E-Paper
COEP alumnus donates ₹8.25 crore to his alma mater
The focus of the endowment will be to support talented COEP students by covering their tuition- and living- costs
The College of Engineering Pune (COEP) Technology University has received its highest donation yet of ₹8.25 crore from one of its alumni, Ashish Achlerkar, an entrepreneur based out of the US and a philanthropist. Achlerkar on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the COEP Alumni Association for the ₹8.25 crore endowment, which is the highest ever from a single donor, COEP officials said.
Achlekar said, “One of my core missions—and the mission of the Achlerkar Foundation—is to help better people’s lives. A key driver of personal advancement is receiving a high-quality education. Through this endowment, we are kickstarting our desire to help support thousands of talented students at various educational institutions across the world, including skilled trade institutes.”
“I am aware that bright students across the country come to the COEP, and some of them come from humble backgrounds. What this alma mater has given me cannot be returned: it can only be paid forward. I am fortunate that I have this opportunity to pay it forward. The Achlerkar Foundation looks forward to working with the COEP Student Support Club and I genuinely thank them for this opportunity to contribute towards such a noble cause,” Achlerkar said.
Professor Sutaone, vice-chancellor, COEP Technology University, said, “This is one of the largest donations COEP has ever received till now. The Achlerkar Foundation endowment will go a long way in ensuring that students focus on excelling in their studies. We are proud of the achievements of our alumni and their willingness to give back to this great institution. We are grateful to Ashish Achlerkar for this gesture. I am sure it will inspire many other alumni to connect back with the COEP.”
Explaining the evaluation process for eligible students, professor Sudhir Agashe, co-curator of the COEP Student Support Club, said, “There is a screening committee composed of donor alumni and COEP faculty to evaluate the applications from deserving students. This committee runs multiple rounds of evaluation, including interviewing the candidates and understanding their background. The goal of the COEP Student Support Club is to enable COEP alumni across the globe to provide COEP students with funding, mentoring, and opportunities. We are grateful to all our donors. When Ashish Achlerkar reached out to us to let us know about this endowment that he wanted to set up, we were thrilled about his commitment and his vision for the years to come.”
The focus of the endowment will be to support talented COEP students by covering their tuition- and living- costs. The fund is expected to support 100 to 150 COEP students every year. The endowment fund will be managed by the COEP Student Support Club, under the umbrella of the COEP Alumni Association. The COEP Alumni Association office-bearers include Bharat Gite, president; professor Sujit Pardeshi, secretary; and Ankit Chordia, treasurer. The COEP Student Support Club is led by professor Sudhir Agashe, Suruchi Wagh and Mohit Gundecha; while day-to-day activities are managed by Neha Nahar.
According to the COEP management, the endowment from the Achlerkar Foundation represents one of the largest donations ever received by the COEP in its 168-year-old history. The endowment will be in the name of Vijaykumar Achlerkar and Shyamrao Kulkarni, Ashish Achlerkar’s late- father and father-in-law, respectively.
