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The Community Engagement Initiative is a continuous engagement with the local and surrounding communities towards improving human conditions and sustainability around our campus with a deep commitment to nurture public institutions and services.

Snippets from our various field engagements

  • To use the knowledge and expertise of the University, Field institutes of Azim Premji Foundation, and the Philanthropy arm of the Foundation to contribute to improving human conditions and sustainability in the villages around the campus.
  • To provide opportunities for students, the University and the rest of the foundation members to contribute and learn from the community engagements.
  • To build a harmonious relationship between the University and the villages around the campus.

The University is located in the Burugunte village of Billapura Panchayat, Anekal taluk, Bengaluru. Currently, we engage with 7 Gram Panchayats around campus: Billapura, Handenahalli, Sarjapura, Mugaluru, Yamare, Dommasandra, and Bidraguppe.

These Gram Panchayats consist of 40 villages and 23 wards, with a population of 1.50 lakh, constituting a substantial portion of migrant labourers, farming communities, and petty businesses that are dependent on surrounding industries and residential apartments.

There are 2 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and 8 Health sub-centres in the neighbourhood of the campus.

Further, 46 government schools, 5 panchayat libraries, and 2 veterinary hospitals are also present in this geography.

Furthermore, there are around 50 lakes in these Gram Panchayats ranging from 10 acres to 200 acres in size.

Community Learning Centre (CLC)

We are providing academic support to more than 20 children of our support staff and a few community children on our campus during the weekends. Along with activity based learning sessions, the children are also getting an exposure to the university resources. The sessions are mostly conducted by our student volunteers with due support from our teacher education group.

Creating a Stable Market for Local Farmers

We have launched a weekly Raithara Santhe” at the university. In collaboration with the Sarjapura Farmer Producer Organization, we are working in transforming our consumer producer collective into a vibrant open market. Every week, local farmers bring their fresh produce to our stalls, offering a wide range of vegetables, fruits, organic leafy greens, millets, jaggery, wood-pressed oils, and delicious ready to eat products. Through our consumer producer collective we have raised more than 2 lakh rupees to directly benefit farmers.

Empowering Panchayat Libraries

CEI has conducted some preliminary works at the libraries such as Capacity Building Programs, Monthly Reflection Planning Meet, Monthly Events, Computer Basic Skills, setting-up of children corner, on-site support, books arrangement and enhancing aesthetics in the neighboring panchayat libraries as part of the overall engagement to activate these spaces for local children, youths and other community members. The objective is to activate these spaces of learning and make it a more vibrant place for the children.

Empowering Sustainability, through Culinary Collaboration: A New frontier with Local SHG’s

Sustainability Committee in collaboration with the Community Engagement initiative, has recently disseminated comprehensive guidelines for organizing sustainable events on campus. A standout recommendation from these guidelines was to foster collaboration with local Self-Help Groups (SHGs), particularly in the realm of catering. This strategic decision not only aligns with our sustainability goals but also plays a crucial role in supporting the livelihoods of local women.

Local food catering as an avenue for income generation: In a remarkable collaboration, our university cafeteria has partnered with local Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to provide delicious snacks and main course dishes for large events. At the recent 7th National Social Enterprise Idea Challenge, SHGs catered to 1000 participants, offering sumptuous snacks. Additionally, smaller university gatherings features locally inspired cuisines, captivating the taste buds of approximately 300 attendees. The positive feedback has been overwhelming, and this initiative has raised an impressive Rs. 300,000 so far for the cause.

Contributing to University Events:

Taking an active role in university events, we partnered with SHG members to cater food for various university functions. More than 100 SHG members enthusiastically participated in a range of events organized by the University, showcasing our commitment to community involvement.

Involvement of SHG members in Community Development activities:

Our engagement extends beyond individual initiatives as SHG members actively participate in community development activities. These include cleanliness drives, celebrations of important days, and drives to enhance school enrolment within the community.

Empowering Youth Through Language, Skills, and Fitness

We engaged with 24 youths in Doddathimmasandra and Rajeev Gandhi Nagar villages of Mugaluru Panchayat to enhance their language skills, nurturing language proficiency and effective communication. In Mugalur village, an orientation meeting with 22 youth members was organized, focusing on their interests in sports and fitness.

In a unique initiative, we engaged a team of 14 students of SVP college, Sarjapura in a two-week theater session, culminating in a day-long stage program involving over 100+ students. Addressing crucial themes such as child marriage and caste issues, 15 students took the stage, garnering strong support from the college administration.

