now National Science Chair (Designate) of the Government of India, to be hosted by Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, has agreed to be associated with 51画鋼 from June, 2021, as a member of its Advisory Group for Statistics and Data Sciences. 

A Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (USA) and all the three national level science academies of India, Professor Mukherjee is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including the SS Bhatnagar Award, JC Bose National Fellowship, Mahalanobis International Award and PV Sukhatme National Award. Continuously over the last 26 years he is or has been on the editorial boards of one or more top journals in statistics, such as the Annals of Statistics (USA), Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series B (UK) and Biometrika (UK). He has also been a member of the National Statistical Commission, Government of India (2013-16) and the Board of Directors, Gas Authority of India Limited (2017-20). 

When asked how students at Ashoka will benefit from this association, Professor Mukherjee said ���Data Science is the technology of the 21st century, with applications to such amazingly diverse disciplines as pure sciences, engineering, medicine, economics, social sciences, and even liberal arts. It is, therefore natural for a top notch institution like 51画鋼, known for its vision for the future, to focus on this newly emerging field. A Data Centre at 51画鋼 will contribute significantly to advancement of learning via translation of data to knowledge. At the same time, an understanding of the intricacies of data science will entail not only excellent career prospects but also a great opportunity for deeper research in this exciting and rewarding field���.

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Creating healing spaces: A workshop on mental well-being during the pandemic for high school students

51画鋼 invites high school students to an exclusive workshop on ���Creating healing spaces��� with Dr. Arvinder Singh, Director, Ashoka Centre for Well-Being. 

In this session Dr. Singh will address the below aspects: 

- School closures and isolated learning
- Postponement of exams
- Loss of loved ones
- Resilience and motivation in times of uncertainty
- Empathy and kindness amidst difficulties 

Speaker -

Dr. Arvinder Singh
Director, Ashoka Centre for Well-Being 

Ashoka Centre for Well-being (ACWB)

The ACWB is a non-aligned center that offers counseling and psychological support for students, staff and faculty at 51画鋼.

The ACWB is dedicated to not only providing a safe space to deal with mental health issues but also to remove the stigma around mental health and increase conversation around the same through our Individual Counselling, helpline, training programs and events, as well as running support group discussions.

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Student Life at 51画鋼: A glimpse into Ashoka���s vibrant culture

51画鋼 invites you to a panel discussion on ���Student Life at Ashoka��� on 14th May at 6 PM.

In this webinar, a group of Ashoka undergraduate students will share their experiences of campus and residence life at 51画鋼, talking about the various clubs and societies, sports, hostel life, dining and cafes and the overall environment in and around the Ashoka campus on a daily basis.

Join us to get an insight into the life at Ashoka and ask your questions directly to the students studying there.

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51画鋼 invites you to the virtual release of its Compendium on Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the technological landscape all over the world. In India, it holds significant potential. With the nation striving to become a US$ 5 trillion economy in the coming years, AI could perhaps be the next generation technology tool to achieve this target.  

Considering the increasing scope and relevance of AI, we at Ashoka had organized an interactive online meeting in July 2020. Policy experts, accomplished academicians and R&D personnel who attended the meeting raised critical issues surrounding the deployment of AI and also suggested appropriate solutions.

This Collection of Policy Briefs on AI is an outcome of the virtual webinar held last year. We are confident that the Compendium will be a useful source of information to deploy AI in addressing societal problems.

To attend the book release event  here  

Check out the official  launched on the occasion of National Science Day this year.

For any queries, reach out to us at:

Anjali Taneja (Ph.D.)

Associate Director ��� Science Policy Initiative,

Office of Research,

51画鋼Email: anjali.taneja@ashoka.edu.in

Web: /spiashoka

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Webinar – Undergraduate Admissions: Process, Application Form and Essays

51画鋼 invites you for a webinar to understand the Undergraduate admissions process on 25th February at 6 PM.

In this webinar, we will cover -

• An overview of the admissions process
• Application form
• Writing personal essays
• Answering your questions

Speakers:-

Mercia Prince
Deputy Director - Office of Admissions
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Jahnavi Dutta
Assistant Manager, Office of Admissions
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Webinar | Why Ashoka? A panel discussion with Ashoka students and parents

51画鋼 invites you to an online panel discussion on ���Why Ashoka?��� with students and parents on Thursday, 18 Feb. at 6 PM.

In this webinar students and parents will share their perspective on why they chose Ashoka as the destination for the Undergraduate programme, the factors that influenced their decision, the process they went through while applying and getting into the university and finally, their experience so far.

油

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Webinar – Why study Chemistry at 51画鋼?

51画鋼 invites high school students and teachers for a webinar on ���Why study Chemistry at Ashoka?��� on Tuesday, 16 February at 6 PM. 

The study of Chemistry provides a molecular level of description as well as insights into chemical bonding, as to why a bond breaks and a new bond is formed. At Ashoka, our objective is to teach Chemistry in an integrative and holistic manner connecting with other branches of science, physics, biology, and material chemistry. Mathematics and computer sciences play key roles in simulation of molecules and materials.

A few broad topics that will be covered in this session -

• What's unique about the programme?
• Interdisciplinarity of the subject
• Classroom environment and pedagogy
• Faculty, guest lecturers and renowned visiting scientists
• Research opportunities available to students
• Innovation and developments in the field
• Career opportunities and higher studies

Speaker:-
Sourav Pal
Visiting Professor of Chemistry,
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Ph.D. Calcutta University   

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Ashoka���s Research Quest | Understanding English as a language of Global Literature

Saikat Majumdar, HOD, Creative Writing and Professor of English and Creative Writing at 51画鋼 is a literary scholar and a celebrated novelist. His work has two dimensions ��� academic research in literature and literary criticism, and artistic practice as a novelist. Over the last few years, a third dimension has developed at the intersection of academic and artistic: a writer and critic of arts, literature and higher education for popular and mainstream media.

Saikat���s central scholarly focus has been the emergence of English as an international literary language.  He studies this in conjunction with the cultural history of the global British Empire, which has enabled the emergence of English as a transnational literary language and the subsequent phases of decolonisation and globalisation. ���Certain broad questions have energised my work: how does the hierarchical structure of colonial modernity create cultural categories such as the provincial and the cosmopolitan? How have these categories driven patterns of artistic exchange and migration across the globe and shaped the production of literature?��� said Saikat. 

Saikat���s first academic monograph Prose of the World: Modernism and the Banality of Empire examined the emotional consequences of the aforementioned historical and cultural categories, and their subsequent impact on literary form. It also examined the link between boredom and historical marginality as articulated in 20th and 21st Century British and Anglophone fiction. It argued that one of the greatest ideological consequences of the British Empire is the feeling that history is concentrated in the metropolitan heart of the empire, while the colonial periphery is a place where nothing happens, where life is banal, boring and devoid of historical meaning. 

Talking about this, Saikat said, ���Drawing on anthropological, historical, and psychological scholarship, I analysed the representation of boredom as an emotional consequence of poverty and marginality, especially under the shadow of imperialism. Modern literature���s revolutionary preoccupation with the ordinary and the banal cannot be fully understood without attending to the colonial anxiety of being left in the backwater of progress and excitement. This is an anxiety which a group of visionary writers have transformed into a vital and innovative narrative force. 

In the process, they have boldly disavowed the aesthetic of the spectacle which has dominated acclaimed national narratives about decolonisation and postliberation progress. By reading such negative aesthetic categories as a central concern of modern and contemporary fiction, this study sought to make sense of an apparent conundrum ��� namely, that much of the twentieth and twenty-first century���s groundbreaking English-language fiction has come from the provincial backwaters of the British Empire.���&稼恢壊沿;

Presently, Saikat has also been involved in literary criticism. The overarching question regarding this that asks ��� Is literary criticism a professional act or is it the work of an amateur? 

He continued, ���This research examines literary criticism as an activity productively suspended between the professional and the amateur impulse. It continues my analysis of the cultural impact of colonialism on the uneven distribution of sociocultural authority across the globe. The key focus is on a group of South-Asian, Caribbean, and African writers who emerge from their struggle with poor and provincial colonial educational systems as autodidactic and amateur intellectuals of wide public appeal. I examined this trajectory in an article for the journal New Literary History, and an article published in the Publication of the Modern Language Association of America examined a particular figure, the Bengali memoirist Nirad C. Chaudhuri. A collection, The Critic as Amateur, a collection of essays on this subject by leading critics from all over the world, also came out in 2019, co-edited by me and a colleague from Duke University.���&稼恢壊沿; 

His work in this area has also brought him closer to literary activism, initiated by the writer Amit Chaudhuri, who is presently a Professor of Creative Writing at Ashoka. 

Saikat said, ���The idea is to make an intervention, through a series of lectures, symposia and publications, on behalf of the idea of the literary that now feels embattled in the public as well as the academic sphere, under a range of forces from the commercialisation of publishing spaces to the academic marginalisation of literature in favour of other fields seen as more instrumental and socially relevant.  

I also see myself as a participant in this movement, if you will, through my scholarly championship of important literature that has escaped critical attention, as well through more mainstream journalism, as for instance through my column for the Los Angeles Review of Books, ���Another Look at India���s Books,��� where I discuss Indian books that haven���t received due attention.���&稼恢壊沿;

Saikat is often held as one of the most profound storytellers in contemporary India. Talking about his work, he said,  

���Novels come from a wild and private place, but once you���re done writing, you are often struck to recognise the spirit of the times in the work.��� 

His work as a popular critic and columnist has earned him rave reviews. He writes on arts, literature, and higher education, and occasionally reviews books. He writes two regular columns: Cheat Sheet, on academic and campus life, for , and Another Look at India���s Books, on books from India that haven���t received due attention, for . He also contributes articles in Hindustan Times, Hindu, Times Higher Education, Indian Express, Scroll, Telegraph, and Times of India. 

Talking about this, he said, ���I like writing for popular media, as it allows me to assume an intimate and personal voice while talking about larger issues in art, literature, and education. Making an argument, in many ways, is like telling a story. It has temporal and spatial aspects, just like the narrative and the descriptive aspects of fiction. But the sensory immediacy of fiction is supplemented by the abstraction of thought, especially conceptual exploration of larger patterns. I enjoy bringing these two together ��� sometimes the coming together is a jagged conflict, and sometimes a seamless fusion, but it���s always a fun experience.���&稼恢壊沿; 

Saikat Majumdar previously taught at Stanford University and was named a Fellow at the Humanities Centre at Wellesley College. His research and teaching interests include Modern and Contemporary World Literature in English, Modernism, Colonial and Postcolonial Studies, the Novel and Narrative Theory, Critical University Studies, the History of Criticism, Fiction and Non-Fiction Writing. Know more about him here. Understand more about his research . 

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Ashoka���s Research Quest Campaign 

Ashoka Research Quest is a campaign that showcases the in-depth research that 51画鋼 offers. This will be a recurring affair. Get an insight into various subjects through a detailed conversation with the faculty.  

So, let���s talk about research!  

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Round 3 UG Applications open! Apply before XII board exams to secure your seat.

51画鋼 invites applications in the third round of undergraduate admissions for the batch starting in August 2021.

You can apply online without XII board marks to secure your seat and get a confirmed admissions decision before your board exams!

• Apply with predicted XII grades - 
• Build your own curriculum - 
• Need-based Financial Aid (Scholarship) - 
• Frequently Asked Questions - 
• Ashoka's response to COVID-19  - 

 For any other queries/doubts or assistance with your application form, write to us at apply@ashoka.edu.in or call 011 - 40747565.    

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Department of International Relations

The Department of International Relations is designed to equip students with knowledge of the major theories approaches and substantive themes in the world of International Relations.

The introductory courses will cover a broad introductory history of the evolution of the world system of nation-states from Westphalia to the outbreak of World War II including the European state system, European expansion, conquest, settlement and colonialism, industrialization and the growth of world trade, the balance of power, World War I, the Russian Revolution, the inter-war period and the growth of anti-colonial independence movements. Students will also develop the ability to think critically about the relevance of mainstream theories of International Relations and their relevance to experience and interests of actors in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and further to critically evaluate and apply such theories and approaches to specific case studies.

The course further aims to enable students to get a basic understanding of the major international and regional institutions in world politics as well as significant developments in world politics.

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Department of Biology

Courses for Biology majors will provide a strong foundation for research and as well as for careers in the biological sciences, medicine, pharmaceutical and biotech industry, teaching and other related fields. A prospective Biology major student is required to complete 12 core courses in Biology and suggested optional courses in Science and Biology along with the mandatory requirement of 12 foundation courses.

Students who wish to enhance their research pursuit beyond the institutional requirements of B.Sc. in Biology can pursue the 4^th油year in Biology, which will include courses in Physiology, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Landmark studies in Biology, Plant Biology and project work.油

Click Here for a detailed syllabus. 

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The Department of History

The Department of History has an outstanding Faculty. The Faculty has expertise in the history of ancient India, with a special focus on archaeology, heritage, society, politics, religion, and ideas; the history of medieval and early modern India with an emphasis on states, empires, and warfare; the history of modern India and the Indian Ocean with a focus on political violence, space, environment; contemporary history and international history of modern South Asia; and global history.

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Science Policy Initiative of 51画鋼

Science and Technology are instrumental in enhancing scientific innovation, economic performance and social well-being.  India���s historical contributions in this space have been quite remarkable. Given the significant role that the academic community has been contributing in this field, it is the right time to reinforce the strategic connect of academia with the government and the industry for streamlining national thought leadership and policymaking on India���s science, technology and innovation landscape.   

51画鋼 (AU) has set up a Science Policy Initiative (SPI) in 2019 to complement the efforts of the University���s Faculty of Sciences and spur innovation as well as continuous learning into the knowledge ecosystem. SPI aims to promote data-driven research, policy work and advocacy on India���s science, technology and innovation space. With the broader agenda of contextualising and reinforcing the efforts of the scientific community in India, the Policy Initiative acts as a knowledge hub, encouraging deliberations on issues related to science and technology. 

This policy initiative of the University strives to act as a resource body for the government and industry by conceptualising and preparing high-quality evidence-based policy briefs, recommendation notes, background papers, presentations and other targeted resources for meetings and conferences with key stakeholders from the government, academia and the industry. Going forward, SPI will also aid the translation of science research and policy discussions into sound policies through persuasive advocacy and working with the government.  

Within a thriving culture for expression, research, practical support and thought leadership, 51画鋼 renders SPI the right environment for policy research and capability building.  

Vision and Objectives

1. Become Ashoka���s nodal policy arm and an effective S&T resource conduit between the government and industry
2. Assist in translation of science research, stakeholder consultations and discussions into sound policies through persuasive advocacy.油
3. Foster knowledge exchange on S&T and innovation.油
4. Promote quality-driven and evidence-based advanced research in S&T
5. Strengthen academia ��� R&D initiatives ��� industry collaborations
6. Further research and higher education in science policy as a subject.油
7. Strengthen India���s global competitive foothold in S&T.

Significance to AU and Activities

AU, the leading liberal Arts and Sciences University has been striving to achieve excellence in higher education through its well-renowned faculty, world-class infrastructure and by its specialised way of delivering higher education. The Policy Cell serves as conduit to strengthen thought leadership, academia-government-industry inter-linkages, persuasive policy advocacy and outreach of AU. Its significance is broadly outlined in the flow chart below.  

Flow Chart

 Since its inception in July 2019, SPI has been undertaking a series of activities. They are classified into the following 3 heads: 

1.Thought leadership: SPI collaborates with the best faculty, researchers, practitioners and students to identify potential research areas in the domain of science and technology. It features evidence-based and independent research white papers, policy briefs, policy perspectives, which contribute to AU���s voice in facilitating sound policy-making. Some examples are: White Paper on Rare Diseases : 

Rare diseases in India: time for cure-driven policy initiatives and action

White Paper on Artificial Intelligence: Enabling a $5 Trillion Indian Economy: A policy framework to catalyse AI-centric technology ecosystem

Policy Brief on Blockchain Technology: Landscaping Priority Areas for Blockchain: Cryptoeconomics, Capacity building, Scalability, Security

2. Persuasive advocacy and collaborative initiatives: One of the important tasks of the Science Policy Cell is to also take up collaborative projects and initiatives in partnership with the government, industry and other academic community; projects which help decision-makers design, adopt and implement policies informed by evidence, independent science and well-grounded analysis. Besides, knowledge initiatives are also undertaken which help streamline AU���s growth and sustainability.  Some of these include, input feeds to the government on policy matters like STIP 2020, Suggestions on preparedness to deal with COVID-19 and other pandemics in future, funding proposal on DCKC (Effective Education), funding proposal on proposed Centre for Health Metrics, strategy formulation on academia-industry partnerships, Implications of NEP 2020 for 51画鋼, etc.  

3. Stakeholder consultations and engagements: AU���s Science Policy Cell conducts focused policy discussions, symposia, policy roundtables, workshops, and webinars involving relevant stakeholders from the government, academia and the industry. The idea is to discuss the potential opportunities to leverage on, challenges to overcome as well as help streamline a roadmap in the field of Science and Technology, which could beneficial for the policymakers in suitable formulation and implementation of strategies, plans and policies. Some of the consultations which have been conducted are in the fields of blockchain technology, artificial intelligence and public health.  

For example: 

Landscaping Priority Areas for Blockchain: Cryptoeconomics, Capacity building, Scalability, Security (January 2020): A policy discussion was hosted on blockchain technology with distinguished subject experts and thought leaders from the government, academic community and the industry, to discuss and exchange ideas on  key policy aspects that could be explored on BT in the Indian context, to leverage its growing advantages. Enabling a Robust

AI Ecosystem in India (July 2020): A virtual webinar on AI was organised featuring renowned academicians, policy experts, thought leaders from the industry and practitioners to foster knowledge exchange in core themes (AI in education sector, in healthcare, for supply-chain management, as a social good), facilitating dissemination of state-of-the-art research in AI and strengthening academia-industry collaborative efforts in the field. 

Evidence, Decision Making and Policy for COVID-19 in India (November 2020): In collaboration with the George Institute for Global Health, a joint virtual symposium on public health was organised to discuss the role of research evidence in decision making in healthcare and its use in informing policy and practice, concentrating on the challenges owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Distinguished experts from the government and academic were invited to talk on national serosurveys��� results, COVID-19 epidemiology, clinical aspects of COVID-19 and health policy.  

It is SPI���s constant endeavour to work aligned with the interests and objectives of AU, thereby not only contributing towards its sustainable growth but also strengthening India���s competitiveness in S&T. 

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Takeaways from Guest Sessions at Ashoka

Tiger Tyagarajan, President and CEO, Genpact

Use the education at Ashoka to learn the art of incorporating people with a completely opposite view to yours into the final decision that is taken. More important is to actually accept their view in an open and honest manner rather than in a regretful way. All these are tricky situations and if you learn this early, you will be hugely successful. Every morning, I wake up thinking that today I am going to learn new things. The way I approach everything is that I don���t know anything and I am desperate to learn. I am driven by curiosity. Life is about asking questions and it is equally important to listen after you have asked the question. When you hear different opinions, you have to find ways to connect all those opinions and form your opinion. One should be nimble and be able to change his desciscion quickly. This is what liberal arts education encourages.

