Rishihood University, Sonepat has announced the appointment of Shobhit Mathur as its Vice Chancellor. Becoming the University’s second VC and one of India’s youngest VCs, Mathur is elevated from his position of Pro Vice Chancellor and Dean, Rashtram School of Public Leadership. He succeeds the existing VC Kamlesh Misra, who retired from formal academics and will be moving to the US.
After a B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Bombay and MS in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Washington, Mathur has worked extensively in the volunteering space with his stint at Youth For Seva, and later with the establishment of the Vision India Foundation – which transformed into the Rashtram School of Public Leadership. He holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business.
In this new role, Mathur brings almost two decades of experience and a more novel and millennial approach to the University’s core philosophy of creating a learning environment that inspires people to achieve ‘Rishihood’ by providing an innovative approach to education that fits the needs of the students and the communities in the post-pandemic world.
Speaking about his vision, Shobhit Mathur, Vice-Chancellor, Rishihood University said, “What are the biggest challenges facing humanity? Climate change, terrorism, mental depression – would probably come to your mind first. What are the solutions that we have for them? We need an integrated approach that results in harmony within oneself and with nature. This is the core of the Indian Knowledge Systems – it connects you with yourself, your community, and the creation. Importantly, it provides a praxis in the form of Yoga, Ayurveda and rituals that allows the knowledge to be practiced in a simplified and distilled manner by the larger populace. Imbibing and practicing this knowledge will be the key trait of aspiring leaders of the future. Our education system needs to imbibe this.”
Citing the words of Alvin Toffler, one of the world’s outstanding futurists, Mathur stressed upon the importance of the mantra of “learn, unlearn, and relearn”, especially in an increasingly uncertain post-pandemic world. “The paths for today’s students must be different. Let’s think about students as starting an intellectual and professional journey with Rishihood and we are partners with them in that journey,” he said, adding his goal for the newly-inaugurated varsity to “be an authentic Indian university yet globally competitive (that) takes India to the world”.
“Shobhit’s approach of remaining dynamic in a dynamic world, for not just individuals but also institutions is one that’s critical to thriving in today’s world. Shobhit is under 40 and it is not every day that one sees such young and experienced VCs, who are in tune with new-age aspirations and know how to be a bridge between the youth and society. Congratulations to Shobhit and to all at RU who will benefit under his leadership,” said Suresh Prabhu, Founding Chancellor, Rishihood University.
