As we say goodbye to 2019 and enter 2020, the education world is filled with discussions about various technologies making inroads in the education sector across the world. However, in a place called Sevagram, where Ghandhiji lived from 1936 to his death in 1948, Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Science continues its age-old tradition of adopting a village for each new batch of its medical students. Students of the first MBBS spend a fortnight in their adopted village, where each student is allotted 4-5 families for their camp activities. They live with the villagers, visit their adopted families daily and interact with them.
The institute strongly believes that the community immersion experience is essential to make an impact on the malleable minds of undergraduates. For most students, this experience comes as an eye-opener as it is often their first exposure to the woes of rural India. As one student put it, “We are taught a lot of statistical facts about health, disparity, and inequity. But nothing prepares you enough when you land in the village and see how people actually live. It comes as a cultural shock at first. And then slowly you learn to see how people find happiness in less. It is an experience that changes you for life.”
In this issue, we celebrate the success of MGIMS by identifying 10 Must-Watch Institutes and Colleges in Maharashtra that are performing exceptionally well to create socially responsible graduates who can meet the challenges of tomorrow. We hope that the hard work we have done to feature the premier institutions in Maharashtra will help students and faculty members from all over the country in their journey.
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