Shoolini University: Shoolini University: Latest News, Events, Photos & Campus Reports

Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences is a research-driven private university. The main focus of the University is on innovation, quality placements, and world-class faculty. Read on to know the ongoing happenings and research breakthroughs done by Shoolini!

Shoolini Prof Makes Breakthrough in Consumer Science Research on the International Stage

Date: April 26, 2024

Shoolini University believes that exceptional educators have the power to motivate and steer students towards achieving what may seem impossible. Professor Somesh Sharma from the School of Bioengineering and Food Technology exemplifies this belief through his extraordinary accomplishment and contribution to food consumer science. Professor Sharma was chosen as a Fellow of COMFOCUS (Community on Food Consumer Science) in the European Union's Horizon 2020 research project, where he explored consumer preferences for yogurts in the Slovakian market. This endeavor, supported by the EU, aims to promote open science in food consumer science, ensuring its resilience and adaptability for the future.

COMFOCUS is a formidable force in Europe, bringing together universities and research institutions with a strong vision: to make food consumer science future-proof through Open Science. The project seeks to provide the academic and private research community with transnational access to the top-notch services and resources of 9 outstanding research laboratories utilizing cutting-edge technologies.

To be eligible for participation, candidates must submit a concept note in the form of an abstract via the COMFOCUS website. Professor Somesh Sharma submitted his concept note on August 19, 2023. Applicants can select from nine laboratories under COMFOCUS based on their interests. Professor Sharma opted for laboratories in Ireland and Slovakia. Ultimately, his concept was approved by the Laboratory of Consumer Sciences at the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovakia.

During his 21-day International Faculty program in Slovakia, Professor Sharma embarked on a captivating study. He explored consumer preferences for yogurts in the Slovakian market, with a focus on factors such as fat content, health benefits, and visual appeal. This innovative research utilized cutting-edge technology: face readers and eye-tracking equipment. Various types of yogurts, including those with probiotics and non-probiotics, were selected from supermarkets. They were categorized into traditional yogurts and yogurts produced by multinational companies with probiotic characteristics.

Consumers were queried about their age, gender, and dietary habits. Subsequently, they were provided with these yogurts to taste while their eye movements and facial expressions were monitored using specialized devices. These devices include a face reader and an eye tracker. These tools aid in understanding which aspects of the packaging consumers focus on most and how they react to different flavors or textures.

Speaking about the project, Professor Sharma stated, "This research holds tremendous potential. The data gathered through eye-tracking and face readers offers crucial insights into where consumers direct their attention on yogurt packaging and their responses to various flavors and textures. This study will enhance product development, marketing strategies, and ultimately, consumer satisfaction in the yogurt industry."

Utilizing tools such as face readers and eye trackers provides a deeper understanding of what consumers prefer and dislike about yogurts. This assists yogurt brands in making more informed decisions about their products and how they market them, ensuring consumer contentment with their purchases.

Prof Somesh remarked, "Shoolini University consistently lends wholehearted support to such endeavors. This time, I received a grant of Rs. 50,000 from the university for this project. I extend my gratitude to the Shoolini Chancellor, Prof PK Khosla, for the support and guidance extended to all researchers on campus." Additionally, Prof Somesh received a scholarship amount of 2985 euros for this project from COMFOCUS.

Professor Sharma's trip to Slovakia went beyond his research. He also engaged in discussions aimed at forging a robust academic collaboration between Shoolini University and Slovak University of Agriculture, Nitra. This collaboration builds upon the existing Memorandum of Understanding between the two universities, further enhancing the exchange of faculty and students.

Professor Sharma's groundbreaking work and his unwavering dedication are certain to inspire not only Shoolini's students and faculty but also the broader scientific community.

Shoolini university Soars to New Heights with No.1 QS Rankings

Date: June 30, 2023

After being ranked the No.1 Private University in India by the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences has bagged the same position under the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2024. Shoolini has also clinched 20th place in India (Overall) and is in the 771-780 band worldwide. 

The 20th edition of the world’s most-consulted university rankings, QS, was released in London on Wednesday. Both THE and QS are considered global gold standards for rankings of higher education institutions.

The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, has bagged the first rank in India followed by IIT Delhi and the Indian Institute of Science.

Shoolini University has also been placed at Rank 319 for Citations per Faculty and at 545 for International Faculty in the world.

Congratulating the faculty and students of the university for the winning streak in rankings, Chancellor Prof PK Khosla said, “This is the result of sustained, dedicated work to enhance the standard of education in the university.”

Pro Chancellor Vishal Anand said, “This is a remarkable achievement for a 13-year-old university. We are poised to achieve many more such milestones.”

Vice Chancellor Prof Atul Khosla said the latest top rankings reinforced the accolades the university has been getting in the past couple of years. “Such recognition propels us to work harder towards academic excellence and to promote a research-centric learning environment,” he added.