Gurcharan Das, Author and Columnist

There is a difference between making a living and making a life. With middle class insecurities in India, we think of university education to get us a job as lawyer, engineer etc. We forget that there is something else missing and that something else we realise only when we are in middle age and running families. Then we think��� Is this it (education and job) was all about? Then you feel the discontent.

In my view, the way to think about making a life is to play a thought game with yourself. What if you had only three months to live your life- you wouldn���t be doing an MBA or an engineering then! So the purpose of liberal education is to read and experience what others have thought and said about the meaning of life, about living a flourishing life. This distinction helps me to understand the purpose of liberal education.

Secondly, it is also a duty for all of us to discover a passion and a liberal education helps you to discover this passion. It is very unfortunate that some people live their entire life without discovering their passion. That���s the purpose of liberal education.

Ashoka, I feel is an inspiration and will be a model for universities. Ashoka will teach people about making a life. I am a great fan of Ashoka.

Jairam Ramesh, Member of Parliament and Former Union Minister

In the public domain, unless you are good in soft skills��� you are not going to make much of an impact. These soft skills are in a variety of forms. Its not just the ability to read, write or communicate which is traditionally as seen the most important soft skill. It is ultimately the skill to get along with people. Unfortunately, professional schools do not teach you to get along with people. My greatest complains from professional schools is that they don���t teach you humility, sensitivity, empathy and this is what is actually required in working in development policy/administration. So, while you acquire your disciplinary skills at various subjects, it���s the ability to network or work with people and the ability to empathise which is crucial to make a difference.

In this sphere that you are working where people to people contact is very important, where your ability to change depends on your ability to influence��� how you project yourself is also very crucial. The third soft skill is the ability to listen. We hear but we do not listen. Very often people think that if everybody listens to them they can solve a problem. You should not be a solution in search of a problem. You have to identify the problem and then you have to bring a change as a catalyst.

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OPEN HOUSE | Undergraduate Programme & Admissions | Register now!

51画鋼 invites high school students and parents for an online Open House with Ali Imran, Vice President - External Communications on the Undergraduate Programme and Admissions at 51画鋼.

In this open house, we will cover the various aspects of the UG Programme at Ashoka including the courses, faculty, student life, admissions and financial aid. Parents and students are also invited to ask any questions related to the programme and clarify their doubts.

Round 2 applications for the undergraduate programme will close on 11th January 2021.油

Speaker:-
Ali Imran
Vice President - External Engagement
Ashoka Universit

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Ashoka History Faculty Aparna Vaidik awarded 贈50,000 (about Rs.50 lacs) grant for research by The British Academy, UK

In conversation with Aparna Vaidik, Associate Professor of History who has been recently awarded a grant of 贈50,000 (about Rs.50 lacs) for the project titled 'The Ownership of Public History in India' (TOPHI), by the British Academy, UK. Her co-collaborators are Dr. Shalini Sharma from Keele���s School of Humanities, Professor Maya Dodd from India���s FLAME University, and partner organisation the Keystone Foundation. ������

What is The British Academy Humanities and Social Sciences Tackling Global Challenges Programme, UK all about? 

The purpose of this project is to bring original interdisciplinary research ideas from the humanities and social sciences to bear on our understanding of the challenges and opportunities which people, cultures, societies, and economies in the Global South are facing and/or will face. 

How does it feel to be awarded this grant? 

Great. It is a validation that we need to radically transform historical writing and pedagogy. 

How rare it is rare for someone from the Humanities to get a grant like this? 

I can't possibly answer this question because I don't have the requisite data to say that it is rare. However, this is an unusual project to receive a grant and is a recognition of its significance.  The project captures the spirit of the cultural moment that we are living through. 

Would you like to talk about the TOPHI project? 

Coming out of colonialism and the bloody history of the Partition, the Indian historians came to see themselves as the custodians of India���s past. The belief was that the past was an entity that needed to be saved and preserved, and therefore, was safe only in the hands of a specialist trained to handle it. Seven decades after India's independence the question facing the historians is: how do we historians enter into debate with individuals and groups in Indian society who have their own view of the past?   This project seeks to respond to this question by focusing on Public History. So far the term, Public History, has been understood as public dissemination of historical knowledge where the reading public are the audience for historical knowledge generated by historians. This project takes this idea further to create a co-ownership between the universities and the local communities over historical knowledge and its teaching. 

You have talked about how the innovative project will benefit local community development and give voice to researchers from marginalised communities. Could you please elaborate on this? 

This project evinces public/community participation in the act of writing history where they are not just the target and recipient of the historical knowledge but participants in the work of analysis. This is an attempt to expand the consciousness of a public citizen to create a critical public sphere.  Think of it like this: the history of lions are always told by hunters but if the lions were to tell their own history it would be different. Eklavya's story is told by Rishi Ved Vyas but the story would be different if Eklavya were to tell it. 

How will this project benefit the universities and enable them to develop a better understanding of collective public history? 

A great deal of historical research is premised on institutionalised archives such as the one created by the states and corporate institutions. So the question for us is how do we decolonise the archives? How to build peoples' and communities' worldview into the archives? What are the traditional archive practices that one needs to do away with?  

Doing Public History fundamentally requires you to first shift the vision to community archives - the archives that a community creates instead of archives created for the communities. For example Janastu, a Bangalore-based NGO, documents stories of pattachitra story-tellers as recorded by them on a push-button recorder. It also documents lives of shepherds such as the Raika community where they have developed a mobile application for the shepherd to track their locations. This helps protect the commons and in the compiling of bio-cultural protocols by the community itself. The traditional archives are spaces of violence and erasure, created by the colonial administration, the state and people in power. They have written out genocide, massacres and land grabs. Therefore community knowledge archiving and record keeping is very important in re-imagining our histories. 

How do you think this win will champion the study of Humanities in Indian universities? 

The practice of Public History requires us to change our elitist and hierarchical mindset.  

A great deal of history is really history of the state, rulers and big statesmen. They are seen as 'doers' in history, determining and impacting the course of history. Then came the subaltern historians who focused on the people on the margins of history - the working class, peasants, and women - as the agents of history.  

Public History goes a step further and seeks to engage the 'small voice of history' in the act of analysis and the manner of writing history itself. One has to be careful here because a conception of public history can feed the separation between ���real��� history as done by historians for their peers and one they write for and with the public but both are complimentary. 

Anything else you wish to share.

This grant is a collaboration between Prof. Shalini Sharma (Keele University, UK), Prof. Maya Dodd (FLAME University, Pune) and the Keystone Foundation (Tamil Nadu). It's the synergy between us that made the grant possible and now we have the task of seeing through this experiment. We are grateful for the support we have received from the research offices of Keele and 51画鋼.  

For more information about Aparna Vaidik���s work, visit here.  

For more about The British Academy, UK, visit .

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Webinar – Why Study English at Ashoka? | Register now!

51画鋼 invites you for a webinar - ���Why Study English at Ashoka?��� on 29th December at 6 PM.

In this webinar, we will cover -

• Why English at Ashoka?
• Classroom environment
• Choices available to students to design their own course
• Faculty and pedagogy
• Career opportunities and higher studies after pursuing English

Speaker:
Prof. Jonathan Gil Harris
HoD and Professor, English
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Ph.D, University of Sussex油油油

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Rhodes to Oxford: Ashoka student���s incredible journey of learning, unlearning, and everything in between

The phone kept buzzing. Vighnesh Hampapura has just been selected for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. Naturally, the first question I asked was about how he was feeling. Vighnesh said, ���It���s exhilarating! You know, I remember talking to my friend, Pratiti, in our first year about how the chances of getting something like Rhodes was so far and feeble. So it hasn���t sunk in completely ��� both the scholarship and the fact that I will be at the University of Oxford this time next year. I am also in a spirit of adventure, I think. How are the courses going to be there? What people will I meet? What new interests might I develop? And, simply, all the new directions life may take. Not knowing is very exciting!���&稼恢壊沿; 

This put a smile to my face. The overwhelming feeling of achievement might often be difficult to grasp. The process of finishing and waiting can often be nerve-wrecking! ���There���s also some relief? The process of applications and selections was long and elaborate. There were three rounds of interviews this time after the review of applications. And what can feel better than finishing and prevailing?���&稼恢壊沿;

Well, what can be better than this? Vighnesh is the first Ashoka Undergraduate to be selected for Rhodes. What does this mean to him, I asked. He responded without missing a beat, ���Isn���t it just chance that I���m the first Ashoka undergraduate?���&稼恢壊沿; 

���I am sure there will be many more, and as second, third, twenty-first, they will all be incredible as well! I think it���s really a feat that Ashoka has produced two Rhodes scholars and many, many brilliant people within years of its inception.���&稼恢壊沿;

But what inspired him to apply to Rhodes in the first place? His idea was originally to take a gap year, finish the translation work that he is presently doing, and simultaneously work on his graduate school applications. 

���But then I remembered the Rhodes scholarship and decided I would fill in just that. You see, Rhodes isn���t just the opportunity to study at Oxford, which itself is a bounty, but also a community of diligent and passionate people who work in various fields of human interest. Imagine the collaborations one can forge there! I also thought my interest in the project of a humanities education finds resonance in the ethos of the scholarship, and so I gave it a chance.���

It was one of such chances that landed Vighnesh at Cambridge University for a summer semester in 2019. Talking about his experience there, he said, ���I did the Shakespeare and Renaissance programme at Cambridge. It was different from Ashoka in that we mostly had lectures with minimal student input. But there were ingenious courses. In the class with Vivien Heilbron, an Emmy-nominated Shakespearean, who taught us acting through The Winter���s Tale, I learnt new approaches to perform Shakespeare. I was yet again reminded how important literary criticism is to put up a play.

And then, in another course, we read Henry IV Part I alongside its historical sources, all refashioned by Shakespeare. It was like a playwrighting workshop. What was beautiful at Cambridge was the diversity of age: along with undergraduates were retired advocates, working doctors, carpenters. Age and employment weren���t obstacles for these people to read Shakespeare at a university. This is much like AshokaX, which may be the first such programme in India?���&稼恢壊沿;

Apart from his academics, Vighnesh has involved himself in many co-curricular activities at Ashoka. These activities have provided him a stage to express himself in myriad ways, and helped shape him as an understanding and overall, a fun-loving person. Speaking about his experience working for Ashoka���s Young Scholars Programme (YSP), Vighnesh said, ���I was an Academic Counsellor at YSP. These are high school students who are coming in to have a peek into the liberal arts experience, which means we have to employ the pedagogy of our own classes in the discussion sections and workshop modules that we conduct. This can be a little tricky, you know, because they���re still used to their rote methods, and you���ve just learnt so much, and it���s tempting to impose ideas and stances on them! But you shouldn���t. So YSP was really educative, to begin from scratch and build the class up, listen to the class in front of you so that you know where and how to pitch the discussion. 

I also had the opportunity to design mini-courses for the modules, like Oral Lore is No Bore, which was about the idea of storytelling���from grandmother���s tales to Greek epics���that we would explore by performing oral lore. Or Refuge in Literature, where we used fiction to talk about refugees and nationalism, usually branched under politics or international relations. It was all great fun!���&稼恢壊沿;

He has also been an active member of many clubs and societies at Ashoka. ���I don���t think there could���ve been another place where many of my interests came together as they did at Ashoka,��� he said. 

He has dabbled with many clubs and societies over the years. ���But maybe I should highlight the three key spaces. Sandhi, the languages society. I can���t forget the crazy debates and brainstorming we did there as we went through founding it, all with a passion for the various axes of language ��� linguistics, politics, culture, literature. I branched out somewhere in between to the literary bit, exploring its contours, in Epigraph, the literary society. This is the society in which I had the most investment, because it is also a personal project ��� to take the literary beyond the classroom, and without the pressures of coursework. And The Indian Choir is where I found a musical family. They are my favourite musicians, and orchestrating the Religious Rebels concert with them is one of my highlights at Ashoka.���&稼恢壊沿;

How does it feel to be at Ashoka now that you know your next stop would be the University of Oxford? I asked. His answer was immediate, ���Being at Ashoka means that the sheer pleasure and importance of learning ��� of thinking about things, of recognising the complicatedness of our worlds ��� is valued. It nourishes a certain critical temperament that may make life confusing but all the more breathtaking.���&稼恢壊沿;

For him, Ashoka has been a place of comfort, a place where he has found many passions and opportunities, and a place he lovingly calls home. 

���You see, it was through Ashoka that I landed at Sahapedia. It was because of the financial aid the office of GESP gave ��� on top of the Cambridge scholarship ��� that I could make the voyage to attend the summer school.��� His eyes lit up particularly talking about the English and Creative Writing department. ���Again, so many things have come from here. Right from the second semester, Professor Arunava Sinha has been mentoring me, even sending a twenty-year-old as a literary journalist to Jaipur. A lot of my first questions were born in my research assistantship with Professor Rita Kothari. And working as the English representative under Professor Gil Harris means that one learns along the way what this major means. 

I must name the five professors who have had the greatest influence on me: Arunava Sinha, Madhavi Menon, Mandakini Dubey, Sharif Youssef, and Abir Bazaz. I owe the kind of reader and human being I have become to their existence. And as for the three incomparable human beings I have had the fortune of befriending at Ashoka���Shree Thaarshini Sriraman, Yashasvi Arunkumar, and Adit Shankar: I can only say thanks. They have patted me, fed me, warded off typhoons, stayed with me despite myself, and made me feel what it is to be loved.���&稼恢壊沿;

At Oxford, Vighnesh plans to pursue his master���s degree in nineteenth-century literature and comparative literature. ���But I have two more weeks to decide, and that���s never good, you know? Choice makes one often confused. Whatever it will be, it���s literature for sure,��� he said.  

And about his plans for the future, he is open to, as I quote him, ���where the tide takes me.���&稼恢壊沿;

He said, ���In a few years, I should be able to be researching, asking important questions about the way we live and narrate our lives, while simultaneously teaching people how to read, in all senses of that word. As long as that is happening, the more by-lanes I can travel, the better.���&稼恢壊沿; 

Speaking with Vighnesh, it appeared to me that the amalgamation of both learning and unlearning is what strengthens his prowess. 

We have come to the end of our conversation, and I asked him if he has any advice for his friends and juniors vying for the Rhodes Scholarship. ���I think it becomes important to be able to explain why we���re doing what we do, and why it might be important. So there needs to be some confidence too. And for that, paradoxically, maybe we can be a little less serious about ourselves? 

To be very serious means that we want to make no mistake, say nothing that may be wrong, which isn���t possible, so it���s a failed exercise, and we lose our confidence. It���s better to be open to thinking rather than being right. I don���t think any Rhodes scholar including myself is some perfect mould of humanity, and thank god for that! There is another thing I have to say: that despite everything���passion, direction, hard work, sincerity���it may not work out at all, and that���s still fine. So we apply with all honesty, but again we don���t take it all too seriously.���&稼恢壊沿;

In the end, Vighnesh taught me that one must be able to have fun with the experience of applying because that experience alone can teach a lot. 

 Vighnesh Hampapura, currently pursuing ASP (Ashoka Scholars Programme) graduated with a Summa Cum Laude in BA (Hons.) English in May 2020. He is presently writing his undergraduate thesis on questions of identity and desire in the drama of the late playwright and Rhodes Scholar, Girish Karnad. He will be heading to the University of Oxford in 2021. 

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Webinar – Why Study History at Ashoka? | Register now!

51画鋼 invites you for a webinar on ���Why study History at Ashoka?��� on Tuesday, 22 December at 6 PM.

In this webinar, we will cover -

• What's unique about History at Ashoka?
• Faculty and pedagogy
• Classroom environment
• Guest lectures
• Awards and accreditations
• Career opportunities & higher studies

Speaker:-
Mahesh Rangarajan
Chair, Ashoka Archives of Contemporary India,
Head of the Department, History,
Professor of History and Environmental Studies, 51画鋼
Ph.D. Oxford University   

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Postgraduate Admissions at 51画鋼

The postgraduate programmes at 51画鋼 are known for their emphasis on rigorous critical thinking and in-depth research. The importance given to the students��� intellectual, professional and personal growth prepares them for a variety of career paths, be it in academia or beyond.油油

The MA in English at 51画鋼 enables students to read literature and culture in the context of an interdisciplinary liberal arts curriculum, under the guidance of internationally acclaimed faculty who are innovative teachers as well as prolifically published scholars. Click油here油for more information about the admissions process and油here油for more information about the programme. Deadline for submission of application form is 15th March, 2021.油油

The MA in Economics at 51画鋼 has been developed with the aim of bringing together cutting-edge economic theory and rigorous data analysis to address questions at the frontiers of research. It will provide students the opportunity to be trained by highly qualified Economists and leverage Ashoka���s growing stature and expanding networks to shape their careers. Click油here油for more information about the admissions process and油here油for more information about the programme. Deadline for submission of application form is 31st March, 2021.油油

For queries, call us at +91 72900 66185 or write to us at油mastersenglish@ashoka.edu.in油(for MA English) and油economics@ashoka.edu.in油(for MA Economics)

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Why Ashoka? A panel discussion with Ashoka students and parents

51画鋼 invites you to an online panel discussion on ���Why Ashoka?��� with students and parents on Friday, 11 December at 5 PM.

In this webinar students and parents will share their perspective on why they chose Ashoka as the destination for the Undergraduate programme, the factors that influenced their decision, the process they went through while applying and getting into the university and finally, their experience so far.

They will also answer some of your questions towards the end of the session.油

51画鋼

Webinar – Why Study Psychology at Ashoka? | Register now!

51画鋼 invites you to a webinar on Why Study Psychology at Ashoka? on 8th December at 6 PM.

In this webinar, we will cover:-

• What���s unique about Ashoka���s Psychology programme?
• Classroom environment
• Choices available to students to design their own course
• Faculty and interdisciplinary pedagogy
• Career opportunities and higher studies after a Psychology major

Speaker:
Avantika Bhatia
Assistant Professor of Psychology,
51画鋼
Ph.D. University of Maryland

51画鋼

The Curious Young Mind: YIF alumnus��� journey from engineering to liberal arts to bringing environmental change worldwide

The first time I heard of Peeyush was while reading an article on  about his research on asphalt roads and city air pollution caused by it. The article intrigued me so much when I got to know that Peeyush was a former Young India Fellow, the batch of 2015. From Civil Engineering to Environmental Engineering to Liberal Arts and Environmental Policy to Chemical and Environmental Engineering ��� Peeyush���s journey has been nothing short of exhilarating. The  somehow intermingled beautifully and have resulted in his deep pursuit of being a changemaker.  

