Pune: Dr. Pramod Chaudhari, the outgoing chairman of the governing board of COEP Technological University and executive chairman of Praj Industries, has announced a generous donation of ₹1 crore to the university.
This announcement comes after his recent resignation from the position due to personal reasons. Following Dr. Chaudhari’s resignation, the state government appointed Vinayak Pai, Managing Director and CEO of Tata Projects Limited, as the new chairman.
Pai, an alumnus of COEP, was formally welcomed by Dr. Chaudhari during a ceremony where the donation was announced.
The event was attended by Vice-Chancellor Dr. Sunil Bhirud, Registrar Dr. D. N. Sonawane, and other key members of the governing board and various departments of the university.
Dr. Chaudhari emphasized that the utilization of the donation would be entirely at the discretion of the university administration and the governing board.
“Although I am not an alumnus of this institution, I recognize its importance. COEP is a brand, and I have put my efforts into improving its NIRF ranking. I urge the university to strengthen its connection with alumni for the benefit of both the students and the institution,” he stated.
During the event, Dr. Bhirud highlighted various ongoing initiatives at the university, while Dr. Sonawane delivered the opening remarks.
Earlier, in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2024 results announced on August 12 by Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Education, COEP Tech has been ranked 77th among the top engineering institutions in India, with a total score of 47.89 out of 100.
COEP Tech participated in the NIRF 2024 under the Engineering category, competing against an increasing number of institutions each year.