Another three years for Prof. Jaspal Singh Sandhu as VC of Guru Nanak Dev University

Amritsar,  June 3 (Punjab Post Bureau) – V.P Singh Badnore the Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University and Governor of Punjab has extended the term of Prof. Jaspal Singh Sandhu as Vice Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University for another three years vide notification no. 5/9/17-GNDU-2G-PRB/2099 dated 03-06-2020, here today. The augmentation in the services of Prof. Sandhu was due to his dedicated commitments in the field of higher education. It is pertinent to mention that since his joining as Vice Chancellor on August 16, 2017, the University excelled not only in research, sports, international and national ranking but also took major initiatives including signing of MoUs at national and international levels, students centric activities, starting of new departments and courses, placement achievements and to start Incubation Centre and Department of Computational Statistics and Data Analytics with the vision to meet the global challenges. University at the very onset of the lockdown due to Covid pandemic adopted the method of online teaching, viva-voce examinations of Ph. D. thesis, projects & seminars so as to ensure that the curricular interactions with students are not hampered. The faculty, scholars and students were engaged in webinars where a series of such events were coordinated during the lockdown period. e-office is being introduced in the university for movement of files using paperless filing system.  University also developed low cost sanitizer and one of its departments is stitching masks to be distributed to the needy on no-profit basis.  Prof. Sandhu was in constant touch with the heads of all the teaching departments through WhatsApp and zoom meetings. The university plans to ensure that the teaching activity continues according to the academic calendar in the interest of the students. These are some of the initiatives being taken by him during this pandemic which were appreciated by all. 

      The Senators and Syndics of the University, Ministers, District Administration, University fraternity, prominent personalities and local dignitaries congratulated Prof. Sandhu for his achievements during the last three years. Prof. Sandhu thanked all his well wishers. He gratefully thanked the Chancellor & Governor of Punjab and Capt. Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister Punjab who have shown faith in him. He assured to do his best for further development of the University under their guidance. 

      During the tenure of Prof. Sandhu, the University ranking improved not only at national but at international level also. In the interim, University Grants Commission has granted “Category One” status to Guru Nanak Dev University, the only university to get this elite status in the region of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. This will give more academic autonomy to the university. This is a premier university of North India with a score of 3.51 on 4.00 scale of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (accredited at highest level i.e. A++ as per the new modified criteria) and it has also been conferred with the status of “University with Potential for Excellence” by UGC.

      Due to his best efforts, the Government of India allotted 4 Centres of Excellence in Sports to GNDU (Athletics, Fencing, Cycling & Swimming) and sanctioned Rs 17 Crores for the same. GNDU has been awarded the prestigious Maulana Abul Kalam Azad trophy for overall excellence in sports for record 23 times. In Youth Festivals – during year 2019-20 GNDU was Overall 1^st runners up for North Zone Inter-University Youth Festival and GNDU won the Music Trophy in Inter-University National Youth Festival.