Quality Education

Centre for Intercultural Studies and Dialogue (CISD) - https://www.manipal.edu/des/centres/cisd.html

Centre for Intercultural Studies and Dialogue (CISD), housed in Manipal Centre for European Studies (MCES), MAHE, is a platform for learning and research on communication across cultures. It aims at understanding the intricacies and nuances of plurilingual and multicultural societies by focusing on cultural interactions and negotiations at various levels.

The ongoing project ‘Discerning India- Living Cultures of Tulunadu’, which started in 2021, is conceived with the aim of exploring the rich source of indigenous knowledge and conducting research on cultural traditions and practices. It attempts to document, archive and analyze the richness of the regional culture in terms of its outlook on life, society, and environment. The project aims to examine the interconnectedness of social practices within the Tulunadu community and their contemporary significance, thereby contributing to a repository of local cultural knowledge. These traditions, deeply tied to the land and its people, offer invaluable insights into the sustainable and harmonious ways of living that have thrived in Tulunadu for centuries.

As part of the CISD project, several exciting initiatives have been launched to appreciate and preserve the vibrant heritage of Tulunadu. In 2022, a self-paced online certificate course, "Living Cultures of Tulunadu," was offered to provide a glimpse into the traditional practices of the region. This course contains documentaries, recorded lectures and reading materials on each topic. Following this, in November 2023, CISD published a visually captivating book titled "Living Cultures of Tulunadu," introducing readers to the prominent living traditions that define the region.

The self-paced online course (involving four units) was offered as a two-credit course initially and about 380 participants have completed the course so far. The third batch is offered in February 2025 as a three-credit course comprising six units on local traditions.

Additionally, a compelling series of documentaries exploring various facets of the Tulunadu traditions has been produced and shared within academic circles, further contributing to academic discourse and cultural awareness.

A total of 8 documentaries have been produced by CISD on local traditions as part of the project. The international recognition these documentaries have received demonstrates their importance in bringing Tulunadu’s traditions to a global audience.

Akshara

The program called "AKSHARA" was launched at the MIT Bengaluru campus by the VSO team that was directed by Dr. M. Ramya and Dr. Rajendra Prasad. More than thirty members of our housekeeping staff and other workers are gaining literacy skills as a result of participating in this program. Speaking, reading, and writing abilities in Kannada and English have been cultivated via the implementation of lessons that are held for a total of three hours each week.

Project Vidyaa

This aims to provide 30 to 60 students in the adjoining village with remedial and extra classes. This will help them gain confidence and perform better in their classes