NIIT University Launches The Asian Lens Forum
First of its kind initiative
to sensitize young generation to Asian heritage, culture, history and values
New Delhi, February 18, 2014: Established with a vision to bring about
innovation in higher education and learning in emerging areas of the knowledge
society, the not-for-profit NIIT University (NU) unveiled another unique
initiative - The Asian Lens Forum.
The Forum is an attempt to sensitize the coming Asian generations on the
rich and diverse legacies of Asia with an aim to create a sense of identity,
direction and vision as a beacon for the “Asian 21st Century”. By
fostering a better understanding of the past, the inherent objective is to
establish a robust foundation for Asia’s youth, to build an aspirational future. The Asian Lens Forum will also act as
a launching pad for the faculty and student bodies of NU to undertake research
and disseminate knowledge about challenges, achievements and roles of Asian
societies in the globalized world.
The launch event of Asian Lens was attended by eminent personalities
like award-winning journalist and author Pallavi
Aiyar who has written “Smoke & Mirrors” - an outstanding book on China,
and just launched her recent book “Punjabi Parmesan”; Arun Maira, Member of the Planning
Commission, former India Chairman of Boston Consulting Group, author of
“Remaking India: One Country, One Destiny” and “Transforming Capitalism:
Business Leadership to Improve the World for Everyone”; and Deepak Nayyar, former Vice-Chancellor
of the University of Delhi, who has had a distinguished career in academia
interspersed with short periods in the government, and author of “Catch Up”.
There was also a recorded message by well know educationalist and
author Prof. Rajiv Malhotra who has written extensively on civilizations
& cross-cultural encounters, including his path breaking book “Being Different: An Indian Challenge to Western Universalism”. Also present were Rajendra Pawar, Founder, NIIT
University; members of the NU Board including Harpal Singh, Chairman Emeritus, Fortis and Dr. Rajendra Pandey, President, NIIT University.
The conversations at the event were anchored by NU Visiting Professor,
Dr Jean-Pierre Lehmann, Emeritus Professor
of IMD Lausanne, and an exceptional Asianist who has invested a majority of his
scholarly pursuits in understanding Asia and globalization, and has written
extensively on these subjects.
Speaking on this significant launch, Rajendra Pawar, Founder, NIIT University said, “The
rich and diverse cultural heritage of Asia and India is probably second to
none. However owing to centuries of dominance by western culture and economy we
seem to have forgotten our legacy. Asian Lens is an attempt to enable today’s
youth to appreciate and understand their legacy and draw inspiration from it.”
During the 19th and 20th centuries many of the Asian countries were
colonized or otherwise subjugated by the West. The Asian mosaic of civilization
was severely damaged, if not completely overwhelmed by Western imperialism. This
dominance extended to every arena of economic, social and cultural life in a
way that the Asian view of the world, and indeed of itself, got distorted by
what one may call the Western Lens. Consequently, it would not be an
overstatement to suggest that much of what Asians know of themselves is from
the prism of western writers, historians and thinkers.
However, since the turn of this century, one is witnessing the
emergence of a new global reality: The Resurgence of Asia. Notwithstanding this
significant development, there continues to be a major dependence on the
Western Lens for Asians to study their individual societies or indeed for
developing an understanding of a broader Asian regional context. The
proliferation of “Asian Studies” centers, departments and institutes throughout
North America, Australia and Europe (trained to think and research by the use
of the Western Lens) will, if anything, accentuate the distorting effect and
prevent “truer” contextual understanding of Asian realities.
According NIIT University Visiting Professor, Dr Jean-Pierre Lehmann, “The need
of the hour, therefore, is to set up comparable entities in Asia that study
Asia through Asian eyes”.
Mr. Harpal Singh, Board Member,
NIIT University & Chairman Emeritus, Fortis further added, “NIIT University strongly feels
that Asians can play their rightful role in the building of a just and
successful 21st century society only if they truly appreciate the heritage that
has made them what they are today.”
NU realizes the need and importance of developing new and potentially
superior understanding rather than creating a new body of knowledge that is
parochial, self-centered and narrow. Asians and citizens from other geographies
must, in the future, have the opportunity to "Know" about Asians from
new and alternative lenses, as they reflect and think about what kind of future
they would like to build for themselves and for the global community.
About NIIT
University
Set up with the vision of being the leading center of innovation and
learning in emerging areas of the Knowledge Society, the not-for-profit NIIT University
is dedicated to building great careers and ensuring excellent job opportunities
to all its students. It has been developed as a center of excellence to provide
exceptional education based on the four core principles that make learning
industry-linked, technology-based, research-driven and seamless.
The NIIT University offers BTech
Programmes in Computer Science and Engineering, Biotechnology and
Electronic and Communication Engineering; MTech Programmes in
Educational Technology, Embedded Solutions and Convergence, Computing and
Communications and in Bioinformatics; and PhD programs in all the above disciplines.
The University also offers MTech Programme in Geographic Information Systems
(GIS).
Dual degree integrated MTech Programmes in Computer Science
and Engineering, Electronic Communication and Biotechnology are also offered by
NU. These contemporary and industry-relevant programmes are customized to
prepare skilled professionals and researchers for high-end mobile computing and
wireless, communication technology and biotechnology jobs. Highly qualified
faculty, state-of-the-art laboratories,
associations with research labs and research universities in USA and UK, strong
wireless stimulation, performance and modeling concepts are other unique
features of these programmes.
The University also offers
an MBA Programme (NU- MBA) designed to help aspiring professionals build
meaningful connections to the real world of business and become successful
leaders of the future. Through the Mentorship Programme, each MBA student will
be mentored by an eminent CEO and coached by an industry professional. NU- MBA trains future CEOs to deal with the
challenges and opportunities thrown up by emerging economies such as China and
countries in Africa through its International Immersion programme. The
University has also launched an industry-linked programme in MBA (Banking & Finance) in
collaboration with ICICI Bank.
NIIT University has entered
into a partnership with Autodesk to promote ‘Design Thinking’ as a course across all disciplines of BTech
programmes. Further, a design oriented post graduate programme will be launched
by NU shortly. The Asian Lens Forum
has been set-up at NIIT University to sensitize young generation and to create
a sense of pride in Asian/Indian heritage, culture, history and values amongst
youth. The Forum will also act as a launching pad for the faculty and student
bodies of NU to undertake research and disseminate knowledge about achievements
and role of Asia to the world.
Vibrant social and
recreational activities form the heart of Campus Life at NIIT University, with
a host of student activities interspersed along the central walking spine. The
Campus provides students a wide array of sports activities like volleyball,
basketball, tennis, a golf putting range and gymnastics. Furnished student
hostels make life comfortable for students. Temperatures are maintained at the
Campus all year around using an energy-efficient, geothermal cooling system,
with minimal carbon footprint. For
further information please visit www.niituniversity.in.
For media queries, please contact:
newsroom@niituniversity.in
newsroom@niituniversity.in
(or)
Sumana Bhattacharya, Candour Communications
Ph: (Cell) +91 9810597176
Email: sumana@candour.co.in
 |
The Launch
of Asian Lens by NIIT University, Feb 15, 2014
Feb 17, 2014
by NU Gallery |
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