Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda

Located in the city of Vadodara, in the state of Gujarat in western India, the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda was originally known as Baroda College of Science before becoming a university in 1949 as a result of India’s declaration of independence.

It became known as Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in honour of its benefactor Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, a former ruler of Baroda State which is tpday part of modern-day Gujurat. Today the university is the only Gujurat higher education institution that offers all degree courses in English, and just one of a handful of Indian universities to offer Wi-Fi internet access across all six of the university campuses. 

The university’s 89 departments are divided between 13 faculties and spread across two rural and four urban university campuses, with a combined area of 275 acres. There is accommodation available for over 4,000 students, although that is just a small proportion of the total university population currently enrolled.

Some of India’s most renowned public figures from the last century have been educated at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. Among the university alumni are Vinoba Bhave, a human rights advocate who is considered by some as the spiritual successor to Mahatma Gandhi, as well as Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2009 for his work with ribosomes. Another alumnus, Dadasaheb Phalke, is credited with having directed India’s first full-length feature film and is regarded as the Father of Indian Cinema, while former student Ajay Bhatt co-invented the USB.