UWC Mahindra College (sometimes known as the Mahindra United World College of India, or MUWCI) is a pre-university international boarding school, located west of Pune in Maharashtra, India. The college is a two-year programme with about 250 full-time boarders, and follows the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program (DP). It is one of the 18 United World Colleges. The school was established in 1997 with the support of Harish Mahindra and Anand Mahindra of the Mahindra Group. History On 28 November 1997, Queen Noor of Jordan and Nelson Mandela inaugurated the UWC Mahindra College in India as one of the now eighteen United World Colleges (UWC) and the third UWC in Asia. The opening of the school was made possibly by a donation of land and building infrastructure by Harish Mahindra, of the Mahindra Group. The company and several members of the family remain involved with the college, with Keshub Mahindra serving as chair of the college, and the company continuing to fund student scholarships. Campus The Mahindra United World College of India is one of eighteen campuses under the United World College banner, led by Nelson Mandela and Queen Noor of Jordan at the time of its design in the mid-1990s. The campus is divided into a residential and an academic area and was designed by architect Christopher Charles Benninger. The design incorporates traditional elements and local building materials. Benninger paid homage to traditional Indian architecture by incorporating elements such as wadas, staggered steps, and lotus ponds. The college is located near the village of Paud in the Taluka Mulshi region of the western state of Maharashtra, India. It is around from the city of Pune (which, in turn, is around south-east of Mumbai). The MUWCI campus is situated on a hill surrounded by rural communities and overlooking the valley of the Mula river near Mulshi Dam. The residential side of campus is divided into communal clusters called "Wadas". The Wadas house between 40 and 60 students and 4-6 teachers and families. Students live in independent houses of eight students each, with communal courtyards. Teachers also serve as 'Wada parents' and 'House parents', providing a supportive residential learning context. Academics UWC Mahindra College offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma. Students can also choose to do the UWC Mahindra College Project Based Diploma by pursuing a research project during their two years of study. The following IB subjects are available at MUWCI,