Plaksha University, an upcoming collective philanthropic venture backed by leading technology entrepreneurs, business leaders and corporates, today, announced a strategic collaboration with Bharti Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Bharti Enterprises – one of India’s leading business groups.

Plaksha is a movement to harness the world’s best minds to reimagine technology education in India and the world. With a project cost of about INR 2,000 crore over 10 years, the university will commence operations in 2021.

As a part of the strategic collaboration with Plaksha, Bharti will infuse funds towards infrastructure support for construction of the academic block, and provide scholarships to undergraduate/graduate students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Bharti has plans to additionally collaborate with Plaksha to set up the ‘Bharti Innovation Park’, which will be executed over a period of 7-10 years. The Innovation Park will primarily focus on industry driven research, innovation and entrepreneurship and also have a startup incubator, a research park and several community activities.

Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Vice-Chairman, Bharti Enterprises and Co-Chairman, Bharti Foundation said, “We are delighted to partner with Plaksha University to lay a solid foundation for transforming the Indian education system into a vibrant knowledge hub. With a common shared vision, we will jointly work towards the creation of a world-class technology institution for providing high-quality education across research, design, innovation and entrepreneurship to students, enabling them to be future-ready. We are confident that the Institute will emerge as a pioneer in the technology education space and help in establishing India’s position as a major technology hub for innovations.”

Commenting on the partnership, Neeraj Aggarwal, Chairman – Asia Pacific, Boston Consulting Group, and Founder and Trustee, Plaksha University said, “Plaksha is spearheading a movement to reimagine technology education and research in India. This collaboration will further strengthen our founder group of 60+ leading technology entrepreneurs, business leaders and corporates who have come together from India, US, UK, Singapore and Japan.”

Vineet Gupta, MD, Jamboree Education and Founder and Trustee, Plaksha University said “We are delighted to have Bharti Foundation join our mission to create a world-class technology institution. Bharti’s vast experience and deep commitment to furthering quality education and research in India will add immense value to this collective mission.”

Plaksha’s mission is to deliver contemporary and cutting-edge programs in science and technology while also building an ecosystem of innovation and research. Some of the initial interdisciplinary areas where it wants to focus include Data Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Cyber Physical Systems and Bio-Engineering. Setting up distinctive research centres on grand challenge areas like digital health, digital agriculture, clean energy, future mobility, cyber security, AI for Good is a part of Plaksha’s plans.