CMR University Becomes India's First University to Establish ACSA - An Exclusive Animal Shelter on Campus

CMR University, one of the top-ranked universities in Bengaluru, today announced the implementation of the 'Community Service Programme' (CSP) for all their undergraduate and postgraduate students under the Common Core Curriculum (CCC) from the academic year 2022-23, with a vision to create a culture of community engagement and public service among them. Having initiated various student volunteering activities in different spheres as pilot projects, the university officially launched the program on 21 September, 2022 at CMR University OMBR Campus, Bengaluru. It is anticipated that the students will put in 4 lakh hours of community service over the period of 4 years.

(R-L): Shreya Reddy, Director, CMR Group of Institutions - Dr. Trishta Ramamurthy, Provost & Vice-Chancellor - Dr. Sabitha Ramamurthy, Chancellor - Dr. Tejaswini Ananthkumar, Politician, social activist, Chairman & Co-founder of Adamya Chetana Foundation - Shri. K.C. Ramamurthy Chairman, CMR Group of Institutions

During the launch of its Student Community Service program, the university announced an exclusive animal shelter within the campus started by the students of CMR University out of compassion for animals called ACSA.

The Chief Guest for the event was Dr. Tejaswini Ananthkumar - a prominent national politician and social activist. She is the Chairman and Co-founder of Adamya Chetana Foundation. The Guest of Honour was Shri K. C. Ramamurthy IPS, Former Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha and Chairman, CMR Group of Institutions and CMR University. The event was presided by Dr. Sabitha Ramamurthy Chancellor, CMR University. Other prominent personalities present on the occasion included esteemed founders and representatives of Bangalore based NGOs including C.R.Y. - Child Rights & You, Namma Bengaluru Foundation, Sparsha Trust, Vidyaranya, FSL India and New Mighty Grace Charitable Trust.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Guest Dr. Tejaswini Ananthkumar said, "It is very heartening to see that a new age University like CMRU has taken up community service with such commitment and fervor. This is for the first time that community service is made to be an integral part of the curriculum, where all undergraduate and postgraduate students across all disciplines are mandated to complete a minimum number of volunteering hours as a part of their graduation requirement. It will make a big difference in the outlook of the students. I am glad that students from various disciplines under the Common Core Curriculum are involved in this community initiative. I laud this pioneering initiative taken up by CMRU to bring about social transformation."

With a vision 'To nurture creative thinkers who will drive positive global change', CMR University strives to ensure that students are equipped with 21-kmn leadership competencies that are required to thrive in the 'University of Life'. To achieve this vision of CMRU, the Common Core Curriculum (CCC) was designed with the objectives of - Preparing students for a future they do not know, for jobs that do not exist today and for all of life's challenges.

Interlaced with the Programme Core Curriculum, the Common Core Curriculum (CCC) courses are offered to all the students irrespective of the academic programme that they pursue. The Common Core Curriculum (CCC) courses are designed on the foundations of the three main aspects namely - Preparing for Success, Contributing to Society and Knowing Self & Community.

Under the pillar of Contributing to Society, the Community Service Programme (CSP), aims to inculcate empathy among students, develop a love for serving others and be instrumental in bringing about positive societal changes.

Launching the event, Dr. Tristha Ramamurthy (Vice Chancellor, CMR University) said, "CMR University is dedicated to helping students become the best versions of themselves while simultaneously striving to make the world a better place. We firmly believe that learning through service is an effective educational tool, which will create empathetic leaders of tomorrow who will not only be leaders but become community builders with a problem solving approach. This academic year CMRU aims to complete over 100,000 hours of community service."

The students will involve themselves in community service activities through various Social Service Wings (SSW) within the CMRU ecosystem and also with numerous NGO partners. During the pilot project more than 100 students were involved in various community activities over a period of 90 days clocking in 3,500+ hours. The Community Service Programme (CSP) is in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The Community Service Programme (CSP) primarily focuses its engagement in the areas of Education, Women Empowerment, Livelihood, Environment, Health and Hygiene. These community service activities will happen both on campus and off campus through the offline and online modes.

About CMR University
CMR University (CMRU) is a private university in Karnataka, established and governed by the CMR University Act-2013. CMRU takes pride in its dynamic and outstanding faculty, innovative pedagogical practices, state-of-the-art infrastructure and multidisciplinary academic programmes at Graduate, Postgraduate and Doctoral levels. CMR University has over 250 faculty members and over 6000 students under its various Schools of Studies like School of Architecture, School of Design, School of Economics and Commerce, School of Engineering and Technology, School of Legal Studies, School of Management, School of Science Studies, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, School of Education and CMR Center for English and Foreign Languages. The Schools of Studies offers 43 Undergraduate, 17 Postgraduate, 5 PG Diploma, 7 Certificate and PhD programmes in 12 disciplines.