A university is, at its heart, a wager on the

future. It asks for the courage to believe that

the world can be better, and that the young

people we teach will make it so.

At Plaksha, we placed such a wager. We

imagined a university where technology is

not an end in itself, but a way to think, to

question, and to act. Four years ago, this was

only a blueprint and a promise. With our ﬁrst

batch graduating, the idea has become visible

in their work, their character, and their ambi-

tions.

The journey we design for our students is

deliberate. It begins with a fresh start, where

old measures of success fall away. It asks

NEWSLETTER

them to explore before they choose, to

collaborate before they compete, to hold

depth in one hand and breadth in the other.

It invites them to learn by building, by engag-

ing with research, by starting companies, by

reaching beyond our campus to the world.

None of this happens without the faculty who

guide students to traverse paths less trav-

elled, or without the quiet, persistent work of

building a university that dares to reimagine

the future.

I have watched these young people stretch.

They have taken risks, changed their minds,

failed, and begun again. They have learned

that the future is not given to them; it is

shaped by them.

The pages of this newsletter carry the under-

graduate four-year journey at Plaksha. They

show how a new kind of engineer – rooted in

India, global in outlook, bold enough to

imagine solutions where others see walls – is

nurtured.

We are reimagining what a university can

be, and what it must be, for the world that

is coming.

JAN 15 - DEC 15, 2025

VOL 03 - IS SUE 02

Prof Rudra Pratap

Founding Vice Chancellor

Plaksha University

Christened ‘1729', after Ramanujan - Hardy number,

the Plaksha newsletter is a window into our thriving,

interconnected and learner centered environment

where Plakshans look beyond the obvious, just like

Srinivas Ramanujan did with the seemingly dull

number ‘1729'.

Through this newsletter we share the contribution of

each member of our vibrant community of learners,

researchers, leaders, innovators and problem

solvers to reimagine technology education.

LEARNING REIMAGINED

THE UNDERGRADUATE JOURNEY AT PLAKSHA

Admissions at Plaksha are not just about

selecting students – they are about shaping a

vibrant, mission-driven community. Crafting

the class is the ﬁrst and most vital step we take

each year. It is both a privilege and a

responsibility to build a learning ecosystem

that is inclusive, bold and future-ready.

We believe that students’ potential cannot be

measured by marks alone. That is why our

admissions process looks beyond traditional

criteria and standardized tests. We seek

students who are academically strong, but also

curious, bold and committed to creating

impact in the real world. Students who think

diﬀerently, challenge the status quo, and bring

diverse perspectives to the table, help shape

our learning community. This philosophy has

helped us build cohorts that are as dynamic as

they are diverse.

Our students come from across India and the

world, representing a rich tapestry of

backgrounds, experiences and aspirations.

From young changemakers and tech tinkerers

to artists, entrepreneurs and community

leaders – each student adds a unique voice to

the Plaksha story. By moving away from a one-

size-ﬁts-all approach, we are able to uncover

hidden potential and foster a culture of

collaboration, empathy and innovation.

The result is a class that is not only

academically strong but also deeply aligned

with our vision of building a better future

through technology and leadership.

Kanchi Khanna

Senior Director, Admissions

Plaksha University

0202

Joining Plaksha: A class crafted with intention

Building a diverse, mission-driven cohort that will reimagine technology

education.

14.8%

First generation

learners

59%

From tier

2/3/4 towns

BTech students on

scholarship & ﬁnancial aid

32%

Women

students

69%

*Across all BTech cohorts as of Oct ’25

Mindset | Beyond the Classroom | Beyond Plaksha | ConfAI 2025

T H E U N D E R G R A D U AT E J O U R N E Y AT P L A K S H A

P E D A G O G Y F O R T H E 2 1 S T C E N T U R Y

The Freshmore curriculum at Plaksha is a

carefully designed three-semester foundation

that integrates breadth with rigor. It postpones

early specialization and equips every student

with intellectual agility, critical thinking and the

ability to work across disciplines. Students ﬁrst

acquire strong fundamentals across sciences,

mathematics, computation and humanities

while also experiencing design, innovation

and real-world problem solving.

In the sciences, courses such as Foundations

of Physical World build quantitative reasoning

by linking mechanics, thermodynamics, and

modern physics to engineering applications.

Nature's Machines treats biology as a design

template, exploring physiology, biomimicry,

and cellular systems through laboratory

engagement.

Equally rigorous are the mathematics and

computation oﬀerings, which establish

essential ﬂuency in calculus, statistics, linear

algebra, programming, and data structures.

