Rotary Peace Center at Symbiosis International University will train peace and development professionals from across Asia
Share:
Share on Facebook
Tweet this Page
Email this Page
Leaders of Rotary International and Symbiosis International University gathered in Pune, India, to inaugurate a new Rotary Peace Center at the university. Supported through The Rotary Foundation, the center will provide experienced peacebuilders from across Asia with one-year professional development certificate fellowships to study subjects such as conflict transformation, sustainable development, and social change.
“With India’s rich diversity and complex social landscape, the peace center will offer unique opportunities for cultivating leaders who can navigate conflict with empathy and innovation,” says Bharat S. Pandya, a trustee of The Rotary Foundation and member of the Rotary Club of Borivli, Maharashtra, India. “This center will nurture a new generation of leaders in Asia who are dedicated to strengthening dialogue, understanding, and sustainable peace.”
The new center will host up to 40 Rotary Peace Fellows per year to earn a postgraduate diploma in peace and development studies. The program is designed for midcareer professionals with experience working in peace and development fields, including within governments, non-governmental and community organizations, educational institutions, media outlets, and international agencies.
Symbiosis International University’s motto, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, or The World Is One Family, reflects a commitment to internationalism and cultural understanding that dates to its founding. Established in 1971 as a cultural exchange center for students from other countries (particularly Africa) who were experiencing discrimination, Symbiosis today has more than 55,000 students from at least 85 nations.
The Lavale campus of Symbiosis International University, the site of the new Rotary Peace Center, in Pune, India
©Symbiosis International University Press 2025
“The university has been focused on nurturing global citizens through quality education and cross-cultural sensitization as well as empowering thoughtful leaders — essentials for creating a harmonious world,” says Anita Patankar, director of the Symbiosis Centre for International Education and executive director of the university’s campus in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. “The Rotary Peace Center, with its unique academic program, joins the Symbiosis family in extending this vision.”
Symbiosis already has a history of collaborating with nearby Rotary Districts 3131 and 3141, which will jointly welcome and support peace fellows during their time in India. The university hosts annual Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, and Rotary members organize professional development opportunities for teachers. The Rotary Foundation recently awarded a global grant for a project at the university hospital, which provides free medical services to the community.
“Symbiosis has consistently sought to build meaningful alliances that enrich learning and foster inclusive, knowledge-driven, and sustainable progress,” says Vice Chancellor Ramakrishnan Raman. “Our collaboration with Rotary further reinforces this commitment, enabling new opportunities for scholarship, peacebuilding, and human development.”
The peace center will be housed at the university’s hilltop Lavale campus. Highlighting issues relevant to Asian countries, the curriculum will include many opportunities for the fellows to gain real-world experience through field visits outside of Pune as well as locally. Symbiosis has close relationships with more than 35 nearby villages, whose residents use its legal aid clinic and vocational training programs. The fellows will work with faculty members, other students, and village residents to learn about the villages, propose strategies for their development, and meet with local leaders for feedback.
This kind of practical learning is possible thanks to the ethic of social responsibility that Symbiosis and Rotary share, says Laura Descher, the Rotary Peace Centers program director.
“The university’s commitment to the advancement and well-being of not only their own students, but all people in their community and beyond, strongly aligns with Rotary’s mission to do good in the world,” she says. “Peace can only be achieved when dignity, integrity, and inclusion are prioritized across society.”
With the opening of the new peace center, Rotary’s eighth, The Rotary Foundation will be able to award up to 170 fully funded peace fellowships each year. More than 1,800 fellows have completed Rotary Peace Center programs around the world since 2002, going on to leadership roles in government agencies, NGOs, educational institutions, and international organizations. The first applications to attend the Symbiosis peace center are being accepted through 15 May 2026, and it will welcome its first group of fellows in early 2027.
By training leaders in the strategies and practices of peacebuilding, Rotary Peace Centers have a wide-ranging impact on the world that will be felt for years to come, says Rotary International President Francesco Arezzo.
“In this interconnected world, peace can no longer be viewed as an abstract ideal. It must be cultivated through institutions that combine knowledge, ethical leadership, and action,” Arezzo says. “The Rotary Peace Center at Symbiosis International University reflects Rotary’s commitment to nurturing leaders who understand and act with integrity toward a cause. The center will contribute not only to regional peacebuilding in Asia, but to a stronger global framework for shared responsibility.”
Learn more about Rotary’s peace fellowships.
— February 2026
Related stories
Rotary peace conference seeks to heal in a divided world