Azim Premji Foundation visits OISE

Foundation’s third visit to OISE strengthens professional and academic collaboration

December 9, 2010

On November 18, OISE welcomed back Mr. Dileep Ranjekar and Mr. Anurag Behar, Co-Chief Executive Officers of the Azim Premji Foundation of India, to launch a new scholarship and expand on a productive Indo-Canadian education partnership.

The not-for-profit Azim Premji Foundation’s vision is to “contribute towards a just, equitable, humane and sustainable society” by improving the quality of education in India. The Foundation’s outreach programs benefit over 22,000 schools and 2.5 million children – an impact that is sure to increase thanks to a recent donation of 2 billion dollars from Wipro Chairman, Azim Premji.

This was the Foundation’s third visit to OISE seeking professional and academic collaboration as they scale up field programs and develop their new Azim Premji University, which focuses on teacher education at undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as research that brings improvements in rural education.

The two guests met with OISE deans and faculty members from CTL, CIDEC, SESE, TPS, HDAP, Continuing Education, Student Services and OISE’s senior administrative officers. Dileep Ranjekar delivered a presentation for CIDEC Seminar Series entitled “Azim Premji University’s Envisioned Contribution to India’s National Development” which attracted OISE scholars interested in development education in South Asia and beyond.

Dean Julia O’Sullivan and Associate Dean Normand Labrie hosted a Dean’s Reception which included some old OISE friends who had received Azim Premji Foundation guests over the last 2 years. Also present were several OISE graduate students who had conducted research in India or were on their way to work with Indian education institutions.

Dileep and Anurag also paid a morning visit to OISE’s Institute of Child Studies and its Lab School. The conversation with Professor Carl Corter and school tour with Vice-Principal Richard Messina deepened the understanding of each other’s visionary work and included an invitation for ICS teachers to visit Bangalore schools in the near future.

To make the visit even more meaningful, the launching of the Azim Premji Scholarship was announced co-sponsored by the Azim Premji Foundation and OISE, it will promote educational research that fosters an Indo-Canadian partnership in knowledge creation and dissemination for global education. A promising academic collaboration between OISE and the Azim Premji University is set to blossom over the years to come.