Punjab is setting up ‘Punjab International University’ near Ludhiana over 35 acres in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA. The proposed university as a joint venture project would be promoted by IREO Group. A decision to this effect was taken by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in a meeting with the Chief Executive Officer of Carnegie Mellon, Gil Taran, who evinced keen interest in setting up a new university in the state.
The chief minister was informed by Taran that the initial proposal would have 5 schools in the university, including engineering & technology, education & teachers training, applied sciences, humanities & languages and management & business studies. The courses to be run would fully be at par with the courses being run in its US campus. Efforts would be made to have degrees awarded by this university to be recognised in the US.
Taran further apprised the chief minister that the cost of education would be a fraction of the cost had an international student has to pay in USA. Technical courses would be developed in connection with the needs of the local industry. He pointed out that Carnegie Mellon was rated amongst the top 10 universities of the US and its robotics department was ranked as the best. He said that such state-of-the-art educational institutions had also been set up in China, Doha (Qatar) and Kazakhstan.