Peeyush was almost completing his MS in Civil Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly known as Virginia Tech, when he stumbled across the website of the Young India Fellowship (YIF). While at crossroads over whether to continue his ���American Dream��� and get a high-paying job, awaiting offers for his Ph.D., or take a complete turn and pursue Liberal Arts, Peeyush made a choice and opted for a road less taken.Talking about his transition, he said ���I have found that transitioning between different streams of human knowledge that often do not overlap in their technicalities could be a challenging but certainly an enlightening experience.���

What an interesting statement this is! Peeyush continued, ���As part of my undergraduate degree at VIT Vellore, I conducted research on artificial rainfall simulation applicable to the Indian subcontinent, followed by investigating the transport of influenza virus from floor to inhalation heights during human walking in an indoor environment, during research as part of my MS degree. I extracted great joy in carrying out scientific investigations in both these fields that were considerably separated from each other and aimed at solving different problems for improving the quality of human life. Then, YIF added the breadth that I needed in my scope of thoughts to be able to approach any situation or question from both engineering and humanities-related dimensions.���&稼恢壊沿;

What more inspiring for the readers maybe is to know that just about two weeks ago the Government of India has granted a patent for his invention of an artificial rainfall simulator suited to Indian subcontinent conditions! 

During his time at YIF, he was also able to attend Sciences Po in Paris for Graduate School in Environmental Policy. He said, ���At this point, I felt I had a certain diversity in skillsets and sufficient maneuverability in thoughts that I needed to pursue my Ph.D. back in an environment-related technical discipline.���&稼恢壊沿;The exposure and learnings he received were unparalleled. 

Peeyush was among the eleven candidates picked from around the world to join the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Ph.D. programme at Yale University, specialising in Environmental Engineering.  

At Yale, he conducted his Ph.D. research in the domain of analytical environmental chemistry with a specific focus on urban air pollution. He said, ���Air pollution is the largest environmental health risk around the world and is estimated to annually claim six million lives. The mortalities are primarily driven by exposure to particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter (or PM2.5). Interestingly, a large (often dominant) fraction of PM2.5 is constituted by secondary organic aerosol (SOA) that is formed in the atmosphere from oxidation of gas-phase reactive organic precursors that are emitted from diverse anthropogenic and biogenic sources. 

Understanding the magnitude and chemical composition of these emissions is key to controlling air pollution. Therefore, my work within the domain of urban air pollution focused on understanding nontraditional sources of air pollution. It involved a combination of laboratory experiments and field measurements coupled with state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation techniques some of whose methods I developed, and also data modelling of some of the most detailed emissions inventories in the world. Using Los Angeles and New York City as my case study megacities, I was able to show that, following decades of strict regulatory policies for combustion-based sources (e.g. motor vehicles) in developed megacities, we are now at a stage where non-combustion emissions are contributing more reactive organic gas-phase precursors to developed megacity environments than gasoline and diesel motor vehicles.���&稼恢壊沿;

Not just this, his research on asphalt roads and city air pollution has received rave reviews. I asked him, to talk about that research a bit. 

���One phase of my doctoral research focused on understanding gas-phase emissions from asphalt materials under different temperature and environmental conditions. We found that road asphalt, as well as, other asphalt-based construction materials such as liquid roofing asphalt and shingles, could emit intermediate and semi-volatile organic compounds that could oxidise in the atmosphere to form PM2.5. The magnitude of emissions changes with temperature, such that higher temperatures result in more emissions. Interestingly, we observed that road asphalt not only emits during a road paving (140 ���C) event, but also when at typical summer time pavement temperatures (e.g. 60 ���C), and these emissions could occur over long timescales, potentially exceeding the order of weeks. 

Our experiments showed that solar radiation significantly enhanced emissions from road asphalt which is important since most asphalt is used in outdoor environments. Furthermore, we estimated that the annual potential secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from asphalt materials is comparable to SOA from gasoline and diesel motor vehicles in Los Angeles. However, I should note that asphalt-related materials are only one piece of a much bigger puzzle related to the contribution of non-combustion sources to urban air pollution. Further details of this research could be found in our paper titled ���Asphalt-related emissions are a major missing nontraditional source of secondary organic aerosol precursors��� published in Science Advances. It has been covered by over 70 media outlets around the world to date.���&稼恢壊沿;

I was pretty sure that he has been asked this question multiple times, yet, I asked him about his inspiration behind applying to YIF. 

���My inspiration to join the Fellowship did not manifest over a short timeframe, but rather slowly intensified over the course of my engineering academic pursuits prior to it. While executing various scientific research objectives, I started to realise that problems that have a direct, and quite often, immediate impact on society tend to exist at the nexus of different disciplines (relevant example: engineering and economics/policies). One could surely approach such problems from their own specific dimension of understanding but would do so at the expense of acquiring the complete picture of the issue. I do not think that one person could be an expert in everything, but I realised that it could be incredibly useful for an expert in a field to also understand other fields to some extent. Hence, as a scientist, I became motivated to also learn about other subjects that could likely have a say in the final outcomes of my work. 

In the 5 years that I spent at Yale, my YIF training came to fruition in different professional pursuits including when my article on alternatives to economic growth was selected among the top-21 articles in a competition between approximately 1000 graduate students from 108 nations and 350 universities for the St. Gallen Symposium 2016, and when I received invitations to attend environmental sustainability-related summits at the United Nations and the World Bank in subsequent years. 

In retrospect, YIF certainly was the perfect programme whose training contributed to and facilitated these developments. One may also find it interesting to know that after tremendous deliberation, I made the decision to join the Fellowship standing at the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building in New York City on New Year���s Eve in 2014, staring at the glorious city in polar vortex winds at -25 属C. 

"I surrendered that life to move to Sonipat to pursue the Fellowship, and looking back, it was perhaps one of the best decisions of my life.���&稼恢壊沿;

2020 marks one decade of YIF. His advise to prospective students: ���YIF is a place where you will each have your own tryst with such dimensions of human knowledge and perspectives that are incredibly interesting, yet probably remained elusive to you so far. You will begin to observe such nuances in the workings of the anthropogenic infrastructure, be it material or abstract, which you did not know even existed, or which many of you previously considered blunt consequences of the flaws in the human design. YIF will give you space to mentally expand your understanding of the world at your own rate, and in academic streams of your own choosing. It will elevate you to challenge what you previously accepted as conventional wisdom in areas ranging from art, to economy, to literature, to politics to mathematical reasoning and beyond. 

YIF is one place I know where you would have the opportunity to confront your own mental construction with which you have operated in the world and perceived its events, and via healthy discussions/debates, will receive the tools to chisel it as and where you see fit, or even entirely recast, while also learning from and influencing the vast pool of talent in your cohort. And all this would be in addition to extraordinary learning opportunities from the stellar faculty at Ashoka.���&稼恢壊沿;

He is not just a brilliant scientist but also a Black Belt in Shotokan Karate, which was just conferred to him by the Japan Karate Association which is the global authority in this domain!    

We have come almost to the end of our conversation. Peeyush paused for a moment to thank Ashoka. 

"Ashoka helped me develop the ability to fearlessly question everything under the sun that I consider worth questioning." 

���Ashoka instilled in me an understanding that to make societal improvements, it is important to engage in constructive dialogues on issues even at the expense of one���s own comfort. However, I understand that this is easier said than done for most individuals including my own self. Ashoka gave me the inner strength and conviction to pursue this line of thought unyieldingly." 

Dr. Peeyush Khare, an alumnus of the Young India Fellowship has recently completed his Ph.D. and has now moved to the Paul Scherrer Institute/ETH in Switzerland where he will be performing laboratory experiments and investigations to tackle the air pollution problem in select Indian megacities as part of a formal scientific collaboration between the two countries. You can know more about him and his work . 

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Fourth Annual Economics Conference

The Department of Economics is delighted to organize the Ashoka Annual Economics (Virtual) Conference during December 4-6, 2020. The conference will be held over Zoom.油油

The conference has three sessions油spread over three days. On each day, three papers will be presented along a particular research theme. The conference has a wonderful油line-up of speakers from various institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, University College London, New York University, London School of Economics, Columbia University, University of Toronto, University of Essex, Princeton University and Northwestern University.油

For more details, please visit the Conference Webpage油Here.

Registration is mandatory to join the conference.油For the Zoom Registration Link:油

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Webinar – Why Study Economics at Ashoka? | Register now!

51画鋼 invites you to a webinar on Undergraduate Economics at 51画鋼 on 1st December at 6 PM. In this webinar, we will cover:-

1. What���s unique about Ashoka���s Economics programme?
2. Classroom environment 
3. Choices available to students to design their own course
4. Faculty and pedagogy4
5. Awards and accreditations 
6. Career opportunities and higher studies after Economics

油

The Economics Department has been ranked at number 1 (#1 of 239 institutions) in India, and in the top 12.5% in Asia (#31 of 1539 institutions) based on research output, publications and number of citations in September 2020, according to the international database RePEc.油

Speakers:

Prof. Ratul LahkarHoD & Professor of油 Economics51画鋼Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison油Prof. Swagata BhattacharjeeAssistant Professor of Economics51画鋼Ph.D. University of Texas at Austin

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Ashoka���s Research Quest | Democratic Peace and its Importance in International Relations Scholarship

Democratic peace is the idea that democracies do not wage wars against each other.  

His dissertation research studies the effects of democratisation on interstate conflict behaviour. He argues that democratisation into joint democracy deescalates a rivalry. The magnitude of de-escalation is however, conditional on the relative power between the rivals.  

���The study is significant because it goes beyond the selection effect of democracy, or the tendency of democracies not to become rivals, to focus on how democracies behave in rivalry. I test the empirical implications of the institutional and normative accounts of the democratic peace against each other. I also consider the Peru-Ecuador rivalry (In Latin American) as a case study. I consider the rivalry during its period of democratic transition (from 1979 to 1991), and during the period of autocratic transition (from 1980 to 2000),��� he said. 

The interesting fact is that Bann Seng tests the argument using both quantitative and qualitative methods.  

In this video, he sheds light on his research interest, in-detail, the research methodology that he has used and how the pandemic COVID-19 has impacted international relations. 

His research focusses on the argument - if democracies do not fight each other, then the spread of democracy becomes one of the ways to promote international peace. One such way is through foreign aid.  

How might we use aid to nudge autocratic recipients towards democracy? The tying of future disbursement of aid to good behavior on the part of recipients appeals because it offers a way for donors to influence recipients��� behaviour while placating internal critics of aid.  

He said, ���Such donor pressure should take into account the fact that democratisation is politically costly for the aid recipients. Recipients can be expected to exploit aid fungibility and seek alternative donors where they can. I speculate there may be two conceptual groups of recipients, distinguished by their relative importance to donors. Primary recipients, or states with the strategic or economic attributes that matches the donors��� priorities, should be able to switch between alternative donors for the needed aid.  

Secondary recipients, or states whose strategic or economic attributes do not match the donors��� priorities, should have a harder time finding alternative donor. Consequently, donor pressure to democratise should be more effective on secondary recipients than on primary recipients.���&稼恢壊沿;  

Bann Seng also studies the political economy of natural disasters, especially exploring the authoritarian reactions to disaster aid which typically means studying the reactions of autocratic government to humanitarian relief in the aftermath of disasters.  

���While natural disasters do not respect political boundaries, states��� responses do. I argue that authoritarian regimes strategically choose from aid facilitation, obstruction or diversion depending the political relevance of the disaster victims and the need for performance legitimacy.  

When key supporters of the regime are afflicted by the disaster and the regime needs performance legitimacy, it is in the interest of authoritarian regimes to facilitate foreign relief. When neither holds true, they opt to obstruct aid. Between the two policy extremes, we expect a policy mix of facilitation with aid diversion,��� said Bann Seng.  

Bann Seng Tan received his Ph.D. from the Graduate Center at the City University New York (CUNY). Prior to joining Ashoka, he was an Assistant Professor of International Relations at Bogazici University (Turkey). He taught at the College of William and Mary, at Queens College (CUNY), and at Hunter College (CUNY) before. He was also a senior research scholar at New York University. Understand more about his research . 

Ashoka���s Research Quest Campaign 

Ashoka Research Quest is a newly launched campaign that showcases the in-depth research that 51画鋼 offers. This will be a recurring affair. Get an insight into various subjects through a detailed conversation with the faculty. 

So, let���s talk about research!  

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Science Policy Initiative

51画鋼, in partnership with The George Institute for Global Health, India, organised a virtual symposium Evidence, Decision Making and Policy for COVID-19 in India in November 2020. Distinguished policy experts and academicians from the Government of India and from globally renowned academic institutions were invited to talk about the role of research evidence in decision - making and its use in formulation of policies to counter the growing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This symposium was the first of the planned series of symposia on public health and policy in India. The objective was to engage researchers, academicians, public health experts, clinicians and policy makers on lessons from COVID 19 that impact evidence generation, policy making and practice. 

The policy discussions and knowledge exchange were carried out over different areas governing COVID-19; such as understanding results from national serosurveys, COVID-19 Epidemiology, clinical aspects of COVID-19 and health policy during the pandemic. The two-hour long symposium was attended by over 160 participants from across the world. 

Watch the video: 

SPI | WHITE PAPERS | STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENTS

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Q&A with Admissions | Meet the undergraduate admissions team to clarify your doubts

With Round 1 deadline approaching (18 November), we would like to help you with your Ashoka undergraduate application. Join us for an interaction with the admissions team this Wednesday, 11th November at 6 PM to clarify all your doubts regarding the application form, timelines, Ashoka Aptitude Assessment, interview and any other queries related to the admissions process.

We would encourage students to apply early in Round 1 without XII Board marks for an early admissions and financial aid decision, and reduce uncertainty about your college application.油油

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Applications for Ph.D. Programmes at 51画鋼 are open now

Ph.D. Programme in Chemistry

The Department of Chemistry at 51画鋼 offers full-time graduate program leading to Ph.D. degree in Chemical Sciences. Prospective students are encouraged to be integrated into the world class research and liberal learning culture of the 51画鋼 by joining a research group, supervised by one of our academic staff, in one of the following broad areas of Chemical Sciences

1.Bioinorganic Chemistry

2.Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Catalysis

3.Nanoscience and Photocatalysis

4.Sustainable and Green Chemistry

5.Physical and Material Chemistry

6.Separation Science and Technology

7.Small Molecule Activation

8.Theoretical and Computational Chemistry

9.Synthetic Biology (Biology and Chemistry Interface)

Deadline for submission of applications ��� 4th December2020. 

New Horizons in Computer Science: Ph.D. Programme

51画鋼 is a pioneer in providing world-class liberal education in India. It aims to train students to think critically from a multi-disciplinary perspective to solve real-world problems. The Computer Science Ph.D. programme at Ashoka puts emphasis on novel research themes that cut across several disciplines, and faculty members are actively engaged in research in these disciplines.  We invite applications for a fully funded Ph.D. program in Computer Science with a generous stipend. We are looking for candidates, who are highly motivated to do cutting-edge research and innovation. The key features of the Ph.D. program include a research focus on multi-disciplinary areas of computer science, well-established faculty advisors, excellent research facilities and a world-class residential campus. Students may also have opportunities for exchange visits to various prominent Universities as well as prominent industry research labs. Travel funding for quality international conferences will be provided. There could also be opportunities for supplementary industrial fellowships.  Focus areas for research include AI/ML and data science, mobile sensing and IoT, Urban informatics, political data science, cyber-security, cryptology, information security, blockchain, HCI and ICTD, computer architecture, operating systems and distributed systems. 

Deadline for application submission is 4th December, 2020 (11:59 pm IST)  

Ph.D. Programme in Sociology and Anthropology

The Department acknowledges the unique relationship between sociology and social anthropology as it has developed and flourished in India. We emphasise the critical empiricism, theoretical engagement and comparative approach central to our best disciplinary traditions. Our faculty is actively engaged in long-term fieldwork and ethnographic research in different parts of South Asia and the Himalayan region. Faculty strengths are wide-ranging and include the study of language, law, religion, violence, nature, agrarian change, the state, sovereignty, borderlands, infrastructures, markets, political economy, mobility, informality, popular culture and mental health. Our department encourages interdisciplinary explorations with allied fields of social thought and inquiry, including history, economics, political science, psychology, philosophy, linguistics, environmental studies, computer science, planning and design, natural sciences, arts and aesthetics, law and media.  

Deadline for application submission is February 28, 2021

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Admissions Open for 51画鋼���s Young India Fellowship Class of 2022

We are amongst unprecedented circumstances caused by a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has many implications. As we reflect on this time and continue to hear from several applicants, we recognize that not everyone was in a position to submit their application by the April 12 deadline. With acute awareness of this context, on compassionate grounds and in the spirit of inclusion, we are pleased to announce an extension to the final application deadline of the 11th cohort of the Young India Fellowship. We will now be accepting applications until midnight (IST) on Sunday, April 18, 2021.

For submissions on or before April 12

To be fair to those who have already submitted their applications by the April 12 deadline, many of those presumably without anticipation of an extension, we will review their candidature on priority. We understand there may be questions and concerns. Please reach out to us (yifadmissions@ashoka.edu.in) and we will respond as swiftly as possible.

Pointers for your application
As you start/complete your application to the 11th cohort of the Young India Fellowship (YIF),  there are some things that you should know.

Financial Aid:油You do not need to apply for need-based financial aid (upto 100%) while submitting your YIF app. You will get the opportunity to apply for need-based Financial Aid if you are shortlisted for the writing test and interview.油

Documents Required:油The only mandatory documents required with your YIF application are a government ID and a photograph. All other documents can be shared at the time of your interview (you will get an opportunity to upload them later), if shortlisted.油

Letter of Recommendation:油Please ensure that you enter your recommender���s details before you submit the application. The LoR can come in a few days after the 18th April deadline, however we recommend having it sent at the earliest.油

QUICK LINKS:

•  / Your YIF Application
• Download / YIF Applicant Brochure
• Overview / Application and Eligibility

Please do not hesitate to reach us (+91-8199977076 or +91-9958293745) at any time, in case you have any queries or need insights from the Admissions Team.

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Webinar – Undergraduate Application Form Walkthrough | Register now!

51画鋼 invites you to a webinar on 'Undergraduate Application Form Walkthrough' on Friday, 23rd October, 2020 at 5 PM.

In this webinar, the speakers will take you through Ashoka's Undergraduate Application Form, Ashoka Aptitude Assessment and On-the-spot Essay, followed by Q&A.

Key takeaways:
Brief outline of the UG Admissions process
Components of the Ashoka UG application form
What is the Ashoka Aptitude Assessment?
What to expect in on-the-spot essays? 

Speakers:-
Rahul Sreekumar and Kopal Agarwal
Office of Admissions - 51画鋼

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Webinar – UG Admissions: Writing Personal Essays and Presenting Yourself in Interviews | Register now!

51画鋼 invites you to an exclusive session on how to think about writing personal essays for college applications and prepare for interviews.  In this webinar, Mercia Prince will help students understand the importance and context of personal essays, what students should ask themselves before writing their essays, and the DOs and DO-NOTs to keep in mind. She will also talk about the core aspects of the interview process and how you can best present yourself in any interview.  

Join us on Friday, 30 October at 5 PM to know more! 

Speaker:-

Mercia PrinceDeputy Director - Office of Admissions51画鋼

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Round 1 UG Applications Open Now

51画鋼 invites young and curious minds to apply for the Undergraduate Programme 2021.

