Mahatma Gandhi University, one of the four affiliating universities in Kerala, is the premier educational institution that strives to fulfil the higher educational needs of the people of Central Kerala. Set on the sprawling 110-acre campus called Priyadarshini Hills at Athirampuzha, 13 kms off Kottayam, the University also has seven satellite campuses in parts of Kottayam and the neighbouring districts. The University was established on 2 October 1983 and has jurisdiction over the revenue districts of Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki and parts of Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha. It is a University that conducts a range of programmes at the undergraduate, postgraduate, M Phil and doctoral levels through its 16 University Departments, 7 Self-Financing Departments, 82 Aided Affiliated Colleges (of which 8 are Colleges with Potential for Excellence), 158 Unaided Affiliated Colleges and 73 Recognized Research Institutes. It imparts education in the conventional disciplines of science, social science and the humanities as well as in the professional disciplines of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, engineering, technology, pedagogy and legal studies. The University has also made its educational presence felt outside its territorial jurisdiction through the Off-campus Centres of the School of Distance Education.
From its inception and through the last two decades Mahatma Gandhi University has taken immense strides in the fields of inter-disciplinary teaching and research in the areas of pure and applied sciences, social sciences and the humanities. The teaching programmes conducted under the Credit and Semester System (CSS) in the statutory departments of teaching and research, organized as interdisciplinary Schools, are marked by their innovative curricula and their learner-oriented approaches. CSS is a student-friendly system that fosters interactive acquisition of knowledge in a multi-disciplinary context. The students are made familiar with the latest developments in their subjects of study. The University has always promoted the healthy practice of designing and revising its curricula and syllabi through discussions and deliberations carried out in a democratic way among the members of the academic community. The faculty of the University comprise outstanding scholars, many of whom have made original contributions in their respective fields of specialization. The faculty and research scholars of several departments have gained widespread recognition for the commendable quality of their research publications. The research journals published by some of the Schools have garnered international recognition. |
