Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University

Bharati Vidyapeeth is one of the largest educational organisations in India, having under its umbrella 180 institutions imparting quality education right from pre-primary level to post-graduate and doctoral levels.
According to Prof Dr Shivajirao Kadam, Vice-Chancellor, Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University (BVDU), Pune, the varsity's academic excellence has been appreciated and recognised by various apex authorities. The Union Ministry of Human Resources Development has awarded it the prestigious 'A' grade university status for its internationally acclaimed research, innovative academic programmes in emerging areas and for adoption of best practices in higher education.
Even the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, the statutory assessing authority, has accredited and reaccredited BVDU with the 'A' grade.
The university has 29 constituent units located in Pune, Navi Mumbai, Kolhapur, Solapur, Sangli, Karad and New Delhi. It offers 305 academic programmes at the post-graduate, under-graduate and diploma levels. It also runs PhD programmes in 77 subjects.
Kadam points out that the university has almost 24,000 students, which includes 734 overseas students from more than 45 countries.
"In the post-globalisation period, it has become necessary - as well as possible - to have academic collaborations with overseas universities and other academic institutions," he notes. The university has entered into knowledge partnerships, academic collaborations and collaborative linkages with more than 40 reputed foreign universities from the UK, the US and Europe.
Dr Vishwajeet Kadam, Secretary, Bharati Vidyapeeth, points out that the university has emerged as a leader in most of the conventional courses in India including medical science, dental science, pharmacy and law. "But the trend is gradually shifting to unconventional courses," he adds. "We started a school of photography a few years ago, which is doing exceedingly well. Next year, we're planning a course in cinematography. The university is also taking an initiative in skills development."
According to him, India's huge population and growing economy would see continuing demand for good education. But increasingly, people are now looking at the quality of education including the faculty, the infrastructure and whether an institution does good research.
Asked as to whether Bharati Vidyapeeth has plans to expand overseas, Kadam says that as an institution it has a lot of social commitment and moral responsibility to educate future generations. "We could have easily set up an overseas campus, but we chose not to. Maybe in the future we may do so."
Bharati Vidyapeeth, the parent body of the university, was established by Dr Patangrao Kadam way back in 1964 when he was just 19. It became a deemed university in 1996 and is today one of the largest multi-campus, multi-faculty universities in the country.
Dr Asmita Wele, Director, International Students, BVDU, notes that 100 foreign students passed out at the convocation held earlier this month. "Forty-seven students were present at the function," she says.
According to her, the number of foreign students is high in the management institutes of the university. "We also have local language classes for foreign students, to make them feel at home in Pune," she adds.
Prof Dr Mukund Sarda, Dean, Law Faculty at BVDU, notes that many students from the Middle East study at the law schools. While Bharati Vidyapeeth has four law schools, BVDU has one, which is ranked among the top 10 law schools in India.
"We have judges from Iran and Iraq who have done PhD at the law school," he says. "We offer under-graduate, post-graduate and PhD programmes in law. There are many students from the Middle East and Africa who pursue law degrees at our colleges."
Dr Kiran Shinde, Head of the College of Architecture, BVDU, says many students from the Gulf and other parts of the Middle East study architecture at the university. The college offers bachelor's degree and a master's in sustainable architecture.
The architecture school is one of the few in India that offers one-year internships in the five-year programme; many overseas students prefer to return home to do the internship, he says.