NEW DELHI — Education has the unique and transformative power to transcend geographic borders, forge lasting relationships, and draw nations closer together through shared understanding. This enduring philosophy took center stage on October 9, 2026, as Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar, Chancellor of Symbiosis International (Deemed University), delivered a keynote address at the university’s prestigious annual diplomatic dinner in New Delhi. The high-profile gathering brought together an influential assembly of ambassadors, foreign diplomats, high commissioners, and key stakeholders in international higher education to celebrate more than five decades of academic excellence, cross-cultural exchange, and institutional growth.
Welcoming the distinguished guests to the capital, Dr. Yeravdekar reflected deeply upon the foundational vision that inspired the creation of Symbiosis back in 1971. Long before the internationalization of higher education became a prominent global trend and a strategic priority for universities worldwide, the institution was established with a singular, inclusive mission. The university’s roots trace back to Prof. (Dr.) S.B. Mujumdar, who was working as a professor at Fergusson College in Pune at the time. Recognizing an acute, unmet need to support international students arriving in India for their studies, Prof. Mujumdar conceived an academic and residential environment where students from diverse countries and backgrounds could study, live, and learn harmoniously together.
The core idea was simple yet profound: international students would live in a shared community and eventually return to their home countries carrying fond, positive memories of India. As Dr. Yeravdekar explained to the attentive audience of diplomats, these students were envisioned from the very beginning as "unofficial ambassadors." Through their personal lived experiences, academic journeys, and interpersonal connections, these young scholars would naturally strengthen diplomatic, economic, and cultural relationships between India and their respective home nations.
This founding philosophy continues to serve as the guiding light for the university’s administrative and academic policies today. Even the name chosen for the institution—Symbiosis—reflects a mutually beneficial, harmonious relationship between different living organisms, mirroring the symbiotic interactions of a multicultural student body. Furthermore, the university’s guiding motto, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which translates to "the world is one family," captures its overarching commitment to fostering global harmony, mutual respect, and international understanding.
"Students should carry good memories, not just of the education that they went through, but also of the country they studied in," Dr. Yeravdekar emphasized during her address. She underscored the vital importance of integrating cultural exchange seamlessly alongside rigorous academic learning, ensuring that a university education shapes globally conscious citizens rather than merely producing credentialed job seekers.
From an Indian Institution to a Thriving Global Community
Over the course of the past five decades, Symbiosis has undergone a remarkable transformation, evolving from a localized support initiative for foreign students into a comprehensive, multidisciplinary university with expansive campuses spread across six major Indian cities, alongside a burgeoning international campus in Dubai. Today, the university proudly welcomes students hailing from more than 85 distinct countries, creating a vibrant, polyethnic learning ecosystem where young people from vastly different socioeconomic, cultural, and geographic backgrounds interact, collaborate, and learn directly from one another.
During her remarks, Dr. Yeravdekar drew attention to the strategic significance of Pune, the historic cradle of the university. Pune has long maintained its reputation as a premier educational, cultural, and industrial powerhouse in western India. The city’s robust manufacturing sector, advanced services industry, and rapidly expanding start-up ecosystem offer international students invaluable opportunities to experience contemporary India far beyond the confines of the traditional classroom. Through structured short-term academic programmes, industry visits, and corporate internships, international scholars gain practical insights into the Indian economic landscape.
The university’s strategic international expansion reached a historic milestone in 2024 with the establishment of its dedicated campus in Dubai. Explaining the institutional rationale behind selecting the bustling Middle Eastern metropolis as the site for its first major overseas venture, Dr. Yeravdekar described Dubai as a premier global gateway and a vital international meeting point where people from countless nationalities, cultures, and professions converge. She expressed deep satisfaction with the rapid early progress demonstrated by the Dubai campus, noting that it has successfully attracted students from a wide array of countries, thereby extending the institutional footprint and academic mission of Symbiosis well beyond South Asia.
Addressing the diplomatic corps assembled in New Delhi, Dr. Yeravdekar made a point to acknowledge their invaluable contributions to the institution’s ongoing journey. She highlighted the instrumental role played by various diplomatic missions, embassies, and high commissions in encouraging educational mobility, facilitating student visas, and promoting bilateral academic exchanges between India and the global community.
"The success that Symbiosis has achieved today is possible because of the blessings and support of each one of you," she stated, offering a heartfelt expression of gratitude to the ambassadors, high commissioners, and diplomatic representatives present at the annual dinner.
Expanding Horizons: Healthcare, Research, and Entrepreneurship
While international education and cross-cultural engagement remain the beating heart of Symbiosis’s institutional identity, Dr. Yeravdekar used the platform to outline the university’s rapidly expanding strategic priorities, particularly its heavy investments in healthcare, medical education, advanced research, and technology.
She detailed the university’s comprehensive work across medical and health sciences, which encompasses specialized training in nursing, allied health sciences, and cutting-edge medical technology. These professional programmes hold immense relevance and urgency for developing nations, particularly across Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, where building robust healthcare infrastructure and training skilled healthcare professionals remain paramount national priorities. By extending these educational opportunities to international students, Symbiosis is actively contributing to international capacity-building and healthcare resilience.
This evolving academic portfolio reflects a broader institutional ambition to respond dynamically to changing societal needs while generating solutions for contemporary challenges. In tandem with healthcare, Dr. Yeravdekar pointed to a newly intensified institutional emphasis on fostering entrepreneurship and driving high-impact research. Anchored by an active incubation ecosystem that currently supports and nurtures more than 80 start-up ventures, the university is actively encouraging its student body to look beyond conventional employment pathways and instead develop innovative, scalable business ventures.
Significantly, she noted that international students have also integrated into this entrepreneurial culture, frequently collaborating with their Indian peers to conceptualize and establish new start-ups. Describing this pivotal institutional shift, Dr. Yeravdekar noted that Symbiosis is steadily transitioning from being primarily an employment-oriented university toward a dynamic, entrepreneurship-led model, all while significantly strengthening its commitment to academic and applied research.
For Symbiosis, this multidimensional evolution represents a concerted effort to equip young people with the technical skills, emotional intelligence, and confident international outlook required to successfully navigate a rapidly changing, increasingly interconnected world.
Education as a Bridge to Global Understanding
Throughout the course of her comprehensive address, Dr. Yeravdekar repeatedly returned to the fundamental premise that the true achievements of the university must be evaluated through the lens of its original founding purpose. For the leadership and faculty at Symbiosis, international education is never treated as a mere administrative metric or a mechanism for simply attracting overseas enrollments. Instead, it is approached as an intentional effort to curate an environment where cultural differences are transformed into valuable opportunities for lifelong learning and deep mutual respect.
She also took the opportunity to speak about the university’s extensive and influential global alumni network. Over the past five decades, thousands of graduates have successfully transitioned into prominent professional roles across diverse sectors, industries, and governments worldwide. Their continued professional achievements and leadership positions, she suggested, remain a profound source of institutional satisfaction because they vividly reflect the enduring, lifelong impact of an educational experience that transcends standard academic qualifications and diplomas.
Concluding her address with an open invitation, Dr. Yeravdekar encouraged the diplomats and international representatives who had not yet visited the university to plan a trip to experience its sprawling campuses in Pune and witness its vibrant, multicultural academic environment firsthand.
