As beautifully quoted by Sri Aurobindo – True knowledge is not attained by thinking. It is what you are; it is what you become. At Auro University, they strongly believe in bringing the best in every student, guiding them to be the finest version of themselves in this ever-changing world.

The academic and extra-curricular programs at Auro University have five principal aspects corresponding to the five core activities of the human being; the physical, the vital, the mental, the psychic and the spiritual. Usually, these phases of education follow chronologically the growth of the individual; this, however, does not mean that one of them should replace another, but that all must continue, completing one another until the end of its life.

At Auro, the syllabus, activities, programs and aim of education is structured by keeping its living logo in mind; ‘to aspire upwards we need to be ready to descend downwards’. The renowned faculties descend themselves to the level of a student through various discussions, experiential lectures, living projects, creative brainstorming and supportive handholding; form a fruitful and effective bond and then both faculty and student ascend to higher the aspiration by going upwards by developing individuals, society, community and the nation at large. This sets the university apart from other institutions where the focus is just student. “At AURO our focus is to make this world a better place for our future leaders,” commented the university administration.

Training the New Generation

Auro University believes that an educational theory may be quite sound, but the mind is the instrument of learning and this is why the university considers the first step to strengthening of the mind. The mind of the millennials is what the university focuses on and not on just giving information of all kinds to prepare for higher education.

“Our teaching pedagogy mainly focuses on Doing what we listen and absorb in the class; we help students to Live the subject and not just Learn,” commented the university faculty. The university wholeheartedly believes that millennials are the most creative beings, and with the help of national and international exposure, discussion with eminent personalities, opportunities to contribute and uplift the community, internships from the first year of graduation, space to evolve and experiment – it aims to make them future-ready.

Along with various specialized subjects and programs, the School of Liberal Arts and Human Science (SLAHS) nurtures human vision, whereas sciences ascertain the provision for human civilization. Both complement each other through an integral approach. School of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences is launched with this vision and follows an interdisciplinary and comparative approach in its courses and pedagogical processes. The curricula include foundation courses in integral education, history, philosophy, leading to specializations in Sri Aurobindo studies, economics, psychology, English, fine arts, public policy, history, sociology, and film studies among others.

Psychology

Under SLAHS, the university offers ‘BA/BA Hons in Psychology’ and in ‘Master of Arts’ there are 3 specializations – counselling, clinical, and industrial psychology. As a discipline, psychology is characterized by a huge variety in its scholarly content and approach. While psychology happens to be a social or behavioural science – with noticeable advances in neuroscience, cognitive science, consciousness studies and studies of indigenous concepts, theories and practices – it is also a humanist and relational pursuit with strong implications for our social and cultural life.

Psychology is both human science and art, with a rich field of critical knowledge that endeavours to approximate the processes of lived life and social reality. Psychology at the undergraduate and postgraduate level helps students to address and challenge mental health concerns, social issues, lifestyle-related health problems and facilitating psychological health, personal growth and well-being. The scope of psychology teaching has widened and societal expectations from psychology graduates have gone up.

Behavioural Dynamics Lab – Psychology Lab

Behaviour Dynamics Lab includes wide space for conducting cognitive experiments, psychometric assessments, and projection areas for open-ended discussions and deliberations. The lab is equipped with apparatus and standardized psychological assessments of intelligence, personality, aptitude battery, dyslexia screening tests, general ability test, interest, emotional competency, adjustment inventories, job satisfaction, spiritual quotient, and much more. The applicability of the mentioned tests range from 4 years to 90 years old individuals.

The comprehensive results are backed with detailed counselling sessions. The psychology laboratories are purpose-built rooms that allow psychology students to collect data from human participants using the same resources as professional psychologists, faculties and researchers. Students from different specialisations can make use of the psychology lab for their studies and research purposes.

Being the Change

For the overall transformation of every being in Auro and its aim to pay back to the community, the university has several student-driven clubs like:

• Manas-Psychology Club for eradicating the stigma associated with mental health;
• Film Club for showcasing the creative aspects through films and theatre;
• Saksham Club;
• Aadhar club aims to rope in interested people who want to lend their hands for the less privileged by a series of fund-raising activities and events;
• Art and Design club to explore art in many creative forms.

Auro University also has integral centres like ‘Auro Psychological Centre of Counselling and Wellbeing’ that provides psychological services and caters to the mental health needs of everyone, on a pro bono basis.

The university aims to change the way society thinks of mental health concerns. It is no secret that mental health is routinely treated differently than physical health, but sometimes it is difficult to understand how or why this affects us.

In the interest of the same, the university has a fully functioning Physical Education Department, Auro Innovation and Continuing Education Cell, Auro Arts and Creativity Cell, Auro Mentorship Cell, Women Development Cell, Legal Aid Community Development Cell, and Sir Aurobindo Integral Life Centre.

“We believe in creating a difference from the grass-root level and thus bring about a change which will strongly have a ripple effect on other groups of individuals and thus to society as a whole,” added the university administration.

The Transcendental Vision

As this universe and all its beings are evolving every second, everyone is changing every moment without their own knowledge; Auro University aims to be an ‘Evolving

 University’ in this universe.

The university believes in the classical Indian concept of: savidya ya vimuktaye – education is what liberates.

As the university puts it: “With our vision to be the premier university of integral and transformational learning for future leaders, we look forward to evolving every individual, society, community and nation with our 12 Core Values. We are heading to the development and advancement in various fields, machine taking over humans, artificial intelligence being the new command, and access to any information at just one click. But many are not equipped internally to handle and sustain these developments. To endure this, we need higher consciousness and readiness to adapt.”

“We believe that as a university with Integral Philosophy we aim to be premier university, which will equip and train the mental, vital, physical, and spiritual aspects of an individual to be more conscious and realize that he/she is a transitional being and has an ability to surpass any challenges in life,” concluded the university administration.