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the ranking and to reflect the growth in data availability and changing priorities of students and society over the past two decades, QS has implemented the largest methodological enhancement since its inception. This has been done by introducing three new metrics: Sustainability, Employment Outcomes and International Research Network, and adjusting the weighting of some existing indicators, namely Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation, and Faculty Student Ratio.

This year’s QS World University Rankings is the largest ever, with 1,500 universities across 104 locations, up from 1,418 last year. The results account for the distribution and performance of 17.5 million academic papers published between 2017 and 2021 and the 141.6 million citations received by those papers. They also account for the expert opinions of over 144,000 academic faculty and over 98,000 employers around the world.

Globally, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been ranked Number 1, while the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford have been ranked second and third, respectively. Harvard and Stanford universities have ranked four and fifth, respectively.

QS Senior Vice President Ben Sowter said, “The 2024 QS World University Rankings represents a major step in the evolution of the exercise, marking the most significant innovation in its methodological paradigm since its inception two decades ago. More than ever, it aligns with Gen Z and Alpha priorities, providing institutions with a unique lens through which to assess their performance in areas paramount to shaping a brighter future for generations to come.”

Shoolini eUniv, the future of e-learning

Date: April 29, 2022

Shoolini University has modified as per futuristic needs, students can access more than 1,000 online courses through this revolutionary platform.

As the education world initially came to a standstill when India was on “lockdown”, eUniv kept the classes going without any lapses at Shoolini University. Through this Zoom-like application, students and teachers were able to interact in real-time - face-to-face. Modified as per futuristic needs, students could access more than 1,000 online courses through this revolutionary platform. Content was readily available in the form of presentations, PDFs, Open Educational Resources, video lectures by teachers, webinar recordings, etc.

eUniv is an innovative concept inaugurated way back in 2013 by former President of India late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Today, it has developed and evolved from a mere thought to a powerful ‘Learning Management System’ for online education. Now, students can learn anything on this platform from any teacher at the university.

Progressing steadily, it has blended the latest ICT tools into the academic culture. The spirit behind this unique pedagogy is Ashoo Khosla, the head of Learning Support and Executive Education. “Our system was in place much before the pandemic hit, and the world shifted to the online mode. With the Covid outbreak, we developed and modified the platform further, incorporating a robust online lecturing system called the Big Blue Button (BBB), embedded in the MyShoolini app itself,” she says.

Talking about the various advantages of the platform, e-learning director and eUniv co-founder Kamal Kant said a secure and steady assessment structure was in place on e-Univ. “Faculty members can take online assignments, conduct quizzes, and surprise tests. For our MBA program, we shifted to a 100% online examination module with even project reports being submitted online,” he added.

It has proved advantageous for teachers also. They can use the analytical tools and graphs to track the activities of students on the platform and send out bulk messages to the non-participants of Course Page Activities. They can also check these reports as graphs and progress bars with the percentage of student engagement. Another interesting addition is the control provided to teachers over switching on cameras and microphones of students. -Shoolini University Vice Chancellor Atul Khosla said, “The shift to the online teaching and evaluation methodology has become a regular feature even after the pandemic. Though online platforms have their challenges, the advantages offered by virtual interaction outweigh the disadvantages, making way for hybrid platforms to evolve. Moreover, new technologies are being used in operations and teaching every day. As a result, research and innovation will get embedded in students' learning journey.”

“Continuous innovation in pedagogy and highly motivated students – that is what makes Shoolini University a progressive and dynamic university,” he added. -Terming the future of education as a hybrid, Ashoo Khosla said online learning was here to stay. “You can learn from a brilliant teacher sitting thousands of miles away. eUniv is an innovative learning experience and will continue to be a part of our education system. Our goal is to see how much of the online teaching we can retain,” she adds.
 

Shoolini University opens a Cancer Research Centre

Date: December 13, 2019

Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, one of the leading research and innovation-driven universities of the country, established a state-of-the-art Cancer Research Centre recently. The facility, which houses five different research groups actively engaged in the research on various aspects of cancer biology like, herbal cancer therapy, cancer immunotherapy, drug delivery, and chemical biology group, was inaugurated recently by Mr. Raj Khosla, a philanthropist from Thailand, who has made an endowment of Rs. 1 crore for setting up the Centre.

Vice-Chancellor, Prof PK Khosla said the Centre also contains a state of the art food and drug testing laboratory funded by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries. With the establishment of this new facility, a new era of cutting edge research on cancer biology has been initiated at the Shoolini University. He added, that the future goal of the Centre is to develop better formulations to control different forms of cancer by innovative cancer therapies. The Centre has experienced research groups and state of the art infrastructure facilities also envisages to attract funding from national, international and private funding bodies so that it can be a Centre of excellence in the cancer research in the country and across the globe.

