Dr. D.Y. Patil is a legendary figure in the field of education, especially in his home state of Maharashtra. His dream of bringing professional and world class education at the doorstep of every aspiring student materialized in the year 1983 when he founded the first institute, an engineering college called Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology in Navi Mumbai, which offered undergraduate courses in Engineering. Since then, there has been no turning back and presently, Dr. D.Y. Patil has founded more than three deemed universities with more than 150 independent institutions in India.
Dr D Y Patil ‘s global vision and outlook is apparent when he says “As the world grows smaller and more connected, we’re beginning to live and work with people who don’t look like us, don’t think like us, don’t come from the same place as us and don’t share the same values and principles as us. In this converging of the world into one large community, lies the biggest opportunity of the current generation. The opportunity to come together, exchange perspectives and collectively solve problems and do good for the entire human race.”
Another significant area, where Dr. Patil has been one of India’s leading thought leaders, is healthcare, wherein he believes that every Indian should be able to get basic healthcare facilities free of charge in order to sustain a standard livelihood. In the last 35 years, Dr. D.Y. Patil has been successful in creating multiple healthcare facilities catering to the lower-income group. Dr Patil has also initiated several charitable health & education schemes for the general population.
Dr D Y Patil’s yeoman service to nation and community has earned him worldwide accolades. The government of India honoured him with the padmashree award for his distinguished contribution to education and society in 1991.
Further, Dr Patil has received several awards and honors some of which are:
1) Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneshwar, awarded D. Lit. (Honoris Causa) in 2012.
2) Awarded the ‘Man of the Year 2005’ by the American Biographical Institute, U.S.A.
3) ‘Samajshree’ title and Manapatra (Certificate of Honour) awarded by Kolhapur Municipal Corporation in the year 2000
4) Honored by ‘Cultural Doctorate in Philosophy of Education’ of World University Roundtable, Arizona, U.S.A
5) The Nottingham Trent University Kingdom awarded an honorary doctorate degree in appreciation of his contribution to the cause of education in 1996.
6) Arizona University, United States awarded an honorary doctorate degree in 1988.
Thus, the vision of Dr D Y Patil was grounded in the pragmatic needs of the nation. It encompassed the need to create good educational infrastructure, provide much needed health facilities and build a diverse welcoming community that can be harnessed to shape the destiny of the nation. The founder’s dreams continue to flourish as more stellar institutions are established in the galaxy of the D Y Patil group.