Launching of a Community Disability Intervention

University’s disability team along with the Community Engagement Initiative and in collaboration with the Sarjapura Primary health center (PHC) has crafted interventions to support members with disabilities in the community. We aim to bring about an inclusive system in the community and institutions we work with. March 2024 marks the launch of the initiative with the screening camp targeting visual, hearing, speech, mobility and developmental disabilities. Following screening, interventions will commence to provide rehabilitation services and referrals.

Launch of Mental Health Services at Dommasandra PHC

Our University conversations team is now offering mental health services at Dommasandra PHC in collaboration with the local health team from January 2024. We have initiated the patient screening, prioritizing patients with chronic stress and vulnerable community groups suffering from diseases like tuberculosis and cancer. We will soon move to group sessions for community members to expand the support. We will also empower the frontline workers with training to identify mental health concerns in the community.

Promoting Responsible Waste Management Practices

We are collaborating with a partner organization (Hasirudhala) at Billapura Gram Panchayat to create a zero waste Panchayat in the Anekal Taluk. We have initiated extensive door to door surveys to understand the waste generation and segregation levels. Dry waste collection center has been established at Billapura and it is expected to be functional along with the wet waste unit by April 2024. Gram Panchayat functionaries along with representatives are trained on their respective roles and responsibilities of the intervention on a regular basis. We also undertake them on various site visits for exposure and understanding. We aim to create a sustainable model by involving the SHG’s to run the initiative in order to create livelihood opportunities.

Social Security and Entitlement Drives

We work closely with the marginalised communities in and around the University. With the aim to build a safety net for informal workers on campus and vulnerable communities in the neighbourhood, we are trying to create an enabling environment by providing awareness about various government programmes and schemes.

CEI has organised several outreach drives in the villages around the University. Further, we have facilitated drives to enrol 660 community members for schemes such as e‑Shram, Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) and Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Yojana. CEI has also enrolled 70 support staff of the University in ESI, Pradhan Manti Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMBSY).

Strengthening Local Democracy

We have completed the pilot phase of our initiative aimed at strengthening local democracy in Billapura Panchayat. We worked to fortify sub-committees within the Panchayat, fostering a more robust and efficient organizational structure. Identifying and empowering 60 second-line leaders has been a pivotal step in enhancing the Panchayat’s leadership network. Through targeted capacity training, we expect these leaders to be better equipped to address the challenges faced by the community.

We facilitated training of Panchayat representatives, ensuring they are well-versed in their roles and responsibilities. This initiative is instrumental in fostering a more informed and proactive local governance. We also facilitated the organization of a Gram Sabha in October 2024. This event witnessed the active participation of over 100 key stakeholders who voiced their concerns and challenges.

Strengthening Public Schools

We have initiated a Class 10 support program at Sarjapura High School with the help of the District Institute team and the concerned school authorities. Our university members have volunteered to take up classes in subjects such as Social Science and English on a weekly basis. The purpose of this program is to provide additional academic support to the class 10 students for their upcoming board exams.

Along with this, we conducted craft & art, clay and constitutional education sessions at Attibele government school. The plan is to have more such sessions in other government schools in our neighborhood with the help of our DI team and volunteers. 

Some snippets from the Polio Eradication Campaign on 3 — 5 March 2024 and Namma Kasa Namma Kartavya — Sarjapura Cleanliness Drive, dated 5 November 2023.

  • Sarjapura Primary Health Centre, in collaboration with the Community Engagement Initiative, organized a Polio Eradication Campaign in the community surrounding the University on 3, 4 and 5 March 2024. This event was a part of the National health Programme spearheaded by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
  • On 5 November 2023, a Namma Kasa Namma Kartavya — Sarjapura Cleanliness Drive was organised by the Community Engagement Initiative along with with student volunteers in the university neighborhood of Sarjapura Panchayat. The drive witnessed considerable footfalls with elected representatives, government officials, local voluntary bodies such as Sarjapura Citizens Forum and many concerned citizens joining the initiative.
  • On 6th July 2023, Foundation for Ecological Security http://​fes​.org​.in/ , in collaboration with Community Engagement Initiative of the University trained 30 community women leaders of Billapura Gram Panchayat on Gram Sabhas and Ward Sabhas and the importance of their participation.This training aims to increase the participation of people in the Gram Sabhas to enable the efficiency of the GPDP process. The training saw an outstanding participation of the leaders during the discussions.

Proceed to this link to hear a participant speaking about her experience.

We encourage more University members to volunteer in community projects. 

To know more about our community engagement, please write to community.​engagement@​apu.​edu.​in

Stories from the neighbourhood