All students entering the undergraduate programme go through our common core, the Foundation Programme, in the first year. This Programme builds the foundations of interdisciplinary learning at Ahmedabad University and engages with issues of society through project-based learning.

The Foundation programme is built around six domains that define contemporary academic and life skills in the 21st century, areas of innovation that are transforming the world, and perspectives that help become a responsible member of any society. These domains include skills like Data Science and Communication, understanding of the areas of innovation like Materials and Biology & Life, and perspective building through the domains like Behaviour and Constitution & Civilisation.

The delivery of the domains of learning of the Foundation Programme is done thematically to develop a holistic approach to thinking and enquiry amongst our students. Students learn to understand that there are multiple issues that define a problem and one needs to learn the art and science of synthesis in order to address these issues. Students complete four thematic Studios of learning that integrate the above-mentioned domains creating a more effective way of thinking and problem-solving. The thematic Studios for 2021-22 are:

Water | Environment and Climate Change | Democracy and Justice | Neighbourhoods

The idea is to engage the students’ imagination with contemporary problems that the society, in which they live, encounters. Studios bring interdisciplinary engagement, experiential learning & research thinking together in the classroom. Each theme is explored through a set of domains thereby creating interdisciplinary learning. Students learn that many systems of knowledge are required to solve challenging problems.

Another innovation lies in the delivery of these thematic modules in a studio format through experiential learning. Students learn to apply theory and connect ideas across different disciplines. The Foundation Programme is evaluated on a Passed/Not Passed basis to ensure that students are fully focused on the joy of learning. Students also display their work during the Foundation Programme Exposition that is open to the university community and the parents.

  • Democracy and Justice

    Democracy and Justice

    Democracy has emerged as the most desirable, the most legitimate and the most just if not the most successful, form of government in the contemporary world. The Foundation Programme Studio on Democracy and Justice revolves around the fundamental questions contextualising democracy, understanding the nature and value of democratic systems and conversations, and enabling students to be responsible citizens.

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  • Environment and Climate Change

    Environment and Climate Change

    Human activities and its consequences such as depleting and unequal access to resources, climate extremes, food insecurity, pollution, ecosystem degradation, extinction of species and many more, have posed challenges of sustainability that span spatial and temporal scales. The Studio on Environment and climate change facilitates discourse on these issues enabling students to take the charge, act, and play their role as agents of sustainable transformation.

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  • Neighbourhoods

    Neighbourhoods

    The Studio Neighbourhoods dwells upon the continuously evolving idea of the neighbourhood. The Studio explores ways of understanding the concept of neighbourhood in geographic, historical, cultural,economic and social perspectives. It also enriches students’ understanding of aspects of governance, biodiversity, lifestyle and health profile of neighbourhood.

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  • Water

    Water

    Studio Water has been designed to study water through an interdisciplinary approach, facilitating a multi-dimensional understanding of this vital flow resource. The Studio offers a close opportunity to students to not only engage in understanding various aspects of water but also to interact with ‘self’ and ‘communities’ in order to appreciate the water realities.

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The Journey so far...

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