Apply with predicted XII grades -油

Build your own curriculum -油

Need-based Financial Aid (Scholarship) -油

Frequently Asked Questions -油

Ashoka's response to COVID-19油 -油

For any other queries/doubts or assistance with your application form, write to us at apply@ashoka.edu.in or call 011 - 40747565. 

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Need-based Financial Aid at 51画鋼 | Friday, 16 October 2020 | 5:00 – 6:00 PM

51画鋼 offers need-based financial aid (scholarship) to all deserving students in the form of fee waivers. While admission is based on the merit of the student, financial aid is given completely based on the affordability of the student���s family. Students can get aid between 25% on tuition to over 100% waiver on tuition and living expenses.油Almost 50% of students on campus are on some form of financial aid. The university offered more than 200 full scholarships to the incoming batches of undergraduate students in 2019 and 2020. So far, no student has ever been denied admission to Ashoka due to financial constraints.油

油

Speaker:-

Rina VetrivelSenior Manager, Financial Aid51画鋼油

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Policy Paper – India���s Inward (Re)Turn: Is it Warranted? Will it Work?

Abstract

India is turning inward. Domestic demand is assuming primacy over export-orientation and trade restrictions are increasing, reversing a 3-decade trend. This shift is based on three misconceptions, which we dispel: that India���s domestic market size is big, India���s growth has been based on domestic not export markets, and export prospects are dim because the world is deglobalizing. In fact, India still enjoys large export opportunities, especially in labour-intensive sectors such as clothing and footwear. But exploiting these opportunities requires more openness and more global integration. Abandoning export orientation is thus akin to killing the goose that lays golden eggs. Indeed, given constraints on public, corporate and household balance sheets, abandoning export orientation is akin to killing the only goose that can lay eggs.油

油Click here油to view the policy paper

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Working Paper- India���s Export-Led Growth: Exemplar and Exception

Abstract

Two new facts motivate this long-run assessment of India���s exports and growth. First, since the early 1990s, India has posted the world���s third-highest growth rate in overall and manufacturing exports, which has been critical to India���s overall growth performance. Contrary to perception, India has been an exemplar of the export-led growth model. Second, this aggregate performance has, however, co-existed with an underperformance in unskilled manufacturing exports. This has resulted in at least $140 billion in ���missing��� unskilled economic activity annually. A cross-country gravity perspective suggests that India is a ���normal��� exporter and importer of goods and services, but an under-exporter of manufacturing goods. Going forward, India���s unusual, endowment-defying specialization could limit export dynamism. Having not traversed the Lewis curve for unskilled manufacturing, the curve for skilled exports is threatening to turn up as skilled labor becomes scarce. 

 Click here to view the full working paper

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Undergraduate Admissions – What do we look for in students? | Register now!

Round 1 applications for the Undergraduate programme will open on 14 October 2020. With that in mind, meet our Admissions Director, Vineet Sabharwal to understand what Ashoka really looks for in a student.

油油

This webinar entails an introduction to Ashoka���s core values, philosophy and process of selecting students for the University���s Undergraduate Programme in Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Interwoven with examples ranging from ancient history to the technology-driven present, participants will explore the identity of an Ashoka student, and learn about the relevance of our holistic admissions process.

Key takeaways of the workshop:

- What makes each applicant unique and therefore how to fill a comprehensive application, based on the individual���s personal context
- How to prepare for the admissions process, including the personal interview and on-the-spot essay
- Admissions calendar

Speaker:-
Vineet Sabharwal
Director - Admissions and Financial Aid
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YIF Podcast | Season 1

The Young India Fellowship is in its tenth year and we can't wait to get the celebrations going. 

The YIF Podcast will play host to a core element of what YIF has to offer- the life experiences and knowledge of 51画鋼's founders, our distinguished faculty, our alumni across diverse fields, fellows and thought leaders across the world. 

On that note, we have something special in store for Season 1. 

For Season 1,each episode in the seven part series will have a few alumni each in conversation with Dr. Pramath Raj Sinha, Founding Dean, YIF; Founder and Trustee, 51画鋼. The diverse Alumni lineup includes civil servants, social entrepreneurs, young corporate leaders, writers, filmmakers, and more, each with a transformative story to share with our community and beyond. 

The podcast will be held as a live webinar series every Saturday evening with the first episode scheduled for the 26th of September, Saturday, from 8 PM to 9 PM IST. 

  -------  

The first episode of season one (26 Sep, 8 pm IST) of The YIF Podcast will bring together two alumni of the YIF, and focus on their individual journeys and their current work. They will also talk to our host, Dr. Pramath Raj Sinha, about how they serendipitously met each other and ended up collaborating to create impact at the grassroots.

About the Speakers:

Pavneet Kaur- Prior to the YIF, Pavneet was working as the Academic Head of a tribal project with Bhartiya Jain Sanghatana in Wagholi. She prepared for and cleared the UPSC exams during the YIF and started her journey as an IAS Officer soon after graduating. Pavneet currently serves as the Commissioner at the Tribal Research & Training Institute, Pune, and was previously the CEO of Zila Parishad in Aurangabad.油

Read more about Pavneet's journey here

Natasha Zarine - Natasha is the co-founder and Managing Director of EcoSattva Environmental Solutions and The Center for Applied Research and People's Engagement. EcoSattva is a hybrid think-tank and implementation organization steeped in the development sector. She was invited to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during the Chancellor's recent visit to India, and was commended for her work in solid waste management. 

Read more about Natasha's journey here

 To register for Season 1 and receive updates on the upcoming episodes, 

51画鋼

Webinar – Performing Arts at 51画鋼 | Register now!

51画鋼 invites high school students and counselors for a webinar on Performing Arts on Friday, 25th Sep at 5 PM.

The Performing Arts department at Ashoka offers a minor or a concentration in performing arts as well as the possibility of enrolling for occasional individual courses. The majority of the courses engage with performance firstly as a practical subject and secondly as a subject of academic study. The terrain covered in these courses is best described as contemporary global theatre, a term that encompasses text, movement, and sound as integral parts of performance phenomena.

In this Webinar, Prof. Justin McCarthy will talk about performing arts as an integral part of liberal education, the various courses under performing arts, workshops, renowned visiting performers, opportunities at Ashoka, and the overall scope of this medium. 

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Faculty Positions in Computer Science at 51画鋼

The Department of Computer Science, 51画鋼 (www.ashoka.edu.in), seeks outstanding applicants for multiple tenure track/tenured faculty positions. The Department offers an undergraduate major in Computer Science, an interdisciplinary major in Computer Science and Mathematics, another inter-disciplinary major in Computer Science and Entrepreneurship, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science. The Departmental focus is in the areas of Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, Security, Privacy, Cryptology, and Systems.油油

For a detailed job description, please visit油 -油油

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Ashoka alumna wins New York Academy of Sciences��� Tracking Coronavirus Challenge

The announcement went live and simultaneously Esha received an email which adjudged the winner of the (NYAS) . Visibly elated, while wishes kept pouring in, Esha sat down for the interview. 

I asked how she was feeling and a thrilled Esha said, ���I feel overwhelmed. I didn���t expect this, of course ��� not at any point throughout the process. It started out just as an opportunity to channel my energy towards something meaningful. The feeling hasn���t sunk in! It���s been over 2 weeks and I still haven���t been able to soak this up. I am hoping it will soon.���&稼恢壊沿;

The Challenge asked participants to design an effective syndromic surveillance network to better understand the current pandemic and/or prevent future Coronavirus outbreaks.  

Esha explained, ���A syndromic surveillance network is one that is integrated well enough into society to be able to predict viral outbreaks before they happen and expand. We were given existing coronavirus-related data sets as well as access to other resources to better understand syndromic surveillance.���&稼恢壊沿; 

The Challenge began on May 08, 2020, with 60 teams participated from around the world. For round 1, everyone had to submit an executive summary and a presentation of their solution. From this pool of 60, 10 were shortlisted for a live pitch event with NYAS��� panel of judges. Each team was given 7 minutes to present, and then an additional 3 minutes for Q&A. The pitch event ended with a live audience poll where people who tuned in could vote for their favorite solutions. The team with the most votes got an additional 2 points for their final evaluation, and the second team got an additional 1 point.  

But Esha didn���t get any of the additional points! 

She said, ���I went with the simplest solution I could think of and put all my time into making sure that it was premised on provable correlations, and then put in more time to make sure I was explaining it in the most concise yet accurate manner possible. When I was shortlisted, it was already more than I expected. Everything since then was just bonus.���&稼恢壊沿;

Additionally, the teams who were in the finals with her were mostly Master���s' and Ph.D. students specialising in Medicine or Public Health from all over the world. ���I stood out against formally trained students, researchers, and academics, which is something I particularly cherish,��� said Esha.
 

And it got even better!  

Esha did not have a formal STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) training and yet she won, thanks to her sheer perseverance.

But what made her apply to the Challenge in the first place? Esha said, ���When I was in high school, my mother introduced me to The Junior Academy ��� a programme by NYAS. The Academy is a community of students, mentors, and leaders who are constantly trying to find solutions to the world���s STEM-related problems. I applied, and I got in. 

I then participated in The Academy���s Winter 2017 Public Health Challenge, which was to create an Ebola Survivor Observation System that could help survivors regulate their post-syndrome symptoms before they became detrimental. It was a team challenge, and we were the winning team. At the time, I was still pursuing a few STEM subjects.���&稼恢壊沿; 

Esha has always held a deep interest in and appreciation for STEM.  

She said, ���I was originally going to major in Physics before switching to English and Media Studies.���&稼恢壊沿;  

So, what inspired her to participate was her very desire to dip her feet into the STEM arena again. She was more focused on the innovation part than the technicalities. The Challenge was about the same, too.  

Her solution SYNSYS is a syndromic surveillance system designed for the public and private healthcare sectors. The system exclusively uses public domain data in this iteration: from Google Trends, census data, and satellite data. These data sets and visualisations can be analysed and used to predict outbreaks before they happen, as well as compute high-risk areas so as to prepare resources and deploy them effectively.  

The system is split into two implementations: pre-emptive, and combatant. The pre-emptive system takes into consideration data from Google Trends. This works under the assumption that a majority of people are more likely to self-medicate if they fall ill and thus will want to search for their symptoms online to know what over-the-counter medication they should take. Any abnormalities or variances that are detected in real-time by the system will be flagged for analysis and scrutiny. This system will be able to detect an outbreak weeks before official diagnoses. 

The combatant system takes into consideration traffic and population density data from satellites. This works under the assumption that during the early phases of an outbreak, people will continue to operate per usual, and thus will travel and gather per usual. The information gained from traffic and population density numbers will be able to identify hot-spots and common travel routes, therefore allowing the delineation of high-risk zones. Resources can then be deployed efficiently to tackle the virus in those zones, not allowing it to spread further. 

Esha said, ���This system provides a very sustainable and scalable approach to the problem of insufficient syndromic surveillance systems. It can be developed further to take into account flight and train data, private domain data from hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, as well as absenteeism data. ���&稼恢壊沿;

So what is her message to the prospective applicants for the Challenge, especially those who don't have any formal STEM training?  ���

What I have found is that to tackle challenges like this one, what you need more than technical expertise is an interest in the challenge topic. When you are interested in solving the problem, it doesn't matter where your formal training lies, because you can use the techniques you have picked up over the years to critically engage with the challenge question in your own way,��� Esha said. 

And there is no correct way to approach a problem, as long as you understand the problem - so that is where you should focus.

What an inspiring thing to say! 

For her solution, Esha is currently looking for ways to develop it into a working programme. She said, ���The resources it requires are substantial, not to mention the technical expertise required to actually develop it.���&稼恢壊沿; 

We reached out to the New York Academy of Sciences about Esha and they were all praise for her. 

"Esha competed with teams made up of young people with training in public health and epidemiology. Esha, instead, drew upon a wide variety of other knowledge and skills to develop a strong solution to our Tracking Coronavirus Challenge. This shows the value of interdisciplinary approaches in problem-solving. We are very happy to have engaged with Esha over the last several years. With a variety of STEM programmes, the Academy is working to support bright and ambitious students like her. We wish Esha great success as she continues her studies. And we look forward to her continued association with the New York Academy of Sciences. "

- Chenelle Bonavito Martinez; Vice President STEM Talent Programs. 

We were about to wrap up the interview, Esha paused for a while. She is thankful to Ashoka for the platform and the interdisciplinary education the University has provided to her. She said, ���Ashoka helped me primarily through its curriculum. I have taken 100-level Physics classes, STEM foundation courses, and a 100-level Chemistry class during my time here. 

During Monsoon 2019, I took a Media Studies course by Professor Maya Mirchandani called Disinformation, Rumor, and Propaganda in the Digital Age. We had a module on data extraction and mining, introduced by Professor Debayan Gupta from the CS Department, and how we could use those techniques to better engage critically with journalistic narratives.  

So STEM involvement hasn't just been limited to STEM classes - it's been pervasive through other departments as well. I think that's been the largest contributing factor from Ashoka: the fact that practices from all departments kind of flow together and blend with each other." 

She believes that all of this has been possible thanks to the liberal and interdisciplinary curriculum that Ashoka offers, and it makes her really happy to call this university her Alma Mater. 

Come January 2021, she will be heading to The New School in New York City for an MS in Media Management. ���It���s a STEM-designated Master���s degree and I couldn���t be happier,��� concluded Esha. 

Esha Datanwala is a recent graduate in English and Media Studies from Ashoka who did not have formal STEM training and yet provided a solution to the world���s deadliest pandemic.

To know more about her project, click .  

Esha has also been featured by NYAS.  to read the interview. 

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Arindam Chakrabarti & Vrinda Dalmiya

...Are joining the ranks of Ashoka's Philosophy Department as Visiting Faculty. Let us briefly introduce them (in alphabetical order): 

Arindam Chakrabarti is visiting us from Stony Brook University, State New York, where he is the inaugural holder of the Nirmal K. and Augustina Mattoo Endowed Chair in Classical Indic Studies.

Professor Chakrabarti is an internationally-renowned scholar in Indian Philosophy, Aesthetics, Philosophy of Art, Buddhism, and Philosophy of Language. He is the author of 17 monographs appearing in English, Sanskrit, and Bengali. He earned his from Presidency College in Calcutta, his MA from Calcutta University, and his D.Phil from Oxford. He held academic positions at the University of Hawaii Manoa, the University of Delhi, and University College London, UK.

Professor Chakrabarti is teaching two courses: one section of the Indian Civilizations FC and PHI-2401/PHI-2701 Moral Psychology of Emotions (taught comparatively). We are excited to have him with us and this is his message to you:

"Namaskaar Ashokans !

Legend has it that the formidable philosopher Elizabeth Ancombe called marriages maintained across continents "Telegamy" ! In a similar spirit, I guess, I should be excited to become part of the remotely E-ducating team this Monsoon from the Hawaiian island of Oahu. I shall be teaching, among other things, the philosophy of the Ashokan edicts to freshly admitted Ashokans. I look forward to the utopia of unmasking ourselves and living in the beautiful Ashoka campus and using "hard-copies" of books in your library someday! Until then, going "soft", I live in the metaphysical conundrum of teaching a "syn-chronous" (same-time) class every Sunday evening to make it to a Monday morning class at 51画鋼. Where am I? As Dan Dennett would wonder."

Vrinda Dalmiya joins us from as Professor of Philosophy from the Philosophy Department of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. 

Professor Dalmiya received a M.Phil from Jadavpur University and a Ph.D. from Brown University. She has been a Fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies in Shimla, where she worked on a comparative project involving feminist care ethics, virtue epistemology and the Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata. She is mainly interested in analytic feminism and her areas of research include care ethics, epistemology, gender and environmental philosophy, gender and disability and comparative philosophy. She has published in numerous anthologies and journals like Hypatia, Environmental Ethics, Journal of Social Philosophy and Sophia.Among her latest larger publications are an anthology labeled: Exploring Agency in the Mahabharata: Ethical and Political Dimensions of Dharma that she co-edited with Sibesh Chandra Bhattacharya and others, also a monograph on Caring to Know: Comparative Care Ethics, Feminist Epistemology, and the Mahabharata.

Professor Dalmiya will teach an Advanced course in Ethics: PHI-3605 Care Ethics. We are thrilled to have her with us - this is her message to you:

"I am excited by the opportunity to teach at Ashoka this semester. In spite of the constraints of an online format, I am greatly looking forward to interacting with the students and learning to build an interactive community with them remotely."

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YSP Forum: New initiative from GESP for Adults!

This year the Office of Global Education and Strategic Programmes (GESP) delivered a very successful online YSP 2020 which saw the participation of over 300 students. Like every year, the team received several requests from parents and school teachers for hosting a YSP-like programme for adults. The GESP team took this opportunity seriously and for the first time created a virtual platform called the YSP-Forum for school counsellors, YSP parents and teachers. The vision is to give this group a glimpse of the YSP classroom and a chance ���to laden their lockdown with learning���. The YSP Forum enables school counsellors and parents to understand the liberal arts pedagogy and be better informed about the world of academics at Ashoka. 

 The YSP Forum was designed as a series of three sessions and was held on Fridays from 14th to 28th of August. Three popular sessions from YSP 2020 were showcased for a new audience. The first session in the series was by Prof. Pratap Bhanu Mehta who spoke on ���Democracy in Motion��� which had been a very thought provoking session at YSP. Before the session, participants were send in one question   about democracy that Prof. Mehta took up in  in the Question and Answer segment of the session. At the end of the session participants were left with new insights about democracy. One participant said, ���In these times of conflict and challenges, it is always good to hear someone like Prof. Mehta who breaks up problems into very simple and easy to understand equations and provides possible solutions too. Process of sortition seemed very interesting.���&稼恢壊沿;

The second session by Professor Madhavi Menon was very unique entitled ���IX Ways to think about Love��� and included perspectives on love from nine different disciplines. In the highly interactive session the audience asked a range of questions from mythology, Bollywood to biology and reflected on the dominance of one understanding of love. The session was well received and stoked the curiosity of audiences who felt that ���There is so much more to a concept than the unidimensional idea we have grown up with���! 

In the final session of the series, Professor Saikat Majumdar spoke on ���Understanding Liberal Arts Education��� to throw some light on the implications of the model in the context of the changing educational landscape. He circulated excerpts from his book ���College: Pathways of Possibility��� ahead of the session and invited the audience to critically engage with questions like ���how deeply should a college education be rooted in one discipline��� and ���what are the curricular relationships between the arts and sciences���.  

The GESP office looks to continue engaging with the adult audiences and sustain their enthusiasm to learn and reflect on commonly held perceptions and ideas. YSP Forum and similar platforms surely contribute towards generating more interest in liberal arts in the future. 

