Maharaja Agrasen College, Delhi

Maharaja Agrasen College, established in 1994 as a constituent college ofthe University of Delhi has a story to tell...a success story. In the life span of an educational institution, twenty years may be just a tiny ray in the vast spectrum, but for Maharaja Agrasen College, the last two decades have been truly constructive, much like the building blocks. The blocks have been reconfigured time and again from simple structures to more comprehensive ones, in tandem with the emerging paradigms of the techno-savvy world of today. In August 1994, as a constituent college of the University of Delhi, the college was tentatively named Co-Educational College, later to be rechristened as Maharaja Agrasen College, after a great Indian ruler. Catering to the educational demands of the thickly populated East , the College is today attracting the student intelligentsia from various parts of Delhi, particularly the South and East Delhi areas.

'Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I Learn.' These words seem to be the echo that resounds in every page of MAC. The veracity of this saying is nowhere better illustrated than in the classrooms of MAC because they are learner-centric. The thrust has always been on two-way communication: a process of building partnerships between the learner and the learned. It can be said that learning is no longer sacrosanct to be monasticated in a sanctuary of classrooms and library. It spills over in the lawns, on the stage and in playgrounds. In fact MAC can boast of 'classrooms without walls' as learning happens on field-based innovative research projects, adoption of villages such as Baroji and educational trips. Participation of the students in the extension activities of the college with vigour and enthusiasm has led to strong bonds between the residents of Baroji in Mewat District of Haryana; and the experiential Learning through The Leadership Development Program, an initiative of the NSS in the college has helped students work towards the upliftment of localities in the vicinity.

Turning the time machine back to nursery days, one sees a tiny seed of an institution germinating, taking root and blossoming into a full-grown verdure plant. Completing 20 years in 2014, as it steps into its mature years, one finds it branching out in all spheres of holistic development of an individual, taking pride in providing socially relevant and innovative curriculum, out-of-the-box ideating platform for growth, and youthful energy to its students and faculty. Running 10 undergraduate programmes in all the three important streams: Arts, Commerce and Sciences, it nurtures interdisciplinarity and competency exchanges in the form of inter departmental research and outreach programmes.

Maharaja Agrasen College group is mindful of the key role an educational institution plays in the development of productive citizens and future professionals, and of the impact they can create on multiple levels of the society.

The years 2012 and 2013 brought several international scholars to MAC in two well-attended International Conferences in the broad areas of International Relations and Cultural Studies. These vibrant scholarly initiatives have paved way for a string of national-international conferences organized by the various departments every year totally to 17 conferences by the end of 2015. The year 2014 cemented our efforts to sustain and encourage academic excellence geared towards innovation and research by being awarded the second prize in the competitive category of 'College with Good Practices'. This was possible only because the college continued to promote and encourage research and innovation.

The vision of Maharaja Agrasen College is to make quality the defining element of education of the students and set the standards for higher education in the University of Delhi in the twenty-first century. We are committed to creating and sustaining the conditions that enable all Maharaja Agrasen College students to experience an unparalleled educational journey that is intellectually, socially, and personally transformative.

The mission of Maharaja Agrasen College is to educate the citizens and citizen-leaders for our society. We do this through our commitment to the transformative power of higher education in arts, commerce and sciences. Beginning in the classroom with exposure to new ideas, new ways of understanding, and new ways of knowing, students embark on a journey of intellectual transformation. Through a diverse living environment, where students interact with people who are studying different topics, who come from different walks of life and have evolving identities, intellectual transformation is deepened and conditions for social transformation are created.