The prime area of focus of Shoolini University is on the Sustainable Utilization of Himalayan Biodiversity for the betterment of society in general and Himalayan states in particular. For that, the researchers of the university have already made significant progress and developed formulations as immunostimulators and efficient drug delivery systems to fight various types of cancer. In the past 10 years of its establishment, Shoolini University has created modern infrastructure in the form of labs and research equipment from intra and extramural research funding to cater to the needs of cancer biologists in the University. 

Panjab University honors VC of Shoolini University, Prof P.K. Khosla

Date: December 2, 2019

Solan based Shoolini University’s founder vice-chancellor Prof P.K. Khosla was honored by Panjab University as its outstanding alumni. He was feted for his outstanding contributions in the field of forestry and higher education. The honour was conferred on him during the Global gala Alumni meet on the University campus. Accepting the honor, Prof. Khosla said, he would like to dedicate the award to his teachers, the staff and students of Shoolini.

About Prof. P.K. Khosla: Prof Khosla, who has completed his B.Sc. (Hons) School from Panjab University has earned Gold Medal in M. Sc. (Hons) from the same University. Subsequently, he had completed his Ph.D. from Panjab University in 1968. He is a former Vice-Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University and a former. 

Blood pressure regulator from the bark of pine trees

Date: June 19, 2019

Despite strenuous efforts by various health organizations, hypertension continues to be one of the leading lifestyle diseases of the present times. This disease can further cause kidney dysfunction, heart disease, stroke, and other health complications.

Researchers at the School of Biotechnology have screened pycnogenol, a polyphenolic compound extracted from the Pine tree as a promising blood pressure regulator. In their attempts to find out the pathway and the mechanism of the Bio-active compound present in the medicinal plants used for their anti-hypertensive properties in traditional medicines. Various synthetic drugs such as telmisartan, candesartan, and olmesartan are targeted for the AT1 receptor for controlling systolic blood pressure by blocking its effect. 

“Pycnogenol also acts as ARBs (angiotensin-receptor blockers) as it is also targeted for the Angiotensin Type-1 (AT1R) receptor in the renin-angiotensin system, that regulates Blood Pressure. Angiotensin -1 receptor is a peptide hormone that causes vasoconstriction and an increase in blood pressure”, stated Dr. Azhar Khan. 

Though natural compounds have significantly lesser side-effects because of their lower yield, synthetic drugs are usually preferred over them for alternate therapy. Thus, the discovery of new natural compounds and the study of their medicinal properties can be a huge advantage.  

Further, Pine trees are readily available in the lower Himalayan region giving the local people another regional advantage from the economic perspective. The patent titled Polyphenolic compound pycnogenol from Pinus Pinaster Target angiotensin type 1 receptor a promising blood pressure regulator; has been co-filed by Dr. Azhar Khan, Huma Khan, Nitika Chauhan, and Dr. Saurabh Kulshrestha. Dr. Khan’s Lab is involved in exploring and screening of various plants for their antihypertensive properties and found better results in the plant extract obtained from the bark of Pine tree. Huma Khan is a Ph.D. scholar and is working on the natural compounds derived from medicinal plants for the targets of anti-hypertension. Mr. Varun Jaiswal, Assistant Professor, School of Electrical and Computer Science Engineering is involved in docking studies. 

Prof. Saurabh Kulshreshtha is involved in the screening of the medicinal plants from the Himalayan region. Nitika Chauhan is currently pursuing her post-graduation from Shoolini and was involved in generating the library of bioactive compounds.

Making hydropower more cost efficient

Date: June 19, 2019

Energy is an essential component for under-developed countries for financial improvement and social progression leading to human welfare. With a specific end goal to take care of the demand for electricity, hydro-based projects are one of the most cost-effective means for power generation. Hydropower is one of the significant sources of electricity in the region, and the erosion of hydro turbine fragments is a vital issue for the capable operation of hydropower plants.

During monsoon, the silt gets mixed with the flowing water which clashes with the blades of a hydropower plant leading to the steady removal of material from the surface of the Pelton blades reducing the power output and efficiency of the power plants. 

The School of Mechanical and Civil Engineering at Shoolini University has designed a silt erosion test apparatus to make the performance analysis of a hydropower plant. Blades have to be changed every 2-3 years, and it is tough to observe this entire phenomenon on a large scale directly. The innovation can reduce the observation period from 2-3 years to 2-3 months and can also help in placing barriers at a more appropriate level based on the observations over time to reduce the erosion level.

