Educational and Research Hub of Pune

Pune was called "The Oxford of the east" by Jawaharlal Nehru,India's first Prime Minister, due to the well-known academic and research institutions in the city and its popularity amongst students. The temperate climate of the city is responsible for the green campuses of many colleges, and the prevalent academic mindset amongst Punekars helps nurture research and higher education.

Three reputed colleges, College of Engineering, Pune, Sir Parashurambhau College Fergusson College have been located in Pune since the late 1800s. The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, world-renowned for research and instruction in the Sanskrit and Prakrit languages --it currently houses more than 20,000 ancient manuscripts-- was established in 1917. The SNDT University for Women was established in 1916. Soon after Indian independence in 1947, the University of Pune, the National Defence Academy and National Chemical Laboratory were established. The number of institutions for higher education have multiplied in Pune since then.

Basic and Special Education
Schools in Pune are either run by the PMC, in which case they are called Municipality schools, or privately by trusts and individuals. Private schools have been preferred by a majority of city residents because of better facilities. These schools use either Marathi or English as the medium of instruction. All private schools are affiliated either with the Maharashtra state SSC board or the all-India Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and CBSE boards. Prominent among Pune schools is the Rewachand Bhojwani Academy, Camp, which has been featured on BBC World recently for its style of education, which is off the beaten track.

Pune is the largest center for Japanese learning in India and the JLPT exams are held in Pune annually (December). The Japanese language training is provided by the University of Pune among others. Other languages like German (Max Muller Bhavan) and French (Alliance Francaise de Poona) are also popular amongst Punekars. Some high schools like St. Vincent's, Loyola's and St. Anne's optionally train students in French, German and Russian from the 8th grade onwards.

University Education
All colleges in Pune are affiliated to the University of Pune, one of the largest universities in the world in terms of matriculation. The University of Pune was established in 1948. Some prominent colleges include the Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce, College of Engineering, Pune(COEP), Fergusson College, Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce (BMCC), Abasaheb Garware College, Nowrosjee and Ness Wadia College, Sir Parshurambhau (SP) College, and Modern College. These and many other colleges educate students in the arts, sciences and engineering disciplines. Engineering colleges in Pune graduate up to 10,000 engineers in various disciplines every year, especially serving the burgeoning software and IT industry. The COEP, established in 1854, is one of the oldest colleges in Asia.

The famous Film and Television Institute of India and National Film Archives are also located in Pune on Law College road.

Established medical schools such as the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) and Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College Pune BJMC train students from all over Maharashtra and India. The N.G. Naralkar Institute, The Sinhgad Institute Of Management, Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS), Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management (SITM), Symbiosis Institute of International Business (SIIB), Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM), The Institute of Management Development and Research (IMDR), The Department of Management Sciences, University of Pune (PUMBA) and National Insurance Academy School of Management (NIA SoM) are some of the reputed management schools in the city, as is the ILS Law College of the Indian Law Society.

In addition to the statutory universities, Pune boasts of 5 Deemed Universities - Deccan College (Archaeology and Linguistics), Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth (Sanskrit, Indology, Ayurveda and Social Sciences), Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Bharati Vidyapeeth, PICT and Symbiosis International University

Engineering Colleges
Pune has many engineering colleges. India does not have authority which dictates the ranking of these colleges. Some of the notable colleges in Pune include

  * College of Engineering Pune (COEP)
  * Bharti Vidyapeeth College Of Engineering (B.V.U.C.O.E.)
  * Pune Institute of Computer Technology (PICT)
  * Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT)
  * Vishwakarma Institute of Technology
  * AISSMS College of Engineering
  * Pune Vidyarthi College of Engineering & Technology (PVG),etc.

Research Institutes
In addition to the University of Pune, Pune is home to diverse research institutions of national importance that supplement higher education. Located adjacent to the university is the National Chemical Laboratory and the Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET), while the university campus houses the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing(C-DAC), Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute [BORI] and the National Centre for Cell Science.

The Central Water and Power Research Station(CW & PRS), the (National Insurance Academy), National Institute Of Bank Management (NIBM), NIC [National Informatics Centre], the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, the Agarkar Research Institute and the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) are located in Pune and conduct fundamental research for the benefit of India's millions. The National AIDS Research Institute is in Bhosari, a suburb of Pune. The National Center for Cell Science, an institute for research in animal cell biology is situated in the University of Pune while the National Institute of Virology is located in Pune Camp. Pune also houses a premier industrial research lab Tata Research Development and Design Centre, a research unit of Tata Consultancy Services, working in the areas of computer science and modeling/simulation for materials processing.

Education Institutes Dedicated to the Defence Forces
Pune is host to several excellent educational institutes specifically dedicated to Defence forces. They include training institutes such as the well-known National Defence Academy (NDA), College of Military Engineering (CME) and Army Institute of Physical Training (AIPT). Medical students are trained at the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) to serve the armed forces. The Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Defence Institute of Armament Technology (DIAT), Defence Research Development Organization [DRDO], HEMRL and Army Institute of Technology are also located in Pune.