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Ashoka���s First online Summer Semester

On August 14, 51画鋼 successfully concluded its first ever semester planned and executed completely online. 22 unique courses were offered across various disciplines. This year the university also opened its summer courses to undergraduate students across colleges and universities in India.  This new initiative called the Visiting Indian Student Programme (VISP) was designed to foster exchange of ideas and provide students with an opportunity to take courses with Ashoka���s global faculty. Students from universities abroad also joined the semester under the Visiting Students Programme.  19 VISP students registered for 22 course spots while the 6 VSP students registered into 10 courses. The most popular courses were Media, Culture and Society and International Finance with 4 visiting students each, followed by Indian Civilisations and Mind and Behaviour with 3 visiting students each. To enhance student interaction, the Office of Summer Programmes at GESP curated a value-add extracurricular module called e-SCAPe. This initiative successfully brought Social, Cultural, Academic and Professional enrichment over and above the academic experience during the summer semester. e-SCAPe paved the way for a new segment of the virtual semester ���Summer Socials���, as a part of which 25 sessions were hosted, with careful attention, by working around the schedule of the summer semester classes. With 4 to 5 individual sessions of 1 to 2 hours spread out across each week, these were held during the lunch break or after lecture hours in the evenings. The e-SCAPe events not only provided an escape from the intense classes, but also explored various possibilities of the rapidly growing e-scape of the university. The sessions ranged from student-led social events, like, The Ashoka General Quiz and Game Hour to interactive lectures by staff and faculty members. A weekly Reading Circle was organised where students would get together and discuss a pre-decided article. Some of the most popular cultural events were student-led workshops on Zentangles and Introducing Spanish. For professional development an introductory session on Investing was conducted by ABC Investments Club. Another popular session was on Design Thinking that was conducted by Vivek Ahuja from the YIF Programme Team. A virtual cultural tour of Delhi���s pre-Mughal and Mughal architecture was conducted by history Professor Pratyay Nath. For academic growth the Office partnered with the ICT team to organise writing sessions. A 2-part writing workshop, Sources was held by ICT faculty Amaan Shreyas and Sidharth Singh. Focusing on Research Writing the series helped students navigate through academic sources, both for argumentation and citation. Keeping in mind applications for graduate studies, a talk by Ashoka alumna, Payal Nagpal was also planned. Based on her experience from a successful application to a coveted programme in the US, Payal shared tips on framing and writing a Statement of Purpose. The session was very well received and a UG student commented that the ���tips were super clear, easy to understand and concrete���, while another found them ���insightful���. The e-SCAPe events provided a virtual platform for engagement beyond the classroom for all students of the Ashoka Community. These sessions also allowed visiting students to meet and network with Ashoka students. The visiting students enjoyed the semester and appreciated their time spent at Ashoka. One student shared that ���we discussed narratives that remain hidden and it shifted my gaze and interest immensely.��� Another said, ���The course pushed me out of my comfort zone and it was definitely challenging, but I felt like I learned so much from it, and that overall I've grown as a student and therefore as a person.��� In conclusion, the summer semester this year, while presenting novel challenges, was a very successful one for the GESP team and the university, by achieving new vistas in online teaching and student engagement. 

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Ashoka Minecraft – Exceptional journey of eleven Ashoka students who created their beautiful campus on Minecraft

It all started quite suddenly. Inspired by  and , eleven Ashoka students who were missing their campus came together to create their beloved campus within the ultra-popular video game . 

"The best part about Minecraft is that it offers endless virtual space to roam when real spaces have become rare commodities��� - Atishay Khanna

Atishay Khanna, a third-year major in Political Science and International Relations at Ashoka conceived the idea sometime in May, 2020.  The first question that popped in my head was that how did these students from various streams come together in the first place and managed to create something so beautiful?  

Atishay smiled, ���Well we all missed the university incredibly and all of us have been waiting patiently to go back to campus no doubt. Ashoka is a residential campus so when we all went home after being together for so long, we felt a part of us was missing. So, this was one alternative way to being at the university while not being physically present.���&稼恢壊沿; 

At the beginning it was just three of them and slowly more students started joining in.  

Their team���s motto - ���We will bring you back���!  

Quite simple yet beautiful. 

Their inspiration was their memories that they created together at Ashoka. 

As Atishay put it, ���To take a look at what Ashoka has to offer as this would certainly bring a live element to the experience.��� This is also a striking example of how despite the pandemic and everything else, students at Ashoka haven���t lost their hope, or their creative bend of mind. Atishay echoed, ���We are a university where technology is and always has been at the forefront of engagement.���&稼恢壊沿; From building the campus block by block to creating the campus life experience, their journey has been an incredible one. 

���Our journey has been nothing short of exhilarating and of course often nostalgic too since all of us were missing the campus a lot. So this experience, in a way, helped us relive the time when we were at Ashoka in real life.��� - Khushi Mehta

After coming together, they started mapping Ashoka���s campus and everything fell into place!  

���Everyone on the team is really encouraging and sweet, so working with them was so much fun. We all knew our efforts had paid off when we saw how happy and proud the students seemed when they saw the entire campus on Minecraft for the first time. We are overwhelmed by the love we have received from everyone at Ashoka, be it the undergraduate batch, the Young India Fellows, the alumni or anyone else who's called Ashoka their home at some point in their lives.���&稼恢壊沿;

���Working on this project has been one of the most fulfilling and delightful experiences of my life��� - Shaun Stanley

They would all spend five to six hours a day on creating the project. Shaun Stanley, a first-year major in Computer Science and Entrepreneurial Leadership gave a sneak peek into their operation.  

���Although we spent most of our time trying to be productive and get the work done as fast as possible, I would be lying if I were to say that there weren't times when we just had fun and pranked each other! As most of our work revolved around analysing data from Google Earth, Ashoka Virtual Tour, and then recreating it several times on Minecraft until it looked perfect, it was no surprise that we would all get bored from time to time. To refresh ourselves during these times, we would have virtual sword fights, parkour races, and boating competitions or just fly around like a free bird using fireworks. Sometimes, one of us would teleport the rest to an unknown location in another dimension, and trap us there until she/he fulfilled all of their playful cravings!���

It has been fulfilling for each one of them for they have indeed created something incredible here. And, it was not like they did not face any challenges. Shaun said, ���There were many challenges that we faced as a small team with an enormous goal. Getting the Minecraft version of the campus as close as possible to the real deal in scale was definitely a task, and we spent countless hours breaking and rebuilding the same structures to make them look indifferentiable from the real campus. There were innumerable other technical issues too, which we wouldn't have been able to solve without binge-watching several YouTube videos every day.���&稼恢壊沿;

However, the biggest challenge they felt would be the day they stopped working on the project after its completion.   

The response to their creation has been fantastic. The numbers are increasing every single day. There are about 300+ Ashokans (both present and former students) who have already joined the server. With the huge alumni network and with the new students coming in, they hope the numbers will increase exponentially. 

���In my mind, Minecraft is an emotion, which is helping connect the Ashokans with the campus life virtually.���&稼恢壊沿; - Aditi Tibarewal

���The social media followers are also rising. It is incredible to see 900+ Instagram followers posting such encouraging and heartwarming stories. It is great to see that with Minecraft, they feel a part of the larger Ashoka Family and cannot wait to go back to the campus life once again. I really wish to see every Ashokan very soon enjoying and cherishing their time in every nook and corner of Minecraft Campus.���&稼恢壊沿;

���Looking back, it still feels unbelievable and now our efforts are focused on providing even better experiences to our fellow Ashokans on our Minecraft campus.���&稼恢壊沿; - Abhirup Chatterjee

I asked, with such overwhelming responses coming their way, has the feeling sunk in, to which Abhirup Chatterjee, a second-year major in Economics and Finance replied, ���It has been a surreal experience, to be honest, especially after the server opened. Within 30-minutes of opening the server, we had about 250 players exploring the campus.���&稼恢壊沿; 

What had been overwhelming for them was the responses they received from even the outside world. Their work has been featured heavily in both national and international media outlets like , , , , , , , , , , , , and many more. 

"Anything that can be done in real life at Ashoka will eventually be possible on Ashoka Minecraft��� - Bertrand 

Now that they have created the basic version, the next step for them is to refine the specificities of the campus in the next version. Bertrand Kwibuka, a third-year major in Economics and Computer Science said, ���We will move forward to rendering Ashoka Minecraft campus useful in this time of COVID-19. We will give the Ashoka community a chance to reconnect with their second home, revive experiences, and have some fun along.���

I asked how they were planning to achieve this to which a thrilled Bertrand replied, ���This will be done by hosting events which were traditionally held on campus in real life and by giving people a chance to challenge each other in some competitions. We are planning to collaborate with the administration to show the outside world what Ashoka university looks like.���&稼恢壊沿; 

They have come prepared!  

Their long-term plans consist of, but certainly not limited to, collaborating with various universities around the world, especially a ���shout out to UPenn, Dartmouth, UC Berkeley, and MIT friends���, to build a faction server, where each college would be its own kingdom on different parts of the map. ���For fun, we will be able to have bartering systems, conquests, alliances, and wars. , said Bertrand.   

At the beginning of their journey, none of them thought that they would make it this far.

Omkar Mishra, a second-year major in Computer Science said, 

���I still remember the day the emails were sent out to join the team to build the 51画鋼 Campus on Minecraft. I joined just out of curiosity. While starting out this project we did not anticipate that it had the potential of blowing up as much as it did. Now seeing the potential, we want to make Ashoka Minecraft accessible to all the students in such unprecedented times. Right now the campus is open just for the students, and alumni and we definitely plan on opening it to a wider audience. Especially for the incoming batch, this becomes their way to experience campus in all its ���blocky��� glory, and interacting with the people they will be spending the next couple of years with.���&稼恢壊沿;

One month into the project and suddenly a bug entered and their project came crashing down. But instead of breaking down, they picked up their pieces and started once again, from the very beginning. 

Listening to this, I am in awe of these students who have created this experience!油They learnt their lesson the hard way and rebuilt the server from scratch with a multilevel and sophisticated security system.油

Aditi probably said it the best,

"Life of an Ashokan is incomplete without storytelling. We had an adventurous beginning, but we survived to tell the tale. Sometimes, reaching goals demands a lot of patience, faith, and enthusiasm. We all worked like a dream team and made the launch a success."

���Minecraft was an exciting project, and we were all really looking forward to it as a team. We did everything we could with state-of-the-art designing, impressive graphics, accurate layout, and of course the security.���&稼恢壊沿; 

Quoting Dolly Parton, Aditi said, ���However 'The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain'.���&稼恢壊沿;

���People���s feedback guided us, but their reactions are what blew us away!��� - Aniket

 As we came to the last stage of the interview, I asked them if they had anything else to share before we wrap up, to which Aniket Sharma, a second-year major in Philosophy said, ���At the beginning, we did receive a lot of mixed responses with the pandemic looming in, we were constantly thinking of what our audience would want. We were optimising graphic elements and user interaction, plundering every repository of resources, technical and otherwise, that we could find, methodically deconstructing and reconstructing, and painstakingly starting all over again if and when we had to. But truth be told, we would do it again.���&稼恢壊沿; 

They marketed it extensively, choosing their consumer base meticulously and personalising strategies tailored to demographic and definitely adhering to strict deadlines. 

Aniket continued���It completely transformed and with every passing moment began resembling Ashoka more and more. It had everything. It had space for all, beyond anything our skill and effort could have anticipated.���&稼恢壊沿; After eighty-odd days when they finally saw the final product and people���s reactions, they couldn���t hold back their emotions. 

���It was alive. All apprehensions blew away like dandelions in a nostalgic breeze, and it was the most unsettling yet freeing feeling, which transcended any laurels or veneration. We understood that we were merely the people who moved around the proverbial bricks and mortar, with adequate masonry, because it was really the people that breathed life into this. We didn't create this, Ashoka did.���&稼恢壊沿;

Atishay Khanna, Aishwarya Das, Abhirup Chatterjee, Bertrand Kwibuka, Aditi Tibarewal, Omkar Mishra, Khushi Mehta, Shaun Stanley, Ayushi Ghosh, Pratha Srivastava, and Aniket Sharma are the extraordinary people behind the beautiful creation of Ashoka Minecraft. The server officially opened on July 31.  

You can follow their work on their .

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Professor Partha Pratim Chakrabarti, Distinguished Computer Scientist and Former Director of IIT Kharagpur, is Advisor to Ashoka CS

Ashoka���s goal is to create a distinctive Computer Science Programme in a Liberal Arts and Sciences University. With increasing strength in the core discipline and emerging interdisciplinary centres, CS at Ashoka aims to be the premier programme of its kind in India. Professor Chakrabarti will play a critical advisory role in this growth trajectory.  

Professor Chakrabarti completed his B. Tech in 1985 and PhD in 1988 from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur. He joined the same department as a faculty member in 1988 and is currently a Professor there. From July 2013 to June 2019, he was the Director of the IIT Kharagpur. He was the Professor-in-Charge of the Advanced VLSI Design Laboratory, Dean of Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy at IIT Kharagpur and Head of the Advanced Technology Development Centre. He pioneered the development of the Incubation Programme at IIT Kharagpur.油油

Professor Chakrabarti has made fundamental scientific contributions in the area of Artificial Intelligence and Automated Reasoning and has applied the techniques to solve important synthesis, optimisation and verification problems especially in VLSI Design and Embedded Systems. His work has been peer recognised by several scientific awards and best paper prizes.  He has published more than 250 papers in international journals and conferences and supervised more than two dozen PhD students.  

He has worked closely with the Government as well as industry on various projects and has successfully led and completed large projects and programmes at national and international levels. These include projects from DST, CSIR, INSA, Volkswagen Foundation, Intel Corporation, National Semiconductors, Synopsys, General Motors, Google, Amazon AWS, Xerox, Capillary, as well as Indo-German, Indo-US, Indo-Brazil and Indo-Swiss collaborations. 

油He has been the architect and overall coordinator and chief researcher of National Initiatives like the National Digital Library of India, developed, coordinated and made successful International Initiatives of the Government of India like GIAN and SPARC. His areas of interest include Artificial Intelligence (AI), CAD for VLSI and Embedded Systems, Human Problem Solving.油

Professor Chakrabarti received the President of India Gold Medal (1985), the INSA Young Scientist Award (1991), Anil K Bose Award (1995), INAE Young Engineers Award (1997) and the Swarnajayanti Fellowship (1997-98), Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize (2000), INAE Visweswarya Chair Professorship (2007-9), J.C. Bose Fellowship (2013), DSc Honoris Causa (Kalyani University) and many other awards. He has been elected a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi and the Indian Academy of Science, Bangalore, Indian National Academy of Engineering and the West Bengal Academy of Science and Technology.

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Science Policy Initiative

51画鋼 hosted a webinar on Artificial Intelligence in July 2020. The theme of the public webinar was 'Artificial Intelligence in India: Enabling a Robust AI-driven Ecosystem'.

Renowned policy experts, practitioners, academcians, industry players and researchers were invited to speak from the government, academia and industry, to speak on the subject. The day long program featured knowledge exchanges, discussions and interactions along 6 broad themes - the Policy Perspective in AI, AI in Healthcare, AI in Education, AI in Supply-Chain, AI in Finance and Core Algorithms. 

Watch the complete proceedings (video): 

SPI | WHITE PAPERS | STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENTS

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To Join & To Return

Professor Eric Snyder

This Monsoon, Professor Eric Snyder will join the department as our first Associate Professor of Philosophy! He accepted the position last year and deferred for a year to spend some time as a postdoctoral fellow at the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy at LMU Munich, Germany. As you can see from the quote above, he is excited to join and work with all of us!

In the Monsoon semester, Professor Snyder will teach one section of PHI-1000 Intro to Philosophy and PHI-3300 Advanced Philosophy of Language. Students who enjoyed the Philosophy of Language class taught by our Visiting Assistant Professor Juliana Lima in the Spring should thus consider taking this class. In the Spring, Professor Snyder is going to teach PHI-1060 Symbolic Logic (for the first time also in Spring - due to popular demand) and, for the first time in the Department's history, PHI-3241 Philosophy of Mathematics.

Moreover, Professor Scott Dixon will return from his extended 2-year stint as Kit Fine Fellow in the  and the  at , Germany.

"In Hamburg, I have been thinking mainly about issues related to grounding (metaphysical explanation), mereology (parthood), and the nature of properties, relations, propositions, facts, and states of affairs. It was great getting to know everybody there, and receiving their excellent feedback on my work. I also wrote up the entry on David Lewis for the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy during my time in Hamburg. You can check it . Excited to be back!"

Professor Dixon

Senior students will still remember him and, we are told, are thrilled to have him back. In the Monsoon semester, he will be teaching a section of the FC Mind and Behavior, and PHI-2000 Intro to Metaphyics. In the Spring, he will be teaching PHI-2240 Philosophy of Science and, as a special welcome-back treat for him and the students, PHI-4000 Topics in Advanced Metaphysics.

For more information, see the Faculty News item here.

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Ashoka Ph.D. student wins prestigious SSE Lewontin Award Grant

Two weeks ago, Srijan received an email that created a wave of smiles all around. He had just been awarded the globally recognised Graduate Research Excellent Grant ��� RC Lewontin Early Award by one of the apex evolutionary biology societies in the world, Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE). Sharing his exhilaration, Srijan said, ���It feels great to win such an award at an early stage of my research career. Being the first India-based Ph.D. student to win this award since its inception in 2018, makes it even more special.���&稼恢壊沿; 

Why Evolutionary Biology?

 While completing his master���s degree in Biotechnology from the St. Xavier���s College, Kolkata, Srijan was working on his master���s thesis at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, and that was when he was introduced to the fascinating world of Evolutionary Biology. And he has been hooked ever since!  After joining the Ph.D. programme at Ashoka, Srijan has been working on multiple projects aimed at understanding of rapid evolution of immune strategies against novel pathogens. He explains his research area, ���Under natural conditions, hosts can be challenged with multiple co-infecting pathogens simultaneously. I am intrigued by how quickly animals respond to these infections and what are most effective strategies that they might evolve over generations to reduce the severity of co-infection. In fact, I am tracking these evolutionary processes as they happen using experimental evolution with popular insect models such as red flour beetles. This is one of the most efficient ways to mimic evolution as closely as possible in the laboratory���.   

For the award grant, he had to submit an experimental proposal on the evolution of immunity against co-infecting pathogens that would form an integral part of his doctoral thesis. 

Srijan, at the Evolutionary Immunology Lab, 51画鋼. 

Coinfection, as Srijan said, can result in diverse outcomes compared to single infection events leading to major changes in the evolution of host immune responses.

Srijan said, ���Though many theoretical models exist pertaining to such responses, but, there are no experimental studies to test the hypothesis predicted by the models.��� Given the importance and natural relevance of coinfection, Srijan feels that his research would reveal insights into the complex dynamics of evolving immune strategies against single versus coinfection.  

Pursuing Sciences at a Liberal Arts institute is enriching, said Srijan. Elated as he was at the beginning of the interview, he was all praise for Ashoka for the support he has received.

 He believes that Ashoka opened new horizons for him. Ashoka has been a pioneer in the Indian education system, bringing in an interdisciplinary approach to education with its extraordinary faculty and research pedagogy. Srijan said, ���The research environment here at 51画鋼 is encouraging and cooperative with a lot of opportunities for interdisciplinary research. All the faculty in the department of Biology along with the research office provide extensive support.���&稼恢壊沿;

Professor Imroze Khan���s contribution has been immense. 

A Ph.D. student under Dr. Imroze Khan, Srijan first got to know about Imroze���s lab, the Evolutionary Immunology Lab (51画鋼) during his time at IISc. Srijan was fascinated with Imroze���s work on adaptive evolution of immune responses under different pathogenic environment. A humble Srijan continued, ���My advisor Imroze Khan���s contribution to winning this grant is immense. I had the structural framework of my proposal but he helped me in shaping that into a proper proposal that won the grant. Starting from going through the numerous drafts of the write-up and providing key inputs, he encouraged me in every step of the way and I am so thankful to him.���&稼恢壊沿; 

On the other hand, the advisor himself, Dr. Imroze Khan, Assistant Professor of Biology, was impressed by his student���s achievement. He said, ���Receiving the RC Lewontin Early Award is indeed a wonderful achievement by Srijan, which puts his work immediately at the forefront of academic scholarship demonstrated by early-stage graduate students across the globe. This is also a big recognition of his thesis proposal where he plans to track how animals can rapidly evolve complex immune responses against infections caused by multiple pathogens together. With a rapid surge of infectious diseases in recent decades, his discovery will also significantly advance our fundamental understanding of how immune strategies cope up with new emerging infections."   

The road ahead. Using the generous fund received from SSE, Srijan first plans to systematically track how diverse immune responses can evolve in hosts repeatedly exposed to multiple pathogens simultaneously across many generations. Subsequently, he will also be looking at the underlying molecular mechanisms. 

Srijan has a message for the prospective students of the SSE research grant. 

He said, ���SSE provides a lot of different grants (including travel grants) to junior and senior research fellows who are working in the fields of ecology and evolution. I would strongly urge prospective students to keep a close eye on their website and social media platforms for the details of the same. A clear idea about the background of your questions, novelty, and robust experimental framework is important to write a proper grant proposal. It is also equally important to state clearly the limitations of the study or experimental design as it gives the reviewers an idea that you have thought about the alternative possibilities and the project in detail.���&稼恢壊沿;

Applying to grants is always a fulfilling experience. 

He urges undergraduates, postgraduates, and Ph.D. students to apply for different grants and awards given by various societies across the world for young researchers. Srijan joked, ���I understand, that writing grants can be an extensive and tedious process!��� But in the end, as Srijan said, ���It is an enriching learning experience. Sharing your ideas and work with different people and getting the reviewer���s comments helps in getting different perspectives on your work. It might help in better planning and smooth execution of your research work.���&稼恢壊沿;

We have come to the end of the interview. 

I asked if he would like to say anything before we wrap up. Srijan as always very thorough wanted to thank his family, friends, and close ones for the support they have shown on him over the years. ���I would like to mention that apart from my family who supports me in all my endeavours, I have another equally supportive group of lab mates and Ph.D. cohort here at Ashoka who would chip in with suggestions whenever needed and this motivates me to work harder. Needless to say, I am blessed to have them in my life,��� signed off Srijan.  Srijan Seal is a first-year Ph.D. student at the Department of Biology, 51画鋼, and a stellar researcher in the making in his own right.  

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Final Draft: The Journal of YIF Critical Writing is Now Out!

The YIF Critical Writing Programme has few visible contextual precedents within the Indian higher education system. Acknowledging the importance of writing as central to processes of knowledge acquisition, production, and consumption, the programme has developed a pedagogy geared towards building critical reading, writing and thinking skills to help Fellows engage with the world of ideas and enable them to develop and express their own ideas in a well-reasoned, lucid, and engaging manner. We do this by helping students innovate with genres of writing across different disciplines to develop a metacognitive awareness regarding their own reading and writing practices. These skills act as building blocks for the liberal arts education they receive at 51画鋼 and enhance their abilities to navigate academic, professional, and social spheres once they graduate from the Fellowship. 

The goal of Final Draft is to showcase both the range���in topic and genre���and strength of writing in a student body that is itself highly diverse in terms of its educational, disciplinary, professional, geographic, linguistic, and socio-economic backgrounds. Through the process of writing multiple drafts, student-authors discover their own unique voice, and recognise writing as an ongoing, open-ended activity as signalled by the title of the journal itself. As the Fellows learn to bring critical thinking tools to the drawing board, readers of Final Draft can witness a clear attempt by them to negotiate with texts and social phenomena as they make sense of the world around them.

51画鋼

51画鋼 opens its Summer Courses

The Office of Summer Programmes at 51画鋼 offers an intensive six-week study programme, during the summer, for undergraduate students from across academic institutions, held online this year. A range of four-credit courses are offered in various disciplines. 

The Visiting Students Programme (VSP) and Visiting Indian Students Programme or the (VISP) are specifically designed to foster exchange of ideas between undergraduate students from across educational institutions in India and the globe and those at Ashoka. For the first time, 51画鋼 is welcoming undergraduate students from other colleges and universities in India to experience the university���s unique academic offerings through the VISP.  In keeping with this ethos and despite the restrictions on physical mobility on account of COVID-19; this purpose will be fulfilled, this year, by conducting all course online.

Enrolling for the summer term at Ashoka provides students an opportunity to take courses and study with Ashoka���s global faculty. This will expand the academic range of topics they could be studying. It will help build on their academic prowess, experience the liberal arts and sciences pedagogy or simply explore other areas of interest. The summer term provides the opportunity to study with a diverse cohort of Ashoka students and those from international institutions thus making the experience truly global.油

51画鋼

The Young India Fellowship Launches Final Draft: Issue 2 (May 2020)

The YIF Critical Writing Programme has few visible contextual precedents within the Indian higher education system. Acknowledging the importance of writing as central to processes of knowledge acquisition, production, and consumption, the programme is geared towards building critical reading, writing and thinking skills to help Fellows engage with the world of ideas and enable them to develop and express their own ideas in a well-reasoned, lucid, and engaging manner. 

The goal of Final Draft is to showcase both the range���in topic and genre���and strength of writing in a student body that is itself highly diverse in terms of its educational, disciplinary, professional, geographic, linguistic, and socio-economic backgrounds. Through the process of writing multiple drafts, student-authors discover their own unique voice, and recognise writing as an ongoing, open-ended activity as signalled by the title of the journal itself: Final Draft. These papers aren���t finished products disseminating final truths, but drafts in motion; searching for meaning and connection, which makes this more of a pedagogic exercise book for the programme in addition to being a journal. In Final Draft, the Critical Writing Programme hopes to give the readers a glimpse into some of the styles and voices that young students have evolved, the concerns and ideas that they have explored, and the seriousness of their engagement with writing.  

 to view Final Draft: Issue 2 (May 2020).

To view the inaugural issue of Final Draft, . 

Final Draft: Issue 2 (May 2020) Launch

51画鋼

Final Draft: A Journal of the YIF Critical Writing Programme

The Critical Writing Programme of the Young India Fellowship is delighted to announce the launch of the second edition of Final Draft, the first multi-disciplinary journal of student writing in 51画鋼. 

As part of the launch, we have brought together a wonderful panel comprising Jonathan Gil Harris, Sumana Roy, and Urvashi Butalia who will be in conversation with Aniha Brar about the 'Processes of Writing' this Sunday, June 7, 7-8 pm. 

We hope you can join us as we celebrate this milestone of the CW Programme at the YIF. To register, please click . 

51画鋼

An important strategic decision about the Young India Fellowship

This communication is regarding an important strategic decision about the YIF. For 2020-21, we will maintain the cohort size at around 200 Fellows. This follows a review of the rapid growth of the YIF���which involved an expansion of its cohort size from ~50 to ~300 in 6 years���and our aspirations to take the YIF to greater heights. 

This strategic decision allows us to act in the best interests of the YIF and its stakeholders, most importantly the Fellows. The YIF operates with a robust feedback loop, which we believe to be critical to shaping the experience year on year. Inputs and support from this feedback loop���including faculty, alumni, founders, the leadership and friends of 51画鋼���have constantly served to strengthen the programme. Many conversations have revolved around the optimal size of a cohort that would ensure a high-quality teaching and learning environment, while celebrating peer learning amidst a close-knit community. Fellows across cohorts typically regard this as central to their YIF experience. Hence, while the number of applications received this year is actually higher than last year, the decision has been taken to maintain the cohort size at around 200.

We look forward to welcoming the 10th cohort of diverse and intellectually curious individuals. We continue to be committed to creating an unparalleled learning experience at the YIF.

51画鋼

The University of East Anglia Creative Writing Workshops in India, In Partnership with 51画鋼

Following on the great impact its first nine creative writing workshops had in India, the University of East Anglia (UEA), where the United Kingdom���s oldest and highest-ranked school of creative writing is located, is organizing a tenth workshop in prose fiction in partnership with 51画鋼, India's leading liberal arts university. The first of these workshops began in 2013. 

 Published writers, often picked up by leading publishers, have emerged steadily from the workshop in the last five years. Others have gone on to successfully complete MAs and MFAs in prose fiction from UEA and other reputed universities. 

The seven-day international workshop begins on 1st August, and ends on 8th August 2020. There will be a break on the 5th. This workshop will comprise a group of 9-10 participants.  

It will take place online, and be led by novelist, essayist and musician Amit Chaudhuri. 

Participants should ideally have experience in creative writing and also be able to respond in detail to the works of other participants. 

 To apply to the workshop, please send us:

1. a completed application form
2. a CV
3. a writing sample of 1,500 words - published or unpublished; the sample should be what candidates consider to be their best work.
4. a reference (optional) 
5. a short statement (300 words max) - explaining what you hope to contribute to and achieve in this workshop.

Applications should be submitted by email to creativewriting.workshop@ashoka.edu.in by 14th July. The fee for the workshop is Rs 20,000 or its equivalent in other currencies

 Application Form 

51画鋼

Need-based Financial Aid at 51画鋼

51画鋼 offers need-based financial aid to all deserving students in the form of fee waivers. While admission is based on the merit of the student, financial aid is given completely based on the affordability of the student���s family. Students can get aid between 25% on tuition to over 100% waiver on tuition and living expenses.
Approximately 50% of students on campus are on some form of financial aid. The university offered 120 full scholarships to the incoming batch of undergraduate students in 2019. So far, no student has ever been denied admission to Ashoka due to financial constraints.  Join us on Friday, May 15 at 5 PM to learn more about the Financial aid process at 51画鋼.  

���

51画鋼

Undergraduate Admissions at 51画鋼 – Webinar

51画鋼 offers a multidisciplinary undergraduate programme in the interest of exposing students to many different perspectives in and out of the classroom. Students can choose their own subjects to combine their various interests to earn a B.A.(Hons.) or a B.Sc.(Hons.) degree. An Ashoka education carries a strong emphasis on foundational knowledge, research-based pedagogy and hands-on experience with real-world challenges.
51画鋼 follows a holistic online admissions process which is based on every student's unique individual context rather than cut-offs. Join us on Friday, 8th May at 5 PM to learn more about the application process and what it takes to get into Ashoka. 

51画鋼

Towards Creative Machines | Scientifically Speaking Lecture Series

What makes a machine ���creative���? How does one define the ���Intelligence��� in Artificial Intelligence? Professor Ravi Kothari will begin by speaking about the classical approach to intelligence, before moving on to the more modern paradigm. His talk will illustrate real-life examples of how modern approaches to intelligence can be used to construct many spectacular applications like self-driving cars and miracle drugs.  

Speaker Bio: 

Ravi KothariProfessor, Computer ScienceHead of Department, 51画鋼  Ph.D. West Virginia University 

Open to all! 

51画鋼

Round 4 Undergraduate Application Deadline – 22 May, 2020

51画鋼 invites applications for the Undergraduate Programme in Round 4, the deadline for which is 22 May, 2020.  The university follows a  that is based not on cut-offs but the overall profile of students. You can get a confirmed offer of admission without your board marks. Take the Ashoka Aptitude Test or submit your application with SAT/ACT scores to get a confirmed decision even without your final board results.  

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Young Scholars Programme (YSP & YSP-A): Unique online high school programmes this summer from 51画鋼!

In its fifth successful year, Young Scholars Programme or YSP is a unique summer programme which introduces high school students to a liberal arts & sciences education. It is a certified online programme where students are exposed to different disciplines through academic work, writing and multi-media learning.  It presents to students across the country an opportunity to learn from Ashoka���s world-class faculty and liberal arts pedagogy from the comfort of their home!

YSP ~ 5 days ~ May 18 to May 22, 2020 
Website:  
Email for YSP: youngscholars@ashoka.edu.in 
Phone: +917496967701

YSP-Advanced (YSP-A) - This year we are offering a new - academically intensive programme called YSP-Advanced (YSP-A). This is a 10-day certified online programme, of learning with Ashoka���s world-class faculty and engage with global issues through a liberal arts pedagogy. The deliberations will provide students, from across the country, an understanding of various real-world scenarios and how solutions to effectively address current global concerns will converge from various disciplines. This is a perfect gateway to both range and depth of multi-disciplinarity at 51画鋼. 

YSP-Advanced (YSP-A) ~ 10 days ~ Mon to Fri, May 18-22 & May 25-29, 2020 
Website: /ysp-advanced
Email for YSP-A: ysp.advanced@ashoka.edu.in
Phone: +917496967702

Both YSP & YSP-A are for high school students who will be in Class 11 and 12 in May 2020. This year, these online programmes are also open to students who have completed Class 12 as well.   

With its unique interdisciplinary coursework taught by Ashoka faculty, both programmes are an excellent introduction to the academic discourses that will open new ways of looking at the world for students. 
 

Get up to date information on these programmes on social media:
Follow up on Instagram: 
Join us on Facebook: 

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis into YSP and YSP-A so submit your application for a great ride this summer!

Please let your friends and community know about these online programmes and share the details with anyone who you think will benefit from these summer programmes.

51画鋼

An opportunity to bring the Ashoka classroom into your living room!

In its fifth successful year,油Young Scholars Programme油or油YSP油is a unique summer programme which introduces high school students to a liberal arts油and sciences油education. It is a certified online programme where students are exposed to different disciplines through academic work, writing and multi-media learning.油 It presents to students across the country an opportunity to learn from Ashoka���s world class faculty and liberal arts pedagogy from the comfort of their home!
Young Scholars Programme (YSP)油~ May 18油to May 22, 2020油
Website:油油
Email for YSP:油youngscholars@ashoka.edu.in油
Phone: +917496967701

YSP-Advanced (YSP-A) - This year we are offering a new - academically intensive programme called YSP-Advanced (YSP-A). This is a 10-day certified online programme, of learning with Ashoka���s world-class faculty and engage with global issues through a liberal arts pedagogy. The deliberations will provide students, from across the country, an understanding of various real-world scenarios and how solutions to effectively address current global concerns will converge from various disciplines. This is a perfect gateway to both range and depth of multi-disciplinarity at 51画鋼. 

YSP-Advanced油(YSP-A)油~油10 days ~ Mon to Fri, May 18-22 and May 25-29, 2020油
Website:油/ysp-advanced
Email for YSP-A:油ysp.advanced@ashoka.edu.in
Phone: +917496967702

Both油YSP油and油YSP-A油are for high school students who will be in油Class 11 and 12 in May 2020. This year, these online programmes are also open to students who have completed Class 12 as well.油油油

With its unique interdisciplinary coursework taught by Ashoka faculty, both programmes are an excellent introduction to the academic discourses that will open new ways of looking at the world for students. 
 

Get up to date information on these programmes on social media:
Follow up on Instagram: 
Join us on Facebook: 

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis into YSP and YSP-A so submit your application for a great ride this summer!
Please let your friends and community know about these online programmes and share the details with anyone who you think will benefit from these summer programmes. 

51画鋼

The Coronavirus Pandemic: Are we ready for the long haul?

Centre for Economic Data and Analysis (CEDA), 51画鋼, March 2020

There is a lot that is unknown about SARS-COV-2, but the world���s leading epidemiologists believe that its spread will be a long-drawn process. It will take at least油for a vaccine to become available, and even after that, scaling up vaccine production to cover the entire world population will take a long time. Until then, or until a sufficient number of people become immune to the virus, we may see multiple outbreaks of the disease, leading to spikes in infections and mortality. Many experts also believe that SARS-COV-2 is油which could imply outbreaks of COVID-19 cases in winter.油

In short, over the next two years, governments around the world will have to spend resources on stamping out repeated outbreaks of the disease, often by ���locking down��� cities, or regions, or entire countries. As we have seen in the few short days of national lockdown so far, these lockdowns come with significant economic costs and impose hardships on many vulnerable people. Policymakers must be prepared to mitigate the costs of lockdown and provide relief to adversely affected individuals. Moreover, they must be ready to announce these measures油in advance油of a lockdown to prevent the scenes of chaos, panic and anxiety that we have witnessed over the last few days.

Guiding principles for policy responses

One of the defining aspects of the global pandemic is the fundamental uncertainty associated with it. Both common sense and experimental evidence establishes that almost all people are averse to facing uncertainty in their lives. One important principle that government policy should follow is to not add further uncertainty in these difficult times. There must be a pre-established, forward-looking policy framework in place that油commits油to providing a safety net to vulnerable people. This should be widely publicized so that the people affected most know what their entitlements are and how to access them.油

Policy needs to take a comprehensive view of the vulnerabilities, both material and psychological, that vast sections of the population will be exposed to in the event of repeated lockdowns. Migrants, daily- wage workers, casual laborers, informal sector workers, and many self-employed individuals who do not have any safety net in the form of substantial personal savings will face a sharp drop in incomes potentially leading to hunger, homelessness, and adverse health outcomes. As debilitating as the material consequences of scarcity are, equally striking are the psychological damages that it produces. Specifically, episodes of scarcity have a serious impact on cognition and decision making, leading to adverse outcomes for vulnerable groups (Mullainathan and Shafir, 2013).[i]油

With this in mind, we propose a comprehensive approach that argues for a combination of cash support and in-kind transfers to be made to all households with ration cards during any lockdown that takes place over the next 24 months. Given the possibility of prolonged and frequent lockdowns in the future, our proposed transfers are more ambitious than the announced油in place, in order to provide an adequate safety net for millions of Indians who do not have the savings to tide themselves through long periods of economic inactivity.油

We intend for the cash and in-kind transfers to work as complements and not as substitutes, as lockdowns are often accompanied by hoarding, disruptions in supply chains and price fluctuations. In order to ensure that these transfers actually provide relief to people, we also emphasise the importance of managing supply chains to maintain the flow of essential commodities.油

The implementation of these policies requires coordination across multiple levels of government. We recommend that a robust institutional infrastructure be put in place in order to manage government responses not just to the current pandemic but to any future pandemics.油

In addition, policy should pay attention to specific groups that are more vulnerable to the economic costs of lockdown than others, like women and children, migrant labour, daily wage earners and self- employed workers, many of whom may struggle to get access to entitlements.