Complementing these are courses like

Fundamentals of Economics, which introduce

analytical models of markets, incentives and

decision-making, and Design and Innovation,

which cultivates creativity and systematic

problem-solving through design thinking.

Humanities courses such as Integrated

Communication for Engineering and

Reimagining Technology and Society add

depth by focusing on eﬀective communication,

ethical reasoning and societal contexts

of technology.

The curriculum also emphasizes holistic

development through one-credit modules:

Yoga and Sports for physical well-being,

Universal Human Values for reﬂective growth,

and Introduction to the World of AI for an early

appreciation of emerging technologies.

Together, these courses ensure that students

not only gain technical literacy but also social

awareness, self-discipline and a mindset of

lifelong learning.

Dr Shashikant Pawar

Assistant Professor

Plaksha University

Rigorous fundamentals across disciplines, with hands-on design and

research from day one.

The ﬁrst three semesters: Building foundations

before choosing a major

Pedagogically, Freshmore stresses problem-

based learning, laboratories and project work,

culminating in Innovation and Grand Challenge

(ILGC) Studio where interdisciplinary teams

address open-ended societal problems

through prototyping and iteration.

Beyond the Classroom | Beyond Plaksha | ConfAI 2025

Enabling students to choose

Kaustubh Singh (BTech Class of 2025) recalls

Freshmore as ‘intriguing and comforting’

with projects on wind turbines and robot

localization sharpening both technical skills

and collaborative problem-solving.

Jia Bhargava (BTech Class of 2026) credits

Freshmore for her transition from computer

science to robotics, as rigorous mathematics

and hands-on Intelligent Machines projects

clariﬁed her academic path.

T H E U N D E R G R A D U AT E J O U R N E Y AT P L A K S H A

At Plaksha, students do not choose a major

on day one – they grow into it. This is

intentional. We believe that the complex

problems of the 21st century cannot be solved

from within the narrow silos of 20th-century

education. And today, that belief is no longer

just an idea – it is something we see reﬂected

in our students’ journeys.

It starts with freedom. For the ﬁrst three

semesters, students are encouraged to explore

and stay curious. The curriculum is designed to

give them time, space and perspective before

choosing a major. During this phase, every

student builds a strong foundation:

challenging courses in math, computing,

design and the humanities. Alongside this,

they get hands-on exposure to all four majors

– Biological Systems Engineering (BSE),

Computer Science & Artiﬁcial Intelligence

(CSAI), Data Science, Economics & Business

(DSEB) and Robotics & Autonomous Systems

(RAS). This mix of breadth and depth means

that when it is time to decide, students do so

with clarity and conﬁdence.

Choosing a major at Plaksha is not about

picking a label. It is about aligning with a

purpose and building the mindset to take

on real-world challenges. Students are not

just thinking about what job they will get;

they are asking what kind of future they want

to help shape.

That is why our majors do not look like

traditional programs. They are future-oriented

and interdisciplinary, combining technical rigor

with systems thinking, design and ethical

context. They are ﬂexible and evolving – built to

respond to the pace of change around us. Here,

students do not just study AI, they learn to

design responsible, human-centered systems

(CSAI) that drive impact in policy, health and

society (DSEB). They go beyond code to connect

data with ethical decision-making, economic

thinking and real-world complexity. In RAS, they

design intelligent robots and autonomous

systems that navigate uncertainty and serve

human needs safely. In BSE, biology becomes a

toolkit – they engineer diagnostics, model

epidemics and prototype health and

sustainability solutions. Each major blends

technical depth with purpose, preparing

students to solve problems that do not yet

have a playbook.

And it is not just what we teach, but how we

teach. Learning at Plaksha is hands-on and

active, with real industry problems, collaborative

labs and a strong push toward innovation.

The result – graduates who are not only job-

ready, but ready to lead, to build and to make a

diﬀerence in areas the world is still ﬁguring out.

Dr Monika Sharma

Program Chair, Biological Systems Engineering

Associate Professor

Plaksha University

A deﬁning choice: Selecting a major after

eighteen months of exploration

Students select from future-oriented, interdisciplinary programs aligned

with purpose, not just placement.

Beyond the Classroom | Beyond Plaksha | ConfAI 2025

T H E U N D E R G R A D U AT E J O U R N E Y AT P L A K S H A

P E D A G O G Y F O R T H E 2 1 S T C E N T U R Y

Now that students have chosen a major,

electives and minors can support exploration

of students in areas and sources of knowledge

diﬀerent from their major’s core courses.

Program electives can be employed in one of

two ways.

