Swaraj University was birthed in 2010 as a experimental learning community for khoji-seekers to explore themselves and the world. With the spirit of Eklavya (from the Mahabharat), we creatively engage with the pedagogy of self-designed learning and are collectively working on the question of: how do we bring swaraj into our everyday lives. We offer programs for khojis of all ages.
Paradigmatic
They are a founding member of Ecoversities Alliance, committed to reimagining higher education as part of supporting people to come alive and “create a more beautiful world our hearts know is possible”
Integrated
They take an integrated learning approach: “Self-designed learning means that each person actively designs and customises their own learning program according to their specific talents, questions, concerns and dreams. There is ample scope for learners to explore many areas at the same time and develop a trans-disciplinary curriculum. We believe in learning by doing, learning by making mistakes, learning by reflecting, learning by sharing and learning by service. Key elements of our program include self-awareness, action-research and experiments, community living, apprenticeships, learning journeys, unlearning challenges and social entrepreneurship projects.”
Integrated approach is also evident in their understanding of swaraj: ”- It is an invitation to reclaim the unique, expansive and interdependent ‘self’: our self-respect, our self-understanding, self-mastery and the harmony-of-the-selves;
- It is an invitation to decolonize and decondition ourselves from the global monoculture of the mind, artificial scarcity, competition and industrial-military development;
- It is an invitation to freshly re-engage with indigenous/alternative worldviews to re-imagine and co-create diverse living models for localization, systemic change and evolutionary consciousness.”
Pragmatic
They are focused on supporting students to build “Alive-lihoods - careers and lifestyles that make our spirits come alive and regenerate our local ecosystems.”
Their curricula are designed to help learners to “build practical skills”, “engage with the real world”, and “kick start entrepreneurial journey” as well as to “share from the heart” and have “space to reflect”.
Additional Notes
Flagship program is the 2-year Khoji Program. They also have other educational offerings and an Unschoolers Ecovillage for families with children.