It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the Department of Philosophy. The Department of Philosophy (formerly Averroes Centre for Philosophical Studies) is the first Department of Philosophy to be established in the valley of Kashmir. With an emphasis on maintaining academic rigor while teaching and researching the classical, medieval, modern and contemporary philosophical traditions across spatio-temporal and cultural trajectories, the Department serves as a teaching and research centre to foster normative introspection through experiential and problem-based pedagogies, upholds the relevance of IKS, and embodies the spirit of NEP-2020. Along the contemporary axis, the Department emphasizes the relevance of philosophy in our societies, where the tradition-modernity dichotomy, along with the invasive interventions by technology and AI, demand a thorough and critical understanding of the existing and emergent complexities and contestations. The Department provides an open, engaging and comprehensive platform to the students and scholars of Philosophy, Social Sciences and Humanities to study and appraise the canon of philosophy so that its relevance—traditional or contextual, critical or genealogical, pure or applied— remains viable, visible and indispensable within the diversified body of knowledge and practice available today. The Dept explicitly stresses that we, the philosophers of today, have to widen our collaborative spirit to not only engage with diverse philosophers but also experts and scholars from sister-disciplines in Humanities and Social Studies, Scientific and technological disciplines and the wider social fabric to study and interpret the given and constructed world, and the same is reflected in its course syllabi, pedagogical approaