Top CEOs from India are raising funds to set up a technology university

• A total of 40 CEOs and businessmen are raising ₹20 billion to build a university named Plaksha.
  
• The university will be built over 50 acres near Chandigarh.
  
• The idea behind the university is bringing technological solutions for society ranging from Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning to Robotics.
  

India’s top entrepreneurs and businessmen are pooling their resources to build a technology university aimed at teaching emerging technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.

The university, which hopes to become the ‘Stanford of the East,’ is backed by over 40 Indian entrepreneurs and CEOs including Mahindra CEO CP Gurnani, Neeraj Aggarwal, Chairman of Asia Pacific, Boston Consulting Group, Hellion Ventures’ co-founder Ashish Gupta, chairman of Genpact and Clix Capital Pramod Bhasin, Hitesh Oberoi, Infoedge and Naukri.com Managing Director, among others.

Together, they are raising ₹20 billion to build Plaksha – the name given to the university – and have already raised ₹4,000 million. The university will be launched in 2021.

The idea for the university started three years ago, when a few IIT alums – today top business leaders – got together and thought of way to encourage India’s booming tech-driven ecosystem, say its founders.

“We felt the need to reimagine technology education the way it’s being delivered today and create something that’s truly world-class and cutting edge, and reimagine teaching curriculum research,” Vineet Gupta, Managing Director, Jamboree Education Pvt. Ltd. and Founder and Trustee, Ashoka University, who is one of the investors and founding member of Plaksha, told Business Insider.

The university will be built upon 50 acres of land near Chandigarh International Airport, near Indian School of Business, Mohali. In its first phase, the investors have planned to invest ₹3,500 million in capital for a 1,000 student campus. In 10 years, the founders aim for it to become a 8,000-students campus.

“We met the Punjab and Haryana government, where the Punjab government was excited about the university. When the idea started it was five-six of us and now we have reached 40, the number will keep growing as it’s a combined philanthropic effort,” said Gupta.

The idea behind the university is bringing technological solutions for society, Gupta said, adding they hope its ideas will help solve India’s challenges in areas ranging from food security, environment sustainability, health, education or innovation in manufacturing.

“Technology has a huge role to play in advancing solutions for these problems.While the approach of the university will be to look at cutting edge technology in sectors like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, robotics among other, we would like the university to sensitize and deal with solutions focused on India,” said Gupta.

The importance of technology and innovation education has been a big theme at almost every other startup meet or discussion at Indian events focused on entrepreneurship.

The setting up of this university will lead to more students having an option to learn about entrepreneurship and technology before actually being a part of the game.

“Education is a big multiplier…most of us got good education at IITs almost for free and what we are today is because of that quality education. Over the last three decades, the world has changed and it is time for us to come together and create a new model that can be best in the world in terms of teaching, learning, and market worthiness," Mint reported citing Hitesh Oberoi, Infoedge and Naukri.com Managing Director.

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