BENGALURU : Renowned mathematician Prof Manjul Bhargava said that Chanakya University is a step towards India moving towards a multidisciplinary system of education.He was speaking at the official launch of Chanakya University as the chief guest at the event on Saturday evening, attended by Minister for Higher Education Dr CN Ashwath Narayan and a number of eminent personalities supporting the university.
Bhargava said ‘zero’ was a foundational element to many modern inventions and usages. “Indian numerals were a basis for a lot of modern mathematics used in everyday life and in technology. Without it, the Europeans were still using Roman numerals. The ‘zero’ is foundational. Its start came from philosophy, then linguistics, then poetry, music, astronomy and, finally, to mathematics and computer science,” he said.
The key for innovation, he said, is the ability to borrow concepts from other disciplines. “The idea of having a multidisciplinary background and drawing ideas from aesthetics, science and art to work on whatever we’re working on, is still applicable today. The best companies hire multidisciplinary teams and people. Many inventors come from a multidisciplinary background. We need more such homegrown stories in India and it is time to move our education system in that direction. I compliment Chanakya University for moving forward on the recommendations of the NEP,” he said.
Established by several architects of the National Education Policy under the Centre for Educational and Social Studies (CESS), Chanakya University has the support of many philanthropists and eminent members involved in multidisciplinary settings. “This unique institution is being established by a charitable trust and through funds collected by the public, having no commercial angle and is not-for-profit. The news about the university has reached other cities and the people have awoken,” said Dr Sitharam Jindal, founder chairman, Jindal Aluminium.