P.K. Khosla

Founder and Chancellor

Shoolini University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh

A dedicated educationist-cum-entrepreneur with a mission, Prof Prem Kumar Khosla has many facets to his career, spanning over 44 years.

At an age when people prefer to take leave from active work and spend a quiet time at home, Prof Khosla, after retiring from Vice Chancellorship of Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishva Vidyalaya, Palampur, and as Senior Scientific Advisor to the Government of Himachal Pradesh, took a calculated risk to invest his and his wife’s lifetime savings in establishing a non-profitable organisation, Shoolini Institute of Life Sciences and Business Management (SILB) in 2005. The mission: To provide affordable quality education to the youth from rural and semi-urban areas of Himachal Pradesh.

Soon, SILB became a beehive of academic activities under his stewardship and quickly attained the Top 10 position in India in its area of focus. Within 12 months of its establishment, SILB also emerged as the most preferred Biotechnology and Science Postgraduate Institution among colleges affiliated to Himachal Pradesh University.

Prof Khosla always dreamt about setting up a state-of-the-art university that pursued world-class research and trained students through a flexible curriculum to meet the needs of the industry. With the credibility and goodwill created by SILB, the Himachal Pradesh Government invited Prof Khosla to set up a specialised private university of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, the first of its kind in India. In just three years of operation, Shoolini was ranked the second among India’s top Biotech Institutions (BioSpectrum, 2012), and is now considered one of North India’s finest universities.

In his four decades of untiring work, Prof Khosla has shown an inspirational sense of initiative and entrepreneurial acumen. Be it his vision of using science as a tool to empower the small farmers of Himachal Pradesh, or his emphasis on the research and

study of the natural flora and fauna of the state for environmental conservation or his passion to create a globally recognised and world-class private university. His thinking has been ahead of his times and has always been followed up with result-oriented action. His vision to make Shoolini a Global Top 200 university by 2022 is unparalleled and inspiring to all in the field of higher learning.

Prof Khosla was honoured with the prestigious 'Education Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2012' by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and 'Shiksha Ratan 2012' Award by the All India Technical and Management Association (AITMA) for his immense contribution to the cause of quality education by establishing premier educational institutions in Himachal Pradesh.

In his recently released autobiography, ‘Trysts with Karma’, Prof Khosla outlines his struggles and experiences, right from the days of the Partition when he was seven years old, to the present Pandemic… moulding him into what he is today. In his words, “the script of our lives is drafted in heaven and is based on our Karma… we come here to play the designated role scripted on the basis of past Karma. Nothing happens merely as a coincidence and whatever happens is the sum of our actions in pre and post-natal lives.”

Prof Khosla belongs to Parmahansa Yogananda Order and has fully imbibed his ‘Guru’s’ teachings.