Ashoka University, currently spanning an area of 25 acres with a residential capacity of approximately 2,500 students, is embarking on a campus expansion project. In a recent interview with The Edict, Harshit Takkar, Assistant Director of Strategic Initiatives, shared insights into the upcoming developments, emphasising a clear focus on enhancing student life and academic facilities.
Sustainability has been kept in mind with the design of the new campus, with efforts to minimize electricity and water usage. Solar power has been integrated into the campus infrastructure. The civil infrastructure development of the campus has been spearheaded by sustainability architects to ensure eco-friendly construction practices.
The expansion prioritises increasing student residential capacity, particularly to address the current reliance on satellite housing for many postgraduate students. Two new residential towers, RH6 and RH7, will add 800 beds to housing. The Residential Life Office is currently evaluating the allocation of housing for undergraduate, master's, and PhD students. Harshit expressed optimism that these towers would be operational by the Monsoon’24 semester, significantly easing housing pressures.
In addition to the residential towers, the new campus will feature two academic buildings situated in front of the towers. Unlike the current academic blocks, which have multidisciplinary classrooms and faculty offices, the new buildings will focus on specific disciplines.
One of them, the Trivedi School of Biosciences (TSB) nearing completion, is envisioned as a state-of-the-art research facility focused on health and bioinformatics, says Dean Professor Anurag Agrawal. In conversation with The Edict, Agrawal described the TSB complex as the “anchor building for the new campus.” The TSB building will also house the KOITA Centre for Digital Health, Ashoka (KCDH-A) - a collaboration between TSB and the University’s Computer Science Department with support from the Koita Foundation. The Centre aims to drive research and innovation at the intersection of healthcare, genomics, information technology, and artificial intelligence.
The building will also house Ashoka’s Centre for Health Analytics Research and Trends (CHART), focused on evidence-based research on population health. The aim, says Agrawal, is to create a data ecosystem for biology and health research “unlike anything in the country at the moment”. Steps taken towards creating these Centres include a data-sharing agreement with the biomedical database UK Biobank, obtaining mass spectrometers and imaging facilities, as well as a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Zeiss.
In Agrawal’s view, the cornerstone of TSB is an integrated vision across disciplines. At the molecular level, he argues, biology and chemistry become almost “indistinguishable”. Even beyond science, fields do not operate in isolation. TSB’s work aims to cut across disciplines, in consonance with what Agrawal describes as the Ashokan vision of “least boundaries”. The TSB will have close linkages — both physical and functional — with the Centre for Innovation which will facilitate research-based entrepreneurship and design. He also mentioned a laboratory at the intersection of history, archaeology, and biology in the works.
The TSB building, Agrawal says, has only one classroom and one auditorium for lectures and conferences due to the focus on research-driven learning. He envisions the TSB as a potential space to expand Ashoka’s academic scope and research capacity.
When asked to clarify the common perception among students that the new campus was a “sciences campus”, Harshit was quick to deny such ideas. “There is no bifurcation between science and humanities”, he says, “it is all one university campus.” The second building, the Ashoka Innovation Centre (AC06), is described by Harshit as a melting pot for all departments. It will have a strong synergy with the current Centre for Entrepreneurship (CFE). The building will house classrooms and a common coworking space, inspired by the success of the current library café. Further, it will also host a Makerspace, a collaborative workspace equipped with 3D printers, machining, electrical, carpentry & other tools for people to create, invent, and learn. This Makerspace will be hosted on the top floor, providing a dedicated area more extensive than the two classrooms in AC03 currently available for such activities.
Harshit highlighted the focus on creating interactive and community-driven spaces. A common lounge area is planned for public activities to enhance the sense of community among students. Dining & gym facilities will be located on the ground & first floor of the RH, reducing the need for students to commute to the old campus for meals & recreational purposes.
The University also has plans for the land it owns opposite the current campus. Some of this area will be converted into cricket fields and tennis courts to provide more green space for recreation and sports. The University aims for the expansion of green space to be ready by the Monsoon’24 semester.
Harshit highlighted that connectivity between the old and new campuses is a priority. Efforts are ongoing to ensure a smooth, convenient connection between the two campuses.
A common question is whether the inauguration of the new campus is part of a plan to increase student intakes and accommodate growing batch sizes. Harshit responded, “[The class size] will grow organically. We do have some numbers in mind, but there is no hard line.”
With the North Campus hosting its first flurry of activity such as the Convocation ceremonies for the ASP' 24 and UG'24 batches, the 2024 Monsoon semester will mark the beginning of its full-fledged integration with the University.
(Edited by Hiyaneijemmy Das and Keerthana Panchanathan)
Note: The Edict has sources 3/4 of the attached images from third-parties, who wish to stay anonymous. The Edict is unaware of the original source. Please reach out to us at edict@ashoka.edu.in for credit purposes.
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