SAIIER (Sri Aurobindo International Institute of Educational Research)

In the last Auroville Today, we reported that the 69th Governing Board meeting had taken place and we noted some of the major decisions which had been taken.

Sanjeev Ranganathan, head of SAIIER (Sri Aurobindo International Institute of Educational Research) and alumnus of IIT Madras, and Poovizhi, mathematics teacher at an Auroville School, presented a research paper on “Indian Knowledge Systems and the Impact on Teachers When They Learn Indian Knowledge Systems and How They Interact with Children” at the 9th East Asia Regional Conference on Mathematics Education (EARCOME 9) in Seoul, South Korea.

The SLS Team has now become an official unit under SAIIER. The service, which began in 2015, offers support to all children, regardless of the educational system they are part of.

It all started in September 1998. Jean-François and I were at home when a group of teenagers, familiar faces from the Auroville schools, walked in with a quiet determination.

The Working Committee selected by the Residents’ Assembly (RA-WCom) has vacated its temporary office in Kailash, an educational youth residency under SAIIER, after the Funds and Assets Management Committee constituted by the Governing Board (GB-FAMC) instructed the Kailash caretakers and residents to hand over the building to the Housing Service by the end of May. [see article on page ….]

In May 2024, the Governing Board of the Auroville Foundation approved the creation of the Auroville Physical Education Board (APEB), and allocated an in-principle budget of ₹2 crores (approx.

Recently longtime Aurovilian Divakar circulated a paper entitled ‘Auroville and its destinies’ in which he suggested a possible way forward which seeks to integrate the present reality as a way of continuing our collective progress.

It is 10 am and I hear the joyful pitter-patter of toddlers running for their snacks. I am not at Summer Camp, but it feels like I’m on holiday, nevertheless.

In a note to the community, the Auroville School Board shared that schools’ financial situation has become more difficult since July of 2024.

On April 17th, the SAIIER board informed TLC (The Learning Community) that SAIIER has decided to withdraw all financial support for TLC (facilitators’ maintenances and running budget), to reclaim all assets accumulated over the years, and that the TLC Base Camp has to be vacated by July 2024.

This 280 page book is a tribute to Kireet Joshi composed by two of his close Auroville friends, Frederick Schulze Buxloh and Alain Bernard.

In its 63rd meeting the GB approved the project proposal submitted by the EdCIL (India) Limited for the construction of 1,000-bed student hostel in two phases at Auroville.

At the request of the GB-FAMC and GB-BCC, SAIIER have prioritised the maintenance and budget 2024-2025 of all of SAIIER’s sub-units, which has led to a number of artistic and cultural units and activities having their budgets and maintenances cut.

The second paragraph of the Charter of Auroville states that “Auroville will be a place of unending education, of constant progress and a youth that never ages.”

Dr. Sanjeev Ranganathan has been an executive of the Sri Aurobindo International Institute of Educational Research (SAIIER) since August 2021 and was a SAIIER board member from 2016 to 2020.

In the October 2023 issue of Auroville Today [#411] we highlighted the 901-page framework study ‘Governance in Auroville’ of Professor Raag Yadava and his associate Nidhi Harihar.

On February 24th, Sanjeev Aggarwal passed away at the age of 70 in JIPMER, after a cardiac arrest. Sanjeev came to Auroville at the end of 1981, cutting short a successful career as a High Court lawyer in New Delhi.

BnB Shifu is a one-year intensive course in skills of electronics (VLSI) and programming, competencies and inner capacity for the youth started in 2021 by Dr.

On the afternoon of 22nd November, the first open community meeting on the multiversity concept was held. After the origin of the draft Parliamentary Act and the present stance of the Working Committee and SAIIER were presented (see accompanying interview), the floor was opened for questions, clarifications and comments, as a means of deciding “where we go from here”.

Recently Disha, which was a service that provides personalised support and guidance to the youth of Auroville and the bioregion, did a survey of Auroville youth and young adults.

Last month the dried plant collection of the Auroville Herbarium moved to a new dedicated building in the Botanical Gardens. Funded by SAIIER, inaugurated this March, slowed down a bit by corona, its establishment marks a new phase in the work of preserving and classifying our indigenous flora.

Nothing happens by chance and we are therefore entitled to wonder what is the meaning of the crisis which has been shaking Auroville for some time.

I wonder if this is a shared rationale, and whether being exposed from a young age to a dynamic and participatory learning environment is conducive to engaging in creating such opportunities.

The vocational training school, the Auroville Institute of Applied Technology, has now been running for over 15 years. What does it do? How successful has it been and what challenges is it facing today?

The Auroville Gap Year Programme (AGYP) was designed by Auroville Campus Initiative (ACI) to provide a learning platform to the youth of Auroville between the ages of 17 and 30.

On February 26, Dr. Karan Singh, the Chairman of the Auroville Foundation, inaugurated the Auroville Archives. The building houses a treasure trove of Auroville data.

Auroville recently conducted its first women’s health survey. Lesley spoke to the survey’s convener, Paula, about the findings.

During the guest season in Auroville, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the number of workshops, classes and seminars that are on offer. With notice boards overflowing with announcements of programmes, Auroville does look like “the place for an unending education.”

On the 3rd of March this year, Varuna presented their plans for a solar energy plant in a General Meeting (GM). Auroville Today reports on the meeting and looks at the wider issue of solar power in Auroville.

On Friday February 17th, Deepam, Auroville’s therapy centre for children with special needs, celebrated 25 years.

One offering I had always wanted to make to Auroville was the Ganga Yatra experience. Why? Firstly, I have always had a fascination with the Himalayas and the Ganges.

Alain Bernard first came to Auroville in 1972. Since then, he has been involved in many key areas, including the economy, education, the Press and, most recently, Village Action and the Sustainable Livelihood Institute.

Snakes of Auroville and Pondicherry, written by Deepanam school teacher Rajeev Bhatt, is an easy introduction to the snakes that are common in this area.

In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the first meeting of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother in 1914, the Sri Aurobindo International Institute of Educational Research (SAIIER) has published its second compilation of remembrances of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.

“The path of later on and the road of tomorrow lead only to the castle of nothing-at-all,” is the conclusion of a small boy who, after postponing the day’s chores to tomorrow, has a nightmare which shows him the truth of never putting off till tomorrow what one could do today.

With the demise of Dr. Kireet Joshi on 14 September 2014, the Aurobindonian firmament has lost one of its brightest stars. Born on 10 August 1931, he studied philosophy and law at the Elphinstone College under the University of Bombay.

Is Bharat Nivas coming alive again? For some years the area, which houses the activities of the Indian pavilion, has seemed dormant, but today old structures are being demolished and new building projects underway.

Bindu shares what she learnt from the ongoing Stewardship Workshops being offered in Auroville by Monica Sharma, through the support of SAIIER.

Judith came to Auroville in 1971. After helping with the Matrimandir excavations, she moved to Kottakarai, where she did afforestation and orchard work – and began a family.

A new publication entitled The Good Teacher and the Good Pupil has recently been released by the Sri Aurobindo International Institute of Educational Research, Auroville.