The cross-cultural discussions and myriad flow of ideas make the Symbiosis  campus as vibrant and interesting as is the folklore behind it. Eons ago, Dr SB Mujumdar, then the rector at Fergusson College, noticed a girl quickly handing over something to someone in the boy’s hostel  and vanishing. Going  in to check , he found a feeble boy down with jaundice, thus  explaining a fellow Mauritian girl’s altruistic act to sneak a tiffin box. Thus was born symbiosis, a term that meant ‘living together of two different organisms for the benefit of each other’. 

Founded in 1971 as Symbiosis International Cultural & Educational Centre, the Symbiosis International University (SIU) was conferred with the Deemed University status in May 2002 and NAAC ‘A’ certification in 2008. “When we felt we have gained enough resources that satisfy the qualifying norms, we applied for the deemed university status in 2000,” says the principal director, Dr Vidya Yeravdekar. SIU is home to 450,00 students from both India and abroad in 17 campuses in and outside Pune. Apart from this, the largest autonomous institution of Symbiosis Society, the Centre of Distance Learning (SCDL) established in 1994, has active student strength of over 165,000.

Admission to SIU is through a written examination called Symbiosis National Aptitude test (SNAP) for the postgraduate courses while one has to appear in Symbiosis Entrance Test (SET) for admission to the undergraduate (UG)courses. This is usually followed by a group discussion and interview.

The core faculty strength of SIU adds to 185, which is supported by a significant number of adjunct and visiting faculty. Such an arrangement according to the Vice Chancellor SIU, Dr. M S Raste, is to bridge the market requirements and the functional responsibilities of the core faculty. “Core faculty members at SIU are responsible for basic teaching and research activities that largely address conceptual learning from examination point of view while adjunct faculty expose the students to the needs of the market”. 

 The university is yet to make a mark in the realm of research as is evident from minimal sponsored research projects and industrial consultancy assignments, research publications in journals and such activities. The lack of research focus is also visible from the fact that just about 10% of the total faculty strength have a PhD degree. Concurs Dr.Raste. “The importance of PhD as qualifying criteria for faculty positions is only now recognized in India”.

Already well known for excellence in management education, SIU has also made an impact in imparting quality education in law, computer studies and health sciences. Of late SIU has diversified in media and communication studies, humanities, design and engineering.

There are seven faculties which cumulatively offer 87 programmes including PhD. The Institute of Computer Studies and Research is located at Atur campus and offers Bachelor’s and Master’s in Information Technology (IT) and Computer Application. It also offers a PhD programme. Symbiosis Centre for Information Technology that offers MBA in IT with different specializations like systems, networking and software development is located at the Infotech Campus at Hinjewadi. This campus also houses the Centre for Management & Human Resource Development and International Business offering MBA in different specializations.

The Symbiosis Law School, established in 1977 and earlier affiliated to Pune University, has a student population of 1250 in 5-year integrated BA-LL.B and BBA-LL.B programme; 800 in part-time diploma courses and 100 in the LL.M course. While comparison is made with National Law School or other premier law schools, it is often misconstrued - observes Dr. Shashikala Gurpur, Principal & Dean of the Law School. “Here apart from the cutting edge course curriculum that has both corporate and community development focus, it is the location advantage of Pune that attracts students”. Pallavi Nanda, a 3rd year law student says, “You also have the choice of practicing your classroom learning or doing an internship after the classes which usually end at 12 noon”. 

Institute of Health Science offers programmes like MBA in Hospital & Health Care Management, three-year BSc in Medical Technology and diploma in Fitness Management and Imaging Sciences. It also imparts training to doctors in Emergency Medical Services. In addition SIHS is engaged in research activities. “We have built a huge research data-base stemming from a mandatory health check-up of all students since 1977,” says Dr. Rajiv Yeravdekar, Director, SIHS. This rich data set having the health profile data of students from an even larger ethnic diversity can be used for predictive nomograms and several other applications.

Viman Nagar Campus comprises School of Design offering UG programmes in Design and School of Management Studies that offers UG courses. Institute of management Studies at Kirkee Campus is primarily for dependents of armed forces personnel that offers two-year MBA and one-year diploma courses in different management disciplines. The established constituent units of SIU have a reasonably good placement record.

The sprawling 300 acre campus of SIU at Lavale which is also known as the knowledge village houses the Institute of Business Management (SIBM), Institute of Telecom Management (SITM), Institute of Media and Communication (SIMC) and Institute of Technology (SIT). SIT offers BTech programme in electronics and telecommunication, mechanical, computer science and information technology and has a specialized CISCO Lab. This campus is fully residential with well-furnished rooms that have an internet connection for each student. The all green campus that is drafting an environment policy to ascertain the use of bicycles and CNG vehicles as the only mode of transport within the academic region, has a shopping complex, cafeteria, common dining facility and even a helipad.

Every year, there are host of events that keep the Symbiosis community busy, be it the discipline-specific activities at each constituent units or the annual cultural festival or even the food fair. The foreign students in particular  look forward to this institute as is noted by Mustafa Naley a BCom student from Somalia, “Back home there’s one name in education – Symbiosis – and that’s true”.