Recommendations

Creating a social safety net

Given long-term uncertainty, likely recurrences of SARS-COV-2 outbreaks and lockdowns, and the significant material and psychological costs associated with them, we recommend a monthly cash transfer to all households in areas that have been locked down, to be supported by in-kind transfers of food and other essential commodities through the PDS system.

Cash transfers:

1. We recommend a monthly cash transfer to all households with ration cards in the area of lockdown. We suggest a sum of Rs 4300 in urban areas and Rs 2600 in rural areas (this estimate is for an average family size of four members and is based on poverty estimates) during such periods. Since Aadhaar cards have been seeded with both ration cards and bank accounts, these transfers can be made directly into bank accounts linked to each ration card.
2. In addition to transferring money into bank accounts, steps should be taken to ensure that people have access to cash. To prevent overcrowding at banks and ATMs in urban areas, simple rules based on Aadhar card numbers could be used to allow people to withdraw money. In rural areas, banking correspondents or mobile banking vans could be used to bring cash to each village every month.
3. With covering 82 crore people, the total cost to cover the present 3 weeks of lockdown will come to approximately Rs. 55,000 crore. 
4. If lockdowns cover only specific states or districts, cash transfers should extend to households living and working in all the affected areas. As an example, if the state of Delhi was to be locked down for a month, transfers of Rs 4300 would be made to all 19 lakh households holding ration cards, at a total cost of Rs 817 crores for the month.
5. The availability of the cash transfer should be announced in advance to reduce economic uncertainty during this pandemic.

The amount of the cash transfer is based on poverty line estimates by the Rangarajan committee in 2014 set at Rs 1,407 a month per person for urban and Rs 972 a month per person for rural areas. If we adjust this for inflation, the poverty line is revised up to Rs 1591 per month per person in urban areas and Rs 1074 per person per month in rural areas in 2020. This amount comes to Rs 6000 and Rs 4300 in urban and rural India per household per month for a household of four. The monetized amount of the PDS ration is about Rs 1686 (50 kg rice at the market rate of Rs 32 including the additional rations recently introduced by the government). Deducting the value of these food provisions from the household poverty line estimate gives us a figure of Rs 4300 for urban and Rs 2600 for rural households.

To illustrate the fiscal costs of the proposed cash transfer, consider the cost of making the transfer to all households during the present 3-week lockdown. The estimated costs of Rs. 55,000 crore amount to one-tenth of the fiscal deficit (at 3.5% of GDP). The proposed transfer will widen the deficit by 0.3 percentage points to 3.8% of GDP. Of course, given complete shutdown of production, the tax collection for this period would be adversely affected which would only widen the deficit. Financing this transfer through any sources, be it direct or indirect taxes, trade or domestic and international borrowing, will certainly be challenging, but these costs are dwarfed by the costs of a full-blown pandemic. Several governments have already announced transfers that are much smaller than our recommendation. We believe that a nominal transfer that helps the poor for a very short period of time and forces them back into work in infectious environments will entail much higher long-term costs than a more generous transfer that allows people to safely stay at home, contains the spread of disease, and lowers the number of sick-persons-work days in the economy.

In-kind transfers:

1. In addition to the cash transfer, given that during the period of lockdowns, people find it difficult to access cash at banks or ATMs, and given pressure on supply chains causing prices of essential goods to rise, vulnerable populations must also be supported through in-kind transfers of cereals, pulses and other essential commodities. The government has already announced increased transfers of free rations of cereals and pulses to households through the PDS system for the next three months. We support these measures and recommend that they be continued in the event of further lockdowns. Biometric authentication should, however, be suspended during this period, as many states have already announced.
2. Since people might find it difficult to travel to PDS shops during periods of lockdown, in- kind transfers can also be made through other means like door-step delivery through PDS trucks.
3. The role of PDS shops needs to be reimagined. In addition to providing cereals and pulses, vegetables like potatoes, onions, tomatoes and salt which are essentials for Indian households should also be made available through these fair price shops, if possible, at reduced rates.
4. In the event of more frequent and prolonged lockdowns, the list of essential goods required to run households will need to be expanded. To mitigate policy uncertainty, a comprehensive list of essential commodities needs to be drawn up that are necessary for running households (for example, looking beyond food to other requirements such as electrical and plumbing parts and packaged food).

Supporting the supply of essential goods

The provision of cash and in-kind transfers need to be complemented with the maintenance of adequate supplies of essential goods like food and medicines. Supply chains in India are long and non- automated. They aggregate the produce from farms up to a wholesale market and then disaggregate it to small local vendors. First, these markets themselves are prone to becoming potential places of virus transmission. Second, lockdowns can affect both the aggregation upto the mandi, and further distribution from the mandis. 

The reported incidents of shops, vegetable and fruit kiosks running out of supplies and e-commerce disruptions in the aftermath of the current lockdown offer valuable lessons in planning for the future. Uncertainty about the nature of the lockdown and the exceptions to the lockdown have led to hoarding and a rise in prices of some perishables and a fall in the price of others. Figure 1 plots the average retail prices during the month of March 2020 for some of the essential commodities used by Indian households - Tomato, Onion, Potato, Cereals, Pulses, Oils and Sugar.[ii] Three commodities - Tomato, Onion and Potato (TOP) - show a sharp spike in their prices immediately after the lockdown was announced. These commodities are perishable/semi-perishable, used frequently by Indian households and are purchased in local markets, with daily variation in prices. Other commodities have not shown a spike yet largely because they are non-perishable and show greater stability due to their availability in packaged form, where prices do not change frequently.[iii] If supply chains are not managed well, there is a possibility of sharp spikes in other commodity prices too, especially of those commodities regularly consumed by households. The benefit of cash transfers will be significantly eroded in such an environment.

Figure 1: Prices of Essential Food Items (Department of Consumer Affairs, Authors��� calculations across 75 cities)

1. The current model of aggregated mandis needs to be reshaped with trucks arriving at various smaller multiple sites to offload supplies. There could be mandated restrictions on the number of trucks allowed at a site to avoid overcrowding. SMS based pre-registration used in Madhya Pradesh can be used as a model countrywide to plan for the arrivals at these sites. The COVID- 19 testing protocol should be expanded to include workers involved in the supply of essential goods, who are at a high risk of contracting the virus and must be regularly checked to minimize community transmission.
2. The movement of goods from farms to mandis must also be allowed to continue freely. Currently only the movement of ���essential��� goods is permitted, but a very narrow listing of ���essential��� goods will only lead to farmer incomes falling and a subsequent shortage in supplies. Movement of all agricultural products should be freely allowed to prevent future shortages in goods.
3. The pressing need to ensure that mandis continue to function has already been emphasized It is particularly important to put in place procurement plans for the rabi crop which will be harvested in early April, to protect farmers��� incomes and to prevent food stocks from running out. In the event of further lockdowns, seeds and fertilizers for next kharif season also need to be made available to farmers.have also proposed opening credit lines to traders and buyers and ensuring that non-payment of Agricultural Produce Market Committees fees do not impede the smooth functioning of supply chains.
4. To ensure that supplies continue to be maintained, we need planning and coordination across states. Districts where supplies are running out need to be identified and stocked up to avoid panic.
5. In the immediate aftermath of the current lockdown, there will be a shortage of packaged food manufactured by agri-processing industries, including a wide range of products from oils to health and hygiene goods. The government will need to be proactive and ensure that these manufacturing units are allowed to operate before scarcity settles in. For these manufacturing units there can be an issuance of letters by employers who need to operate their businesses as part of essential supply chain continuance. This should be allowed as sufficient proof to allow movement of their employees.

Building institutional infrastructure to respond to future outbreaks of disease

Implementing the recommendations will require a robust institutional framework to allow for coordination between central and state governments. We propose that the central government constitute an apex body at the national level - a Pandemic Preparedness Unit - headed by the Prime Minister which will coordinate government responses to outbreaks of COVID-19. We propose that the Unit should have dedicated offices that focus on the following issues among others: 

1. Streamlining disease surveillance and reporting systems: our existing system of collecting data on and monitoring disease outbreaks such that reliable and updated information is available in a central repository for quick action.
2. Coordinating public health management responses: we need to plan for how hospitals and medical equipment production and supply chains can be coordinated to respond to a pandemic and the unit can perform this task.
3. Formulating economic and social policies: it is evident that any pandemic with associated lockdown periods imposes significant economic and social costs on the Indian population. Therefore, we need experts in the Unit who can formulate robust policies that account for such scenarios and work on mitigating these costs.
4. Coordinating with states: The Unit can also work as a central coordinating agency at the time of a pandemic to guard against possible coordination failures across states, such as allowing transport of essential commodities across state borders, facilitating safe transport for migrants etc.
5. Communicating effectively: it is crucial for the government to clearly communicate information about the disease as well as recommended behavioral responses, do���s and don'ts, etc. It should also be clear and explicit about restrictions relating to lockdowns, as well as exemptions. The Unit can be the central authority for effective communication on such issues at the time of a crisis.

Given the size of our nation, it may be advisable to form similar Pandemic Preparedness Units at the state level headed by the respective Chief Ministers that coordinates with the central Unit and helps in management and communication of policies across districts within each state.

In Part II, we discuss the economic impacts of the pandemic on specific vulnerable groups and suggest appropriate policies.

[i] Mullainathan, Sendhil, and Eldar Shafir. Scarcity: Why having too little means so much. Macmillan, 2013.

[ii] This data is collected by the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), and is plotted by taking an average across 75 cities.

[iii] Data for other perishable commodities is not collected by DCA but it is quite possible that they witnessed an  too.

Authors: Abhinash Borah, Sabyasachi Das, Aparajita Dasgupta, Ashwini Deshpande, Kanika Mahajan, Bharat Ramaswami, Anuradha Saha, Anisha Sharma

* *All authors are affiliated to the Department of Economics, 51画鋼.

Cover Image Source: Google Images

51画鋼

Ashoka’s commitment to free speech and expression

51画鋼 stands for and advocates academic freedom and freedom of speech and expression. All members of the University --- students, staff and faculty --- as members of the University are free to express their individual or collective views and opinions. Such views and opinions are, however, not the views and opinions of 51画鋼 as an institution. Any views and opinions on behalf of the University as an institution are typically expressed by the Office of the Vice Chancellor.

51画鋼

COVID-19 Considerations | YIF Application Deadline Extension and More

Dear YIF aspirants, 

Hope you and your families are safe and well.   

// Announcement for YIF aspirants 

We are amongst unprecedented circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which have many implications. As we reflect on this time and continue to hear from several applicants, we recognize that not everyone was in a position to submit their application by the March 31 deadline. With acute awareness of this context, on compassionate grounds and in the spirit of inclusion, we are pleased to announce an extension to the final application deadline of the 10th cohort of the Young India Fellowship. We will now be accepting applications until midnight (IST) on Monday, April 13, 2020.

// For submissions on or before March 31

To be fair to applicants who have already submitted their applications by the March 31 deadline, many of those presumably without anticipation of an extension, we will review their candidature on priority. We understand there may be questions and concerns. Please reach out to us (yifadmissions@ashoka.edu.in) and we will respond as swiftly as possible.  

// Application submission relaxations

To those who will submit their applications by the extended (13th April) deadline, please take note of the following relaxations that were announced earlier: 

(1) Uploading of any documents and submission of the Letter of Recommendation by your referee is optional at the time of submission of the application. However, information on the referee is mandatory. We will require the LoR and additional documents (for verification) at the time of the Personal Interview, and will reach out accordingly. 

(2) All Comprehension Tests and Personal Interviews for R3 applicants will be conducted online.

// Resources for support 

(A) One-on-one chats with a YIF community member:  

(B) Virtual session on油"Application Walkthrough | YIF Q&A | COVID-19 Considerations"

-油12-1 pm on油April 4, Saturday:油

- 12-1 pm on油April 11, Saturday:油

(C) 

(D) Follow us on  and  to receive latest updates and information 

Please do not hesitate to reach us (+91-8199977076 or +91-9958293745) at any time. 

Regards,

Office of Admissions
Young India Fellowship 

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On Failing

What is it that draws us to failing?  We might not consciously want to fail, but, if we���re engaged in creative practice, might unconsciously develop, over time, measures to protect ourselves from what Pound called ���SINGLE AND UNIQUE SUCCESS���. The free market, in the last twenty-five years, may have exhibited to us the importance of success ��� that success is not good fortune or a reward for accomplishment, but basic survival ��� and we might conspire to succeed only to a degree that���s necessary for us to fail: because we know that it���s only by failing that we can produce viable work, and only by succeeding to some extent that we can have the freedom to be non-viable. Failure has not only no dignity in the post-free market world we inhabit; it has no legitimacy, no vocabulary for self-appraisal. There are no actual ���alternative spaces��� in the free market. Where do we locate ourselves, then, if we���re to speak about ���failing���? For millennia we learnt from failure, and from failures: what do we make of that antithetical way of estimating significance? Various conceptions of form have, across cultures, embodied the liberations of failing: synecdoche; the image; metaphor ��� all these arise from a preferred inability to represent fully. Failure creates immediacy. This symposium asks us to account for the attractions specific to failing; for why, and how, it awakens our desire; why it is taboo today in a way quite different from the by-no-means unbroken era before the market; and to reassess this history.  - Amit Chaudhuri

Schedule of talks and readings for the 5th University of East Anglia symposium in the Literary Activism series, in partnership with 51画鋼 and IIC, on 14th and 15th February 2019, 10.45 am - 6 pm, at the Seminar Rooms, Kamaladevi Complex, India International Centre

Friday 14th February

• 11 am: Opening remarks by Professor Malabika Sarkar and Amit Chaudhuri
• 11.15 am: Tiffany Atkinson (poet; Professor of Creative Writing, UEA): 

         ���One door closes, another door shuts���: some reflections on failure���

           Chair: Sumana Roy 

• 12 pm: Pratap Bhanu Mehta (writer; Professor of Political Science, 51画鋼): ���Failure, Self-Worth and Agency in Modern Liberalism��� 

          Chair: Jon Cook

• 2 pm: Anurag Kashyap (filmmaker): Some spontaneous reflections
• 2.45 pm: Sumana Roy: (poet, essayist, novelist; Associate Professor in English and Creative Writing, 51画鋼): ���Failing Light��� 

          Chair: Stuti Khanna

• 3.45 pm: Ranajit Das (poet) ���Description of a Poet���s Failure��� 

          Chair: Rosinka Chaudhuri

• 4.30 pm: Michel Chaouli (critic; Director, Center for Theoretical Inquiry in the Humanities, Indiana University) ���Failing and Falling���

          Chair: Sambudha Sen

Saturday 15th February
 

11.15 am: Clancy Martin (novelist and philosopher; Professor at the University of Missouri and 51画鋼) ���Suicide as a sort of failure: notes on self-destruction in Edouard Leve and David Foster Wallace���

         Chair: Tiffany Atkinson

12 pm: Sunetra Gupta (novelist and scientist; Professor of Epidemiology, Oxford) ���Failure: A User���s Manual���

          Chair: Saikat Majumdar

2 pm: Amit Chaudhuri (writer; Professor at UEA and 51画鋼) ���The Intimacy of Failing���

         Chair: Vineet Gill

2.45 pm: Lydia Davis (short story writer, novelist, essayist, and translator) reads a new, unpublished story, ���Learning to Sing���

3.30 pm: Dhritiman Chaterji (actor) reads Fernando Pessoa���s ���Tobacco Shop���

3.50 pm. Jon Cook (critic and biographer; Professor of Literature, UEA) ���Closing Remarks���

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51画鋼 launches School of BioSciences

The School of Biological Sciences at Ashoka will focus on research in emerging areas in Biology such as synthetic biology, data science (including applications of artificial intelligence), biodiversity, ecology (including chemical ecology) and evolution as well as innovations in undergraduate and postgraduate Biology education. The School will heavily emphasise on both discovery science and its applications towards addressing wider societal problems. 

Six high-quality faculties and a dozen PhD scholars are currently working on exciting and diverse projects in Biological Sciences. With new state-of-the-art building and research infrastructure, this number will grow stronger in both number and quality. We would reach a steady-state size of about 250 strength of faculty and students by 2025. 

The Scientific Advisory Board for the School will be led by Nobel Laureate and President of the Royal Society, Sir Venkatraman ���Venki��� Ramakrishnan. Other members of the Board include Nobel Laureate Jack W. Szostak (Professor of Genetics, Harvard University), Satyajit Mayor (Director, National Centre of Biological Sciences), James Collins (Professor of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and Ronald Vale, (Vice President, Howard Hughes Medical Institute). They will help establish the research and teaching agenda.

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51画鋼 launches the Trivedi School of Biosciences

On 25 January 2020, Ashoka held the formal launch of the Trivedi School of Biosciences. The Scientific Advisory Board for the School will be led by Nobel Laureate and President of the Royal Society, Sir Venkatraman ���Venki��� Ramakrishnan. Other members of the Board include Nobel Laureate Jack W. Szostak (Professor of Genetics, Harvard University), Satyajit Mayor (Director, National Centre of Biological Sciences (NCBS)), James Collins (Professor of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and Ronald Vale, (Vice President, Howard Hughes Medical Institute). They will help establish the research and teaching agenda. 

Speaking at the launch, Ashok Trivedi, Founder and Trustee, Ashoka, and Managing Partner, SWAT Capital, said, ���If the 20th century was the era of computing, the 21st century will be the era of biological sciences. When advances in biological sciences, bioengineering, and advanced computing come together, they form a capability called synthetic biology which is one of the focus areas for Ashoka. It is particularly relevant to India because it has applications in infectious diseases, agriculture, water, air, and it can produce energy from biomass. Even the venture capitalists and the capital markets are waking up to it. This is the time to be in biotech.��� He further added, ���Our goal is to make the Trivedi School of Biosciences the best school in biosciences in India in five years and the best in Asia in 10 years.���&稼恢壊沿;

The newly launched School will focus on research in emerging areas in biology such as synthetic biology, data science (including applications of artificial intelligence), biodiversity, ecology (including chemical ecology) and evolution as well as innovations in undergraduate and postgraduate biology education. It will place emphasis on both discovery science and its applications towards addressing wider social problems. 

Satyajit Mayor, NCBS said, ���Biosciences is the science of the century and its potential is unprecedented. Research in this area can contribute immensely to India. A very important part of biological sciences is how it can impact both health and agriculture.���&稼恢壊沿; 

While expanding on its pedagogy, LS Shashidhara, Dean, Research and Professor of Biology at Ashoka added, ���We are working on innovation and research in pedagogy. As biology is a relatively new field, there isn���t one established pedagogical method. Ashoka will invest resources and people as well as train other faculty and researchers in the country so that the innovation in biology education happening on our campus can be taken forward across India.���&稼恢壊沿;

Ashoka will start its global search for new faculty, led by Malabika Sarkar, Vice-Chancellor, and LS Shashidhara. Six exceptional faculty members and 12 PhD scholars are currently working on diverse projects. With the new state-of-the-art research infrastructure, this number is expected to grow exponentially. Ashoka is looking to grow the school to a strength of 250 students and faculty by 2025. 

