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Vantara, the global wildlife conservation organisation founded by Reliance Industries Executive Director Anant Ambani, has announced the launch of Vantara University in Jamnagar, Gujarat, on Friday.
It is the world's first integrated global university dedicated to wildlife conservation and veterinary sciences. Vantara University is rooted in animal welfare, scientific advancement, and the future of wildlife conservation. The institution aims to develop future leaders in veterinary medicine, conservation, and wildlife care. Its curriculum will utilise India's enduring knowledge traditions to shape a purpose-led and future-facing model of education. "The future of conservation will depend on how we prepare minds and institutions to serve life with compassion, knowledge, and skill. Vantara University is shaped by a deeply personal journey of witnessing animals in distress and recognising the need for greater capability in their care. Inspired by the ethos of the ancient Nalanda University, and the spirit of A no bhadrah kratavo yantu visvatah, which means let noble thoughts come to us from all directions, the university seeks to nurture a new generation committed to protecting every life," Anant Ambani said. Reflecting this ethos in the ceremonial setting, two Bijoliya sandstones were incorporated into the design of the foundation venue. Drawn from the ancient Vindhyan formation, the same geological foundation associated with ancient Nalanda in present day Bihar, these stones symbolised India's enduring legacy of knowledge and learning. The foundation ceremony, conducted in accordance with Hindu traditions, brought together representatives from academia, science, conservation, and public life, including Anant Ambani's teachers and mentors. A central element of the event was the ritual placement of soil, water, and stones as a symbolic act of laying the foundation, with these elements collected from biodiversity-rich landscapes across India, spanning grasslands, forests, wetlands, arid ecosystems, and Himalayan and other high-altitude habitats across the northern, southern, eastern, western, and central parts of the country, symbolising India's ecological richness and the vision of building the university on the foundation of the nation's natural heritage. Vantara University will unite diverse disciplines within a single academic ecosystem, rooted in real-world conservation practices. Drawing on Vantara's on-ground expertise, the university will translate field knowledge into academic programmes, professional training, and globally relevant frameworks. By mixing compassion, science, and conservation, it will mould professionals to address complex and evolving challenges in wildlife and ecosystem health. The university will offer undergraduate, postgraduate, fellowship, and specialised programmes across disciplines. These include wildlife medicine and surgery, nutrition, behavioural sciences, genetics, epidemiology, One Health, conservation policy, andnaturalistic animal care environment design. Organised into specialised colleges aligned with Vantara's operational capabilities, the university will also offer scholarships to support students from socially and economically marginalised backgrounds. Vantara University will be supported by advanced academic and clinical infrastructure, international collaborations, and a residential campus. It will focus on action-oriented research to strengthen animal welfare and advanced conservation practice. The educationalmodel will integrate in situ and ex situ conservation, linking natural habitats with scientific care and long-term wildlife welfare and management. Recognising that the future of conservation will be built in classrooms, laboratories, and human conscience, as well as in forests, the university aims to advance wildlife veterinary sciences and conservation education. It will simultaneously develop knowledge resources in wildlife health, animal care environment design, and conservation, serving as a long-term platform for education, research, and innovation. The foundation ceremony marked the start of a broader national effort to advance compassionate conservation education. This included the announcement of 'Vantara University Founding Fellows' and 'Every Life Matters' scholarships, alongside a call to useknowledge not only for progress, but for protection. In its stated vision, Vantara University is positioned as more than an academic platform. It reflects the view that the wild requires not only admiration, but also knowledge, systems, and trained hands. (ANI)
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