Education outreach activities beyond campus
Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), through its Volunteer Services Organisation (VSO), leads large-scale community education programs across Manipal, Mangalore, Bengaluru, Dubai, and Jamshedpur. Flagship school initiatives include Project Vidyaa, providing weekly academic support in English, mathematics, and arts for 50+ children with 188 volunteers contributing 752 hours. Project Akshara & Vidya (Namma Bhoomi) engaged 322 volunteers across government schools, reaching 100+ children through creative learning and heritage activities. Project Muskaan extended hygiene and life-skills education to children in urban slums, while the Sunny Smiles Summer Camp provided a 21-day holistic experience for 52 children with 40 facilitators and 420 volunteer hours. Together, these structured programs advance SDG 4 (Education) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by bridging educational access gaps in rural and underserved communities.
MAHE’s outreach extends to vulnerable and differently abled populations, fostering equality and inclusion. Project Aarambh conducted weekly creative sessions in orphanages, involving 154 volunteers; Project Umang (Asha Nilaya) delivered biweekly motor skill and creativity workshops for mentally disabled children aged 6–18, with 92 volunteers contributing 184 hours; and Project Jyothi (Asare) supported residents of homes for the differently abled through arts, meditation, and social activities, engaging 277 volunteers. Health-focused initiatives such as Project Sanjeevani, Project Aakansha, and Project Kushi combined art, play, and counselling to provide psychosocial care for hospitalised and cancer-affected children, reaching dozens of beneficiaries. Under environmental and civic drives, MAHE organised Daan Utsav 2024, which mobilised 2,436 volunteers across 6,388 social hours, benefiting 8,000+ people through food, book, and sanitary pad donations, blood drives, and tree plantations. Coastal clean-up programs in Udupi and Tannerbhavi, with 385 volunteers, and tree-planting campaigns under Project Prakriti reinforced MAHE’s commitment to sustainability education and community well-being.
Through its sustained and evidence-based outreach, MAHE demonstrates how higher education institutions can drive the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals at the community level. The impact is multi-dimensional: improved access to quality education, strengthened social inclusion, enhanced environmental awareness, and deeper civic responsibility. MAHE’s initiatives under VSO exemplify a holistic model where academic learning merges with community engagement to build inclusive, equitable, and resilient societies. These programmes not only fulfil SDG 4 (Quality Education) but also contribute to SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities)—showcasing that sustainable development is not a distant ideal but a lived reality shaped by education, empathy, and action.