Presidency University, Kolkata was established in 1817.

Presidency University has a unique place in history. It was one of the first institutes of Western-type higher education in Asia. In 1817, a group of enlightened Indians and Englishmen set up the Hindoo College.This was taken over the British Government in 1855 as the College of the Bengal Presidency, and placed in 1857 under the newly founded Calcutta University.

Over the next hundred years and more, Presidency College was Bengal’s pre-eminent centre of higher learning. Presidency signed a MoU with Trinity College, Dublin; the premier university of Ireland. Although a Constituent College of Calcutta University, it preserved a tradition of research matched by few universities in India. This gave a unique dimension to its undergraduate teaching.

The formal establishment of Presidency University in July 2010 allows it to refashion its venerable traditions and continuing strengths into a leading institution of the future.

The spirit of research has always been given top priority in all academic activity in the erstwhile Presidency College. Research activities in the Presidency University; on the one hand contribute to the fundamentals of various sciences and on the other, to the understanding of socially relevant issues.

History of Presidency University.

The 'Hindoo College’, established in 1817, was transformed into the ‘Presidency College of Bengal' in 1855. The Hindoo College was the earliest institution of higher learning in the modern sense in Asia. The Presidency College introduced western education in the historical sense of the term and was originally a non-government college meant for the sons of the Hindu community alone. But the Centenary Volume (1955) notes: ‘The most striking feature of the Hindu College was its determined effort to impart secular education.’ In 1855 when the Hindoo College was renamed Presidency College, it became a government institution. The college now represented non-denominational secularism and admitted young men from all communities.

However, it was only in 1944 that girls were permitted to join the college. Since then, the college has been a co-educational institution.

The Hindoo-Presidency College, which aimed from the beginning at a liberal, scientific and secular education, stood on the side of the ‘Anglicists’ in the famous Anglicist-Orientalist debate. This meant that the college stood for modern, western education in the English medium. This, however, would not entail a neglect of Indian themes and subjects. This was borne out by the contribution of the students of the college to Bengali language and literature. The subjects taught at the outset were English, Bengali, Sanskrit, History, Geography, Chronology, Astronomy, Mathematics, Chemistry and some other science subjects. In addition, Law, Commerce and Engineering were taught for some time, but teaching of these was discontinued later. Consequently, the college emerged as the most celebrated institution in India to impart a humanistic and scientific education.

The pioneering discoveries of Jagadish Chandra Bose and Praphulla Chandra Ray in Physics / Plant Physiology and Chemistry respectively were made in the laboratories of the college. Teaching of both liberal arts and empirical sciences acquired true excellence in the nineteenth century and the tradition continued even after independence. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Anandaram Barooah, students of the college, enriched Bengali and Assamese literature. S.N.Bose, M.N.Saha, P.C.Mahalanobish, Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri, Shyamal Sengupta, Ashoke Sen made world-class contribution in the field of basic science. Amartya Sen and Sukhamoy Chakraborty made contributions to economic theory in the decades after independence. These names are merely illustrative, for the alumni of the college have distinguished themselves both nationally and internationally in various fields. The college, amongst whose alumni were a President of India (Dr. Rajendra Prasad), a Prime Minister of Pakistan (Muhammad Ali of Bogra) and a President of Bangladesh (Abu Sayeed Chowdhury), has a challenging past to live up to.

This challenge of a glorious history and venerable tradition is perhaps our greatest strength. In recognition of its rich heritage of academic excellence the Legislature of West Bengal conferred the status of a University on Presidency College on 7th July of 2010. This was enacted with a view to enabling Presidency University to function more efficiently as a centre of teaching and research in various branches of learning, especially in Humanities, Social and Basic Sciences, and promoting advancement and dissemination of knowledge and learning in the service of the society and the nation.

VISION

To be a centre of holistic education with global competitiveness, ethical responsibility, environmental sensitivity, and focussed research.

To be a hub of knowledge creation that prioritises the frontier areas of national and global importance

To be a centre with a perfect balance between teaching and research and innovation in exploring new emerging areas.

To provide an education that transforms students through rigorous coursework and by providing an understanding of the needs of society and industry.

MISSION

Presidency University has a fourfold mission. Firstly, the university aims to construct new academic domains by bridging the humanities, the social sciences,
computational sciences, and the natural sciences into viable programmes and projects through interdisciplinary methodologies and research oriented interaction. This aims at facilitating the formation of new kinds of knowledge and in forging links between local, national, and international levels of scholarly collaboration.

Secondly, the university seeks to implement a comprehensive pedagogic reform by introducing students to basic as well as new interdisciplinary choice-based curricula and
research domains.

Thirdly, Presidency will connect with academic institutions outside India (global outreach) through credit-transfer facility, e-connectivity, collaborative interdisciplinary projects,
student exchange, and flexible pedagogic schemes inviting scholars from outside India to teach on their areas of expertise.

Fourthly, Presidency University will create an ambience and provide infrastructural facilities in which new ideas and research flourish, and from which the leaders and innovators of
tomorrow will emerge.

Lastly, Presidency University focuses on continuous encouragement of faculty participation in programs that promote intellectual elevation and better harmony with students aligning
with the goal of achieving higher academic excellence.

VALUES

Academic integrity and accountability.
Respect and tolerance towards the view of every individual.
Breadth of understanding, including knowledge of the human sciences,
Appreciation of intellectual excellence and creativity.
An unfettered spirit of exploration and rationalisation.