Concluding the event, Malabika said, ���Ashoka is a journey and the Trivedi School of Biosciences is very important in that journey. Our journey in the natural sciences began in October 2015 with a meeting of the 51画鋼 Science Advisory Group and from there the growth has been enthralling. We believe that from the new school, endless forms of research and discoveries will grow.���&稼恢壊沿;

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Science Policy Initiative

51画鋼, in its first of its kind science policy initiative, hosted a high level deliberative workshop on blockchain technology (BT), on 24th January 2020. The overarching theme of the workshop was ���Landscaping Priority Areas for Blockchain: Cryptoeconomics, Capacity building, Scalability, Security���. Subject experts from the government, academic fraternity and the industry participated in the meeting, facilitating effective and productive deliberations. 

Featured Discussions

1. Blockchain as an Emerging Technology: BT is experiencing an exponential growth globally, thanks to the surging investments and rising number of start-ups in the field. Where global funding has been popularly concentrated in start-ups offering crypto-exchanges, payment services and digital wallets, the investments have also been gradually diversifying beyond BFSI to include infrastructure and high-tech BT solutions. In India, most number of use cases can be witnessed in land title registrations, digital certification and governance. The enterprises are also leveraging private permissioned BT networks to address their immediate business challenges which is also as the preferred technology to drive network effects. Supply chain management, telecom, healthcare, retail trading and farm insurance are emerging as potential areas for deployment of BT.

2. Capacity Building: Blockchain combines the features of cryptography and distributed computing. The emerging demand is generating widespread interests and inquisitiveness in BT as a field of specialised study. Higher education, advanced research & development and interdisciplinary studies in BT could be critical in achieving a deeper understanding of its theoretical foundation, the socio-economic dynamics, and BT���s interplay with other emerging technologies like AI and IoT. Globally, blockchain-driven employment avenues are increasingly becoming popular. However, the job market is also witnessing growing instances of skills mismatches in this field. The scarcity of trained BT programmers and application developers combined with demand and supply mismatches of blockchain skills and capabilities, calls for greater investment in human capital development through focused skills development and training initiatives.

3. Scalability and Security: Blockchain-based systems currently face inherent scalability and privacy challenges that significantly hinder further adoption of this nascent technology. Addressing these two concerns has emerged as an important focus in this field. For example, though permission less blockchain applications have achieved record growth, their ability to scale and increase transaction capacity is fundamentally at odds with their approach to security through wide replication. Most Blockchain are, at their core, massively distributed and publicly accessible data bases; therefore, the task of ensuring that the data they store do not betray user privacy.

4. Policy Landscape: Sound policies and regulations are key enablers to support the development of a holistic blockchain ecosystem. World-wide, several countries have been practicing favourable regulatory approaches towards blockchain. Ranging from focused regulations governing the use of digital currency to the formation of separate laws on BT, these economies have been able to integrate blockchains in leading mainstream economic initiatives.

Policy Suggestions

1. The creation of a national regulatory body or a working group on BT comprising of stakeholders from the government, academia and the industry, to foster innovation and adoption of BT through the formulation and implementation of proactive, consultative, sound regulatory practices and an enabling policy environment in India.

2. Actively engaging the relevant stakeholders from the academic community and the industry in the national policy formulation process.

3. Offering a ���regulatory sandbox��� environment that allow the testing of innovative applications on BT under a transparent regulatory framework. Formulating and implementing specific Bills and Acts on BT to encourage the monitoring of blockchain entities and smart contracts. In other words, tight regulations governing security standards to address scalability concerns and security vulnerabilities.

4. Strict laws and legislations governing data use, storage and sharing combined with stringent compliance regulations, to enable the flow of updated and secure information in a decentralized network setting.

5. Recognizing bitcoin, digital currencies and tokens as legal tender governed by well - defined regulatory guidelines on virtual currency market, crypto-exchanges, cryptotransfers, etc. Exploring the possibility of implementing crypto-taxation to regulate cryptocurrencies from manipulating prices.

6. Provision of incentives, financial grants and subsidies for advanced research and development and higher education in this emerging technology field (through specialized courses and interdisciplinary research). 

7. Strengthening academia ��� industry and academia ��� government collaborations and partnerships to enhance awareness and information dissemination on the subject, spearhead specialized research initiatives, devise and teach employment oriented curriculum backed up with cross training programs to mitigate skills mismatches in the field and generate employment opportunities.

8. Reinforcing an investor friendly environment to improve private sector investments in the field along with the public sector as well as to capitalize on the emerging scope of BT in potential sectors like supply chain management, retail trading, healthcare, etc, extensively.

SPI | WHITE PAPERS | STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENTS

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Camera Obscura

CWC organized a one-day workshop in writing speculative fiction with writer Anil Menon. It helped students who are stepping into the waters of creative writing and find themselves drawn to writing based on concepts and speculative situations, with prose that probes the unknown and unusual, while bending the laws of seeming reality and make it work under unique conceits.

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Filmmaker���s Companion: A unique filmmaking course for Ashoka students, all semester long

The new course called the Filmmaker���s Companion will be a semester-long, 13-week workshop course starting from January 25, 2020, teaching Ashoka students the art of filmmaking. 

Describing the Filmmaker���s Companion, Head of Ashoka���s Media Studies department, Professor Vaiju Naravane said, ���This unique collaboration has produced an exciting course taught by luminaries from the Indian film industry on every imaginable aspect of filmmaking���. 

The course has been curated with the help of film critic and author Anupama Chopra and her popular portal . Chopra is also the Director of the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star in Mumbai. 

Ms. Chopra said, "There has never been a more exciting or challenging time for storytellers. The entertainment world is changing at a rapid pace and with this in mind, we have created the Filmmakers Companion, a course that brings some of the industry���s top professionals to the education sector. We are thrilled to facilitate and curate a course in which students get the unique opportunity to learn from the best in the field���. 

This is a one-of-a-kind course for the spring 2020 semester. Specially designed for Ashoka with the help of India���s finest film journalism platform, the course will introduce young minds to different aspects of filmmaking with heavyweights from the Hindi film industry invited as guest speakers to conduct seminar/workshops on topics like direction, cinematography, sound design and production.

Starting with an introductory class by former Director of the National Film Archives and Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) professor Suresh Chabria, the department will host industry experts like screenwriter Juhi Chaturvedi, popular songwriter Amitabh Bhattacharya, cinematographer Jay Oza among many others for three-hour-long workshops. While Chaturvedi has written screenplays for films like October and Piku, Bhattacharya has songs like Iktara, Emotional Atyachar and others to his credit. More seminar-workshops on direction, production and film composition will follow.

The course will enable students to gain expert-level understanding of what goes into making a full-fledged cinema production. Such a holistic experience is unprecedented in Indian education at the undergraduate level outside specialised film schools and will prove to be an enriching experience for young minds interested in filmmaking. 

���This is hands and mind full throttle and has me on my toes,��� said Shivangi Jalan who will serve as the Teaching Assistant. ���The course has been oversubscribed and is already proving hugely popular. We are having to turn down students every day. So I hope there will be a repeat in the semesters ahead.���&稼恢壊沿;

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Students in the Global Citizenship Initiative at Lehigh University visit Ashoka over Winter Break

The  is an interdisciplinary programme that prepares students for engaged living in a culturally diverse and rapidly changing world. 

During their visit to India, they spent 3 days at Ashoka. The Office of Global Education and Strategic Programmes (GESP) designed a 3-day educational experience for the group with an emphasis to give students an exposure to different elements of academics and campus life at Ashoka. 

This was the first visit of Lehigh students to Ashoka and marks the beginning of a more robust student study and exchange programme. The students had a busy and engaging week at Ashoka where they met faculty, staff members, interacted with students and enjoyed a slice of Ashokan campus life.

The students explored the theme of climate change, environment, and sustainability through several sessions led by the faculty and staff. Professor Mahesh Rangarajan, Head of the Department of History, presented the Future of Nature and Professor Mitul Baruah, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, took a session on water from the perspective of the Global South. More hands-on sessions like a village walk to Asawarpur, initiatives making Ashoka a more sustainable campus and local landscaping pushed the presentations beyond classroom walls and enabled students to engage with the outdoors.

The students met Mr. Pramath Sinha, Founder and Trustee, and Vice-Chancellor Professor Malabika Sarkar, who shared the journey of Ashoka with them. They were particularly intrigued to know about the Ashokan emblem and its layered meaning. The students also had the opportunity of interacting with various Centers at Ashoka. Professor Gilles Verniers, Head of the Department, Political Science and Co-Director of the Trivedi Centre for Political Data, conducted a session on political data and the work at the centre while Ishan Mahendru from the Centre for Studies in Gender and Sexuality examined the idea of consent when thinking about sexuality. Last but not least, Ingrid Srinath, Director, Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy spoke with the students about the trends in philanthropy in India and how it can be studied with data.

The course convener from Lehigh, Dr. Karen Rodr鱈guez thanked Ashoka for the experience and said ���Students were just thrilled with every activity and talk...We could not have felt more at home and more inspired.���

The students also had the opportunity of interacting with many Ashoka undergraduates and Young India Fellows during a lunch-time interaction. They shared and exchanged views on a range of themes like liberal arts education, politics in the country and life on campus in Sonepat. There were other fun-filled sessions held on Indian attire, music, and traditional games. The students took interest in the various sartorial cultures of the subcontinent and tried draping the saree and mundus. They also enthusiastically took part in the traditional game from India called kho-kho. Lehigh students ingratiated themselves with Ashokan traditions like Sopaan and Open Mic that was organised on campus during the week. We saw many performances by talented students from both universities with slam poetry and music as a highlight. Several Undergraduate students helped and participated in organising these events on campus. 

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Conference on Institutional Legacies of India���s Internationalist Thought and Practice, 1919-2019

Theme and Purpose:

The paucity in the theorisation of the state as an arena in non-western societies is commonly recognised in a great deal of the literature on foreign policy analysis. Our project is aimed at addressing this lacuna, by analyzing the sets of influences on the Indian State���s making of foreign relations. Through this conference, we would like to address these shortcomings and examine the ways in which foreign policymaking in India can be theorised.

Schedule 

DAY 1: Friday, 31 January

Session1: Ideologies & Partition |  9.30 AM ��� 11.00 AM 

This panel shall examine ideas which contested the ���finality��� of the nation-state, by investigating aspects of the public discourses around transnationalism, globalism, and regionalism during the partition decades. Why were these particular ways of thinking about the world developed in South Asia, and what were the similarities and differences between how such patterns of thinking were manifested in India, from those in other parts of the world? And, which internationalist and globalist networks and ideologies were tapped into when developing these ideas? The following panel consists of three presentations, by Pallavi Raghavan, Atul Mishra, and Medha: 

Chair:  Pallavi Raghavan

Speakers:

Pallavi Raghavan (51画鋼) - Nehru Liaquat Pact

Atul Mishra (Shiv Nadar University) - United States of India': the Regionalist Alternatives to South Asia's Partition

Medha (Shiv Nadar University) - Muslim Universalisms of the 1930s

Session 2: "Indian" Ideas of Statecraft | 11.00 AM ��� 12.30 PM

It is now commonplace to the discipline of South Asia���s IR to argue that Westphalian ideas of statecraft and inter-state relations offer an inadequate explanation as to the norms and definitions that inform India���s international relations. This panel will attempt to examine some aspects of ���Indian��� traditions of state-craft, and evaluate the extent to which they influence India���s internationalist thinking. Are there any commonalties in the conceptual orientation of ���Westphalian��� and ���Indian��� traditions of statecraft? And what are the implications of such traditions of strategic thought on present day patterns of India���s internationalist assumptions? This panel will examine aspects of these questions through three presentations by: 

Chair: 

Siddharth Mallavarapu (Shiv Nadar University)

Speakers:

Jayashree Vivekanand (South Asian University) - India���s Strategic Practice and the Return of History

Kaushik Roy (Jadavpur University) - Hinduism and the Ethics of Warfare in South Asia

Deep Pal (Non-Resident Fellow, National Bureau of Asian Research) - Components of India���s Self Identity

Keynote Speech | 1.30 AM - 2.30 PM 

Shivshankar Menon, Former National Security Advisor of India 

Session 3: The Relevance of Personalities  | 2.45 PM ��� 4.15 PM

A great deal of the early foreign policy of India was crafted by individuals who occupied a specifically colonial social setting, and whose assumptions were shaped by their personal interactions with characters and contexts in a uniquely historicized setting. How do we think about the influence of such connections on the practice of India���s wider international relations, and what, exactly is the relevance of these narratives to the theorization of India���s foreign relations. In this panel, we examine the ways in which the personal narratives of Srinivasa Shastri, Apa Pant, and VP Menon���all three of whom definitely left an impact on the thinking of India���s internationalist strategies���can help us to examine the shaping of India���s international relations, as well as understanding the implications of using the lens of ���personality��� in answering this question. 

Chair: Srinath Raghavan (51画鋼)

Speakers:

Vineet Thakur (University of Leiden) - The Native Diplomat: V. S. Srinivasa Sastri and the Dominion Tour of 1921-22

Berenice Guyot-Rechard (Kings College London) - Learning the Rules of the Game: Apa Pant and the Making of Independent India as an International Actor, 1947-1954

Narayani Basu (Independent) - VP Menon: The Unsung Architect of Modern India

Session 4: Ways of Representing India: ICWA, League of Nations, Nehruvian Internationalism/Thinking through the Commonwealth | 4.15 PM ��� 5.30 PM

This panel will offer a range of perspectives on the ideas and approaches that determined India���s participation in international fora during the colonial and early post colonial period. Furthermore, it will explore how these experiences impacted the ways in which India went about fashioning its internationalist stances in the decades that followed, and the extent to which a colonialist legacy was evident in shaping these interactions. 

Chair: Ananya Sharma (51画鋼) 

Speakers:

Martin Bayly (London School of Economics) - Lineages of Indian International International Thought: The Indian Council for World Affairs, and the Pedagogy of Internationalism

Raphaelle Khan (Institut de Recherches Strat辿giques de l'Ecole Militaire) - Constellations of International Activism: India and the League of Nations

Sankaran Kalyanaraman (Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses) - Nehru���s Advocacy of Internationalism and Indian Foreign Policy

DAY 2: Saturday, 1 February 

Session 1: Migration and Insecurity States | 9.30 AM ��� 11.00 AM 

As recent months have shown, South Asian states have an uneasy relationship with the flows and sways of inter-state migration. The phenomenon���or the ability to control it���constitutes a vital yardstick by which to judge the validity of their state structures. Yet in curbing the scale of migration in the South Asian basin, states also have to grapple with complicated historical dilemmas of identity and ancestral ties of belonging. What exactly are these dilemmas, and how do South Asian states resolve these in ways that can safeguard the necessities of modern-day state functioning? 

Chair:  Avinash Paliwal (School of Oriental and African Studies)

Speakers:

Avinash Paliwal (School of Oriental and African Studies) - Navigating the Politics of Migration: The Case of Myanmar

Nicolas Blarel (University of Leiden) - Understanding the Colonial Origins of India���s Migration Policy

Chinmay Tumbe (IIM, Ahmedabad) - India Moving: A History of Migration

Session 2: Boundary Making Technologies���Past and Present | 11.00 AM ��� 12.30 PM

None of South Asia���s modern boundary lines converge with geographical, ethnic, or even a mutually held consensus on territorial definitions. How much emphasis do South Asian states really place on the sanctity of the boundary line, as opposed to politicised discourses about territoriality? What insights do these dilemmas offer about the nature of sovereignty in South Asia, and its linkages with history? In this panel: 

Chair: Maya Mirchandani (51画鋼, Observer Research Foundation)

Speakers:

Elisabeth Leake (University of Leeds) - A Space Apart? The Political Reorganization of India���s North-Eastern Borderlands

Constantino Xavier (Brookings India) - Colonial Legacies in the Shaping of South Asia���s borders

Happymon Jacob (Jawaharlal Nehru University) - Line on Fire: Ceasefire Violations and India- Pakistan Escalation Dynamics

Session 3: The Factor of Technology | 1.30 PM ��� 3.00 PM   

The showcasing of scientific and technological progress has been an important���and recently more examined���aspect of ���State Making��� during the 1950s. For Nehru, for example, the setting up of the IITs, Indian Statistical Institute, and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research occupied a pride of place in advancing claims about the parallel development in progress in science and Indian state making. Yet such institutions depended critically on aid, assistance, and technological collaborations with scientists, administrators and engineers which transcended nationality. These relationships moreover, also impacted on the ways in which inter-state relationship and partnerships with forged. This panel will explore the connections between India���s technological progress with its internationalist positioning:  

Chair: Nayan Chanda (51画鋼)

Speakers:

Arunabh Ghosh (Harvard University) - Chinese Irrigation and Soil Conservancy Through Indian Eyes, 1959

Jahnavi Phalkey (International Center for Theoretical Sciences) - Atomic State: Big Science in Twentieth-Century India

Jayita Sarkar (Boston University) - The Global Department of Atomic Energy: Nuclear Technopolitics at Home and Abroad, 1946-1969

Concluding Discussion | 3.00 PM ��� 4.00 PM

How Can we use History in the Study of IR?

Closing Remarks 

Rudra Chaudhuri, (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, India)

Date and Venue: 

31 January - 1 February, 2020

51画鋼, Sonepat 

Register: 

To Register - 

Organised by : 

Avinash Paliwal (SOAS University of London) 

Pallavi Raghavan (51画鋼)

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A Conference on topics in Mathematical Analysis

The Mathematics Department, 51画鋼 is organising a two-day conference on topics in Mathematical Analysis on 18th and 19th December 2019. This is built around a visit to India by Barry Simon, one of the leading figures in mathematical physics and mathematics in the past four decades.

Barry Martin Simon is an American mathematical physicist and the IBM Professor of Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Caltech, known for his prolific contributions in spectral theory, functional analysis, and nonrelativistic quantum mechanics (particularly Schr旦dinger operators), including the connections to atomic and molecular physics. He has authored more than 400 publications on mathematics and physics. A description of Professor Simon���s work and influence can be found in articles dedicated to his work in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society. 

The Conference will have about a dozen speakers drawn mainly from institutions in Delhi and the neighbourhood. It is open to everyone.Expected Speakers and Participants

1. Barry Simon, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena , USA
2. Peter Hislop,  University of Lexington, Kentucky, USA
3. Arup Pal, Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi
4. Tanvi Jain, Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi
5. Ved Prakash Gupta, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
6. Ranjana Jain, Delhi University, New Delhi
7. Sameer Chavan, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
8. Priyanka Grover, Shiv Nadar University, UP
9. Pankaj Jain, South Asian University, Delhi
10. Kumarjit Saha, 51画鋼, Rai, Haryana
11. Dhriti Ranjan Dolai, Indian Institute of Technology, Dharwad

Apart from senior participants, the Conference will invite many young research workers from Delhi and neighbouring states.

Click here to view the titles, abstracts and schedule of the talks.

Dates and Venue

The dates of the conference are 18-19 December 2019

Timing: 10 AM to 4 PM 

The venue is 51画鋼, Rai, HaryanaOrganising Committee