Pune: Underlining the importance of chess in students’ intellectual growth and personality development, SNDT Women’s University has launched a two-credit chess course for undergraduate students. The university has signed an MoU with Velankar Chess Institute for designing and implementing the course.Mahesh Koltame, director, SNDTWU-CHETNA, said, “Chess should not be seen only as a competitive sport, but as an educational tool for students’ intellectual and mental development. This course will focus on developing concentration, critical thinking, analytical ability, self-confidence and decision-making. A key feature is quality training at a very nominal fee through online mode. This will help take the benefits of chess education to students in rural areas as well as urban.”SNDTWU-CHETNA plays a key role in this initiative. The centre works towards holistic development of students, developing diverse skills through education and providing quality training opportunities.Makrand Velankar of Velankar Chess Institute said, “This is an important milestone in recognizing chess as an effective medium for personality development and life skills, not just as a game. By starting a credit course in chess, SNDT Women’s University is creating an academic framework to consciously develop essential capacities for holistic development.”The course is of 30 hours and will be available online in both Marathi and English for women and men as well. Students who successfully complete it will be awarded two credits and a certificate, while other participants will receive a course completion certificate.The first batch is scheduled from December to February. The batch size will be limited and admissions will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
