After Greater Noida, Shiv Nadar Foundation launches university in Chennai

First private university to be legislated in Tamil Nadu after 90 Years to start admissions by mid-2021

After a private multidisciplinary research university in Greater Noida and an engineering college in Tamil Nadu, Shiv Nadar Foundation has now announced launch of Shiv Nadar University, Chennai, on Thursday. The third such higher education initiative by the foundation, the new multi-disciplinary private university in Chennai announced admissions for four programmes under the School of Engineering, and School of Commerce and Management for the academic session 2021-22.

The university is the first private varsity to be legislated in Tamil Nadu after 90 years (since Annamalai University Act in 1928), upon the passing of the Shiv Nadar University Act 2018. Shiv Nadar University, Chennai campus, will be located at Kalavakkam, spread over an area of 100 acres.

The university will open for admissions in April 2021 with four specialized courses in disciplines of engineering and commerce. 

While R Srinivasan will be the chancellor of the university, Dr Kala Vijayakumar has been appointed as the pro-chancellor along with mentors like former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Dr C Rangarajan and Indian-American computer scientist and winner of the Turing Award Dr. Raj Reddy.

Announcing the move, HCL Technologies Chairperson and Trustee of Shiv Nadar Foundation Roshni Nadar Malhotra said that the new private university in Chennai will be a catalyst for new research, novel discoveries and creation of new forms of expression.

Srinivasan said that the new varsity will initially begin with two schools, one in the area of engineering and the other in the area of commerce and management, with a strong focus on holistic development of students through a blend of academic rigour, culture of research and sustained industry engagement. 

"While we are announcing the university today with two schools, our hope is that over the next five years, Shiv Nadar University Chennai will significantly expand its offerings, including establishing a School of Law. We also want to take this opportunity to invite acclaimed academicians and scientists to join us as we set out on this journey of creating new knowledge and contributing to meeting the human capital needs of the world," Srinivasan said.

The School of Engineering will offer students a strong engineering orientation through four-year undergraduate courses in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science and Computer Science and Engineering with specialisation in Internet of Things (IoT). The programmes are aimed at inculcating theoretical foundation, professional knowledge as well as practical skills in their respective subjects, said Vijayakumar.

On the other hand, the School of Commerce and Management will offer curated programmes in Bachelor of Commerce (Professional Accounting) preparing students for professional destinations such as CA, CWA, CMA; and a Bachelor of Commerce offering a broad- based academic background in analytical and financial domains. 

In addition to courses offered in engineering as well as those offered by the School of Commerce and Management, the university also plans to introduce a four-year undergraduate programme in Business Management (BMS) in the academic year 2022 – 23. Over the next five years, Shiv Nadar University Chennai will continue to introduce new programmes and expand its offerings, including establishing a School of Law at the University.

According to Vijayakumar, Shiv Nadar University, Chennai, will offer programmes that will prepare students with the skill sets needed in an ever-evolving world. "The curriculum has been modeled on global best standards with a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary research, cutting across all schools, allowing the University to break disciplinary silos and institute a broad-based academic structure,"she added.

The university has also appointed a renowned academician from one of the IITs as the vice chancellor, who will take over the role in December 2020. Additionally, the university announced the appointment of Dr  T Nagarajan as Professor and Head of Department of Computer Science and Engineering and Dr S Gurusamy as Professor and Head of the Department of Commerce, School of Commerce and Management.