PUNE: City-based Friends Union for Energising Lives (FUEL), recognised for its innovative initiatives in education and effective utilisation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds for institution-building, was conferred the prestigious ‘CSR Times 2026’ Award at the 13th National CSR and ESG Summit. The award was presented by Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.Held on the central theme ‘Role of Responsible Businesses for an Inclusive India’, the summit witnessed the participation of more than 500 delegates in person and over 2,500 participants online from across the country. The award gave national recognition to FUEL’s unique educational model of ‘Corporate Giving and Naming Schools’.Dr Prachi Ahirav, Head of Department, Faculty of Management, and Sonali Ghongade, Finance Officer, received the award on behalf of FUEL.Founded in 2007 as a small career guidance organisation, FUEL has now evolved into FUEL SkillTech and Entrepreneurship University. The university is being established primarily through CSR funding, making it a rare and distinctive example in the Indian higher education sector.Under FUEL’s ‘Education Giving and Adoption Model’, corporate companies and philanthropists are invited to adopt entire academic schools within the university and name them after themselves. This approach converts CSR funds, which are often spent on short-term initiatives, into permanent educational infrastructure. The model is expected to enable first-generation learners, children of farmers and defence personnel, women and youth from economically weaker sections to access quality education for decades to come.
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