The mechanism of erosion is complicated because of the connection of a few elements viz. size of particles, shape, hardness, concentration, speed, impingement point, and properties of the material. The performance analysis was done based on various parameters, for example, silt size, jet velocity, silt concentration, and operating hours. The researchers observed from this small scale apparatus that with an increase in silt size, jet velocity, silt concentration and working hours the performance of Pelton runner in terms of power output and efficiency of the power plant is going to decline.

The created relationships can prove to be helpful for turbine producing enterprises keeping in mind the end goal to foresee the quantum of erosion in Pelton turbine pail at the assembling stage. 

This design patent entitled “Silt erosion test apparatus for the turbine,” filed by Dr. Robin Thakur was granted in May this year. Dr. Thakur is an Assistant Professor in the School of Mechanical and Civil engineering and thanked his guide, Dr. Anil Kumar, for his invaluable contributions to the research work. Another patent filed by Dr. Thakur along with Dr. Kumar, Mr. Nitin Rana, and Mr. Amar Raj Singh is a semi-rotary compressor with a compact and better air-cooled design for better efficiency, cooling, and lubrication. It was granted this year on June 6.

Patent for cost-effective solar tracking panels

Date: June 19, 2019

Energy and power have become an essential requirement of the modern era. As concerns for depleting fuels and non-renewable sources of energy are growing, harnessing solar power is being recognized as a potential solution for minimizing our dependency on fuels like coal and petroleum.

"There are rural areas in India even now where residents do not have a proper electricity supply, because it is not economical for the government to supply the electricity in certain areas because of their geological location or some other reason," stated Mr. Sorabh Aggarwal, an Assistant Professor, School of Mechanical and Civil Engineering. 

He added that to solve this issue, a small rooftop solar system could be a good option, but the problem of using solar panels is that they are stationary whereas the sun is always changing its direction. Hence solar radiations do not directly reflect on the panel, which reduces its efficiency. 

Though, many sun tracking systems are available in the market; they are too costly to be used at a small scale. Shoolini Faculty members have come up with a cost-effective sun tracking system for individuals or small users which can always keep the panel in the direction of the sun for maximizing the utility of solar panels. The design patent filed last year by the Shoolini Professors on the proposed solar tracking system was granted earlier on August 24 in 2018, this year. The patent has been submitted by Mr. Sorabh Aggarwal, Assistant Professor, Dr. Neeraj Gandotra, Associate Professor, School of Mechanical and Civil Engineering and Prof Bhaskar Goel, Head of School of Mechanical and Civil Engineering. 

Mr. Aggarwal said that the team is still working on the various other aspects of the project and also thanked Vice Chancellor Prof PK Khosla for his support. He added, "Our Vice-Chancellor is always open to many research ideas and his enthusiastic support at all times has created a positive atmosphere for the researchers.”

Yogic techniques for thyroid patients

Date: June 19, 2019

The thyroid is a chronic disease and is becoming increasingly common in modern times. The potency of the medications continue to increase with time for a patient but has no long-term effects, nor there is a permanent cure for the disease. The thyroid is a small gland in the neck that makes thyroid hormones. These hormones are necessary for all the cells in the body to work normally. Sometimes the thyroid produces too much or too little of these hormones. Too much thyroid hormone is called hyperthyroidism and can cause many of your body's functions to speed up. Thyroid disorders are very common and tend mainly to occur in women, although men, teenagers, children, and babies, too can be affected. Data shows that one in 20 persons has some thyroid disorder, which may be temporary or permanent.

A patent entitled 'specific yoga protocol effective for hypothyroidism patients' has been filed by Dr. Subodh Saurabh Singh and Dr. Mala Tripathi of Shooloni University last month. The 23-minute yoga protocol includes four asanas, namely Ustrasana, Marjariasana, Singhgarjanasana, Suptavarjasna (or Matasayaasana) and Sarvangasana and one pranayama, Ujayi Pranayama. 

Dr. Subodh said, "This yoga protocol has shown positive results in patients with thyroid levels below the threshold. They are suggested to start yoga exercises along with their prescribed medications, and in many cases, patients are also able to regulate the thyroid levels with the decreased dosage of their medicines over time."

He added that though the yoga practices are known to have long term effects, it is strongly recommended to continue the yogic exercises even after the initial results as the effects start diluting after an individual stops the regular practice. He said Yoga is “very effective but is very sensitive too. So, people should practice yoga in the presence and guidance of a good yoga expert to avoid reverse side effects. Yoga is the only discipline that fulfills all six dimensions of well-being. It is known to prevent diseases and promotes mental and social well-being as well.”

Dr. Subodh and Dr. Mala Tripathi have completed their master's in Yogic Science and Holistic Health from Dev Sanskriti University, Haridwar and Ph.D. from Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot University, Satna. They have worked in Morarji Desai National Institution of Yoga, New Delhi for eight and six years respectively and joined Shoolini University as Assistant Professors in the School of Yoga and Naturopathy in May 2018.