First, students can deepen their knowledge of

a core area. For example, in the DSEB degree

an elective course on Applied Econometrics

can deepen the knowledge of students in

Econometrics by applying theoretical concepts

of unbiasedness, consistency and causality to

the real-world empirical evidence from

published papers. Econometrics is a ﬁfth

semester core course that is a pre-requisite

for students to take the Applied Econometrics

course in the seventh semester. Similarly,

students can take Financial Econometrics in

their seventh semester if they have taken a

Time Series course in their sixth semester.

Many of the program electives can be taken in

their fourth semester, such as Environmental

Economics. However, the seventh semester

aﬀords the most room for taking electives for

students since there are no core courses that

are oﬀered after the sixth semester.

Second, students can take program electives to

satisfy their innate curiosity about a particular

subject. I have found a lot of joy teaching

students the program elective – Personnel

Economics. This course deals with the

economics of organizations and personnel

management. It is a technical introduction to

the world of business administration, human

resources and how employers should think

rationally about wage-setting, how many

employees to hire, whom to hire (level of

skills), and the processes to set up to manage

human resources (policies around training,

talent assessment, evaluation, promotion and

attrition). The students then work in groups to

carry out a research project either analyzing an

existing ‘workplace’ data set or building their

own from scratch. Many students who took

the elective wanted to explore without

deepening their knowledge of data science or

economics. Such a course is helpful in

business settings while working as a people

manager in human resources organizations, or

when setting up one’s own ﬁrm.

Minors let students experiment with adjacent

ﬁelds or entirely diﬀerent lenses – like a CSAI

major exploring the strategic aspects of

innovation, marketing and ﬁnance through a

Minor in Entrepreneurship. A student in the

entrepreneurship minor may discover a passion

for product-market ﬁt, taking courses, such as,

Design Thinking for Entrepreneurs, Technology

Product Development and Startup Market Lab,

to prototype an app, pitch to judges, and take it

to market with industry mentors many including

Plaksha founders. The Entrepreneurship minor

also exposes our students to faculty from UC

Berkeley, helping them attain a global perspective.

Thus, electives and minors oﬀer students a

powerful way to deepen understanding, satisfy

curiosity and connect classroom learning to real-

world challenges.

Program Chair, Data Science, Economics & Business

Chair Professor of Economics

Plaksha University

Prof Prakarsh Singh

Students either specialize further in their domain or venture into adjacent

ﬁelds like entrepreneurship and design.

Years two through four: Deepening and

broadening through electives and minors

Beyond the Classroom | Beyond Plaksha | ConfAI 2025

T H E U N D E R G R A D U AT E J O U R N E Y AT P L A K S H A

P E D A G O G Y F O R T H E 2 1 S T C E N T U R Y

Throughout HTI, students gather and analyze

their own data, building conﬁdence in turning

research into prototypes that address real-

world challenges, and often extending them to

publish at reputed conferences. For example,

the project ‘AdaptAI’ built an emotional

recognition platform to provide mental health

nudges for information workers under stress,

while another studied strategies to mitigate the

impact of short-form digital content on our

memory recall. Paired with complementary

electives and minors, it gives students the

vision and tools to shape a world where

humans and technology thrive side by side.

Electives that expand possibilities

The Human Technology Interaction (HTI)

elective – often chosen by senior-year

undergraduate students – with hands-on

machine learning and design thinking

experience bridges the growing gap between

humans and the technology woven into our

daily lives.

In the ﬁrst course module, students

explore ‘Human Factors’ and ‘Ergonomics’,

analyzing how posture, movement and

sensory limitations shape our technology

experiences. They examine daily pain

points, like poorly designed alerts or

uncomfortable workspaces, and learn to

create solutions that support physical and

cognitive well-being.

The second module introduces ‘Aﬀective

Computing’, where students study how

biosignals – heart-rate variability, facial

expressions and pupil dilation – reveal our

mental and emotional states. With this,

students learn to adapt technological

systems so that they can respond in

more humanlike ways.

In the ﬁnal module, HTI challenges

students to rethink ‘Human-AI Interaction’.

How can AI boost our productivity,

creativity and ﬁtness in authentic ways? By

responding to how we feel while we

navigate our daily tasks, AI becomes a

quiet companion, oﬀering gentle nudges

at just the right moment.

Beyond the Classroom | Beyond Plaksha | ConfAI 2025

T H E U N D E R G R A D U AT E J O U R N E Y AT P L A K S H A

While traditional engineering courses focus on building more

technical systems, HTI ﬂips the lens, asking: ‘How can technology

better understand, support, and adapt to us?’

“

Dr Siddharth

Assistant Professor, Plaksha University