Atul Khosla, founder and vice chancellor at Shoolini University
About 40 kilometres from Shimla, nestled in the foothills of the outer Himalayas and surrounded by Deodar forests, lies Shoolini University in the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh. The university has made it to the QS World University Rankings for the second successive year. The London-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) has ranked Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences at the 20th spot in the country and in the 771–780 band worldwide. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US topped the list for the 12th consecutive year. Of the 45 Indian universities ranked this year, IIT-Bombay made a significant jump, climbing 23 positions to rank 149 globally this year. This is the first time in eight years that an Indian university has broken into the world’s top 150 universities. India is the seventh-most represented country globally, and the third in Asia after Japan and China.
Private universities like Shoolini are also making their way to global lists. In 2004, after retiring as the vice chancellor of one of the public universities in Himachal Pradesh, PK Khosla wanted to pursue his dream of building his own university to impart quality education. His son, Atul, asked him, "How much money do you have?" He proudly retorted: “Rs20 lakh.”