PUNE: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI), a world-renowned pioneer institute of oriental studies, has taken one more step in enhancing its online platform ‘Bharatvidya’. In Maharashtra, BORI has received several frequent queries about the availability of IKS course content in Marathi. Given this need and demand of the student, BORI is launching a separate course on its online learning platform ‘Bharatvidya.in’ which will provide lecture courses in the Marathi language.

This was announced by Bhupal Patwardhan, Chairman of the Executive Board of BORI in a Press Conference held at the BORI Campus today. Mr. Pradeep Rawat – trustee, Prof. Pradeep Apte – Vice Chairman of the Regulatory Council, Dr. Gauri Moghe, Content Curator and Project Coordinator and Mr. Chinmay Bhandari &Mr. Mithilesh Kulkarni from the Digital Initiatives Team of BORI were present on the occasion.

Stating the objective behind this initiative Bhupal Patwardhan said, “We received a splendid response for some of our online initiatives undertaken during the pandemic. This prompted us to start ‘Bharatvidya’, a digital platform that can take the knowledge acquired by BORI over the past 100 years through its meticulous research work to the ones who value it. Currently, 14 courses are available on this platform and thousands are taking it.”

“As per the NEP 2020, a course of 2 credits on the Indian Knowledge System was made mandatory for undergraduate students. The State Government also issued the notification in this regard. So, for the benefit of the students we developed this course in English and offered it through our ‘Bharatvidya’ platform, which was well received and over 10000 students took this course up and completed it. Now, we are happy to launch this IKS course in Marathi”, Patwardhan added.

Pradeep Rawat said, “This course has been developed in tune with NEP’s guidelines to provide education in the mother language. This also underlines the importance of native languages in propagating the ancient Indian knowledge among the young generation and to inspire them to conserve this knowledge in today’s modern world.”

“This IKS program in Marathi has been developed as per the century-old tradition of BORI which gives importance to facts and evidence while undertaking any research project. The program will be accessible to all those who are interested in IKS at just Rs.1999/- per person with lifetime access to the content. For those students who wish to enroll and opt for these courses to earn the credit to be credited to the credit bank as per the understanding reached by the respective college of the student and the fees would be charged accordingly.”, informed Prof. Pradeep Apte.

While sharing some highlights of this program Dr. Gauri Moghe said, “We have included some of the most important subjects related to the Indian Knowledge System in this program which will be made available for the students through pre-recorded videos. This 30-hour program has a total of 27 sessions. Well thought and logical order of the sessions, use of graphics for better understanding and effective presentation will make this course enjoyable.”

“It has subjects related to the Veda, Upanishad, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Purana, Indian Philosophy, Ancient Mathematics, Ayurveda, Yoga Shastra, Art and Architecture, Temple Architecture, Agriculture and Food tradition and important Dynasties from ancient India. The sessions are presented by renowned subject experts. The evaluation of the course is done with the MCQs at the end of the course and the certificate shall be awarded after the entire course”, Dr. Moghe added.  

She pointed out that this IKS program will not only help UG students to get the mandatory 2 credits but will also make them aware of our age-old rich cultural and knowledge tradition.

The experts whose sessions are part of this 2 credits IKS course in Marathi include Prof. Pradeep Apte, Dr. Mugdha Gadgil, Dr. Gauri Moghe, Dr. Vijaya Deshpande, Pranav Gokhale, Dr. Manish Walvekar, Rajas Vaishampayan, Dr. Yogesh Bendale, Dr.Girish Welankar and Dr. Bhagyashree Yargop.

Mithilesh Kulkarni from the Digital Initiatives Team of BORI said that a lot of Universities and large educational institutions are in talks with BORI for collaboration to offer this mandatory course at the institute level. Some of the reputed educational institutions and Universities that have already signed MoU with BORI include Maharashtra Education Society, MIT World Peace University, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Sri Balaji University Pune, and Veer Narmad South Gujarat University.  

For more information please check https://bharatvidya.in/

The post Discover the New BORI IKS Course: Unlocking 2 Credits in Marathi Language Learning appeared first on NRI News.

Human actions like habitat destruction, pollution, overexploitation, climate change, and invasive species threaten biodiversity, causing ecosystem disruptions, habitat loss, and straining community resources. Urgent conservation is essential for rural communities and their natural heritage. The People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR), mandated by the Biological Diversity Act, of 2002, documents, and helps preserve local bio-resources along with traditional knowledge.

A total of 27 students across multiple post-graduate specializations including Botany, Zoology, and Environmental Science are enrolled in this course. The course will include classroom sessions and on-field activity in Sakhar and Gunjawane villages in Pune, providing hands-on experience as well as course credits for the students under the National Education Policy.

The program will commence from 1st Jan 2024 till 15^th January 2024.  It will include theory sessions conducted by SCF at the Fergusson College and on-field data collection organized by the Raintree Foundation at Sakhar and Gunjawane villages. The course will offer practical exposure to the students of the respective departments, helping raise their awareness towards the ground reality of biodiversity management, and the importance of PBR in creating village management plans. While at its core the PBR is a document that contains comprehensive information on the locally available bio-resources, their medicinal use, and traditional knowledge, it has the potential to be used to foster community stewardship for sustainable development, conservation effort, and benefit-sharing.

Commenting on the initiative, Ms. Namita Dandekar, Chief Operating Officer, of Raintree Foundation said, “Documentation of traditional knowledge is critical not just for understanding the community’s generational interaction with their natural resources and heritage but is also important for ensuring greater community participation and ownership of biodiversity conservation efforts. Through this experiential educational program in partnership with Srushti Conservation Foundation and Fergusson College, Raintree Foundation will offer practical, on-ground exposure to students interested in working in environmental conservation, while also working with community resource persons to develop documentation of local oral traditions and knowledge that are rapidly fading away.”

Program Details:

Classroom Sessions/ Theory Sessions – January 1^st – 5^th, 2024

The Dept. of Environmental Science at the Fergusson College will organize the Theory sessions for DESPU students from January 1st to January 5th, 2024. These theory sessions will be led by Srushti Conservation Foundation, Pune. The sessions will cover topics such as a general introduction to climate change and biodiversity, discussions on documenting traditional knowledge and natural resource systems, an introduction to the PBR concept including its importance, history, general structure, purpose, and application. Additionally, there will be discussions on PBR do’s and don’ts, an introduction to Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) techniques, and activities focusing on awareness generation among people, ground preparation for PBR development, and daily games.

On-field data-collection – January 6^th – 15^th, 2024

On-field data collection is scheduled in Gunjavane and Sakhar villages from January 7th to January 15th, 2024. This nine-day activity comprises five days of fieldwork, involving visits to Gunjavane and Sakhar, documenting oral histories of local biodiversity, which are gradually fading, preparation of documentation and awareness materials, collation, compilation, and editing of the PBR document. On the final day, students will be required to take an exam for certification. The program will conclude with certificate distribution and submission of the prepared PBRs to the Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board for approval.

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