Periyar Maniammai University, Thanjavur

Thanthai Periyar the foreseer of modern era, a social revolutionary and a very great thinker had been emphasizing the importance of education all through his life. He dedicated his life for the welfare of those who were deprived of educational opportunities, besides uprooting the deep rooted superstitious beliefs, customs, irrationalism and injustice in the society. He strongly believed and advocated that offering education to a man is education to him only whereas education to a woman is education to the whole family. He succeeded in his endeavour by establishing educational institutions in the state. After THANTHAI PERIYAR and ANNAI MANIAMMAIYAR, their illustrious successor Dr.K.VEERAMANI M.A.,B.L., has taken up the Herculean task of ushering young women into technical education and to a new era of scientific temperament by founding Periyar Maniammai College of Technology for Women on 22nd November 1988. It has had its reputation as the first Women Engineering College in the whole of World. With a constant and steady progress, the College has been elevated to the status of Periyar Maniammai University (Under Section 3 of UGC Act, 1956) on 17.08.2007 to fulfill the aspirations of Thanthai Periyar continually. Bearing this as a Primary objective, the University is stepping into its very first year with a vision to cater to the technical knowledge resources needed for the society for its overall development.

With academic roots dating back to the early nineteen forties, Periyar Maniammai institutions have a proud tradition of excellence and reputation for welcoming learners from diverse range of backgrounds, countries and cultures. Our strong industry and business links enable Periyar Maniammai University to provide an extensive number of professionally accredited courses through partnership that includes training and development enterprises. Those close ties with industry and professional bodies mirror creative and technical expertise with research and business acumen. Hence this combination of innovation, vocational focus and research strength would definitely make Periyar Maniammai University as premier Milieu University, Students from this people’s Mega University will surely be asset to employers. This University imparts students the skills they need to be successful in their chosen fields. Periyar Maniammai University (PMU) is synonymous with innovation and rural cool, a vibrant yet compact environment offering top-class education that is on par with the best anywhere. We are not simply a city university though. We offer a great campus environment with superb facilities in a lively community atmosphere. A heady mix of our mentor Thanthai Periyar’s philosophy and modern practice of PMU is renowned for its ambience to work hard and to develop all round personality traits of students and research scholars of the University.
Historical Background Periyar Maniammai University has its origin in Periyar Maniammai College of Technology for Women established in the year 1988 as an exclusive engineering college for women in Vallam-Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu by Periyar Maniammai Educational and Charitable Society, Chennai-600 007. Named after the great social reformers of the twentieth century, Thanthai Periyar and Annai Maniammaiyar, the Periyar Maniammai College of Technology for Women had the distinction of being the first women’s engineering college in the world. The primary focus was on institutionalising the lofty ideals of Periyar to pave the way for women’s emancipation by providing them increased access to higher education in Science and Technology and encouraging their participation in social, national / global development. The College was started with the approval of Government of Tamil Nadu and All India Council for Technical Education, New Delhi and affiliation to Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirapalli.T.N. Later, it started functioning under the affiliation to Anna University, Chennai from 2001. The College has made several land mark achievements continually since inception in the field of Technical Education, and in the areas of Women Empowerment and Social Development. In addition to the under-graduate, post- graduate and doctoral programmes in humanities, science, engineering, architecture and technology, it has rendered a yeoman service in providing health care, hygiene and technology inputs to rural people for their social and economic well-being.

Considering its academic excellence in teaching, research, extramural and socially relevant projects and programs, the Government of India / MHRD have conferred the Status of University on the College under section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956 on the recommendation of the University Grant Commission - UGC, New Delhi, on the August 17, 2007. Periyar Maniammai University is Accredited by NAAC

The Periyar Maniammai University is located on a land area of 216 acres which once were barren and dry, and unfit for habitation and cultivation in a typically rural area. This land has been transformed into a land of thick foliage, green vegetation and a technology hub, pollution-free and zero waste. By its location, the campus offers an ideal environment for learning, research and living. Though situated in a rural setting it has all the advantages of urban location. The University is situated at 10 km. from Thanjavur town and 45 km. from Tiruchirapalli and is easily accessible by road, rail and air. The University has in its ambit a number of colleges, schools, and off-campus centres at Thanjavur, Tiruchirapalli, Chennai and New Delhi in its own vast campuses. The built-up area in the Thanjavur campus is 49,250 Sq.m and in Chennai campus it is 13,000 Sq.m. The Delhi campus functions in 5,950 Sq.m of built-up area. The Tiruchirapalli campus is in different prime locations with modern buildings housing a pharmacy college, nursing college and several other educational establishments all in a built-up area of 24,750 Sq.m.

The Mission

The Mission of the Periyar Maniammai University is to:

* Provide quality education in an environment that promotes creativity, innovation and scholarly pursuits by creating state-of-the-art infrastructure, employing competent faculty and committed support staff, world-class instructional and learning facilities all driven by its values. It will out to reach the un-reached, explore new avenues of education to fulfill the knowledge and skill needs of the Nation, particularly of industries, businesses and social sectors.
* Offer programmes to improve the quality of life of rural, socially, educationally and economically disadvantaged groups, women and needy, by taking proactive initiatives to enable them live with economic independence, self-respect and dignity.
* Create and foster an enabling environment for a meaningful education and extra-mural and socially relevant programmes to a variety of non-traditional clients for improving their quality of life.

The values and beliefs of the University are firmly grounded on its commitment to meet with the expectations of its stake-holders fully, improve its system continuously, serve all sections of society objectively, impartially and proactively, and to conduct its affairs with the highest degree of integrity, sincerity and fairness. And in the process, it shall always uphold human dignity, national values and educational ethos to bring in a new social order driven by knowledge at micro and macro levels.

The University shall always be alive to the changing socio, techno-economic needs of the nation, and with its futuristic outlook will deliver education that works and emerge as an institution of national importance.

In appreciation of the fact that the universities are one of society’s key institutions available today to respond to changing societal imperatives, the Periyar Maniammai University shall work on new road maps for appropriate changes in the role of university, based on intelligent redesign of its offerings and enhancement of quality of service, including quality of the total experience of its scholars and teachers and its stake-holders. They shall investigate and solve the most challenging problems in many fields of sciences and technologies in a singularly collegial, interdisciplinary atmosphere, while producing outstanding graduates to become creative members of society. The strength of the Periyar Maniammai University lies in its commitment to continuously improve its system and people. It seeks to provide a learning infrastructure that will enable it to meet its declared mission to provide the highest quality of education, training, research and consultancy. Periyar Maniammai University’s quality assurance and enhancement measures aim at maintaining and improving the quality on a par with international standards. The focus is on educating, enabling and empowering the youth of the Nation, particularly the women and first generation graduates and to mould them as useful citizens and able leaders.

Periyar Maniammai University has excellent infrastructure, state-of-the art laboratories, modern equipment and student amenities to effectively to carry through its mission.

Periyar Maniammai University has three Schools with sixteen departments, five Centres and adequate academic and administrative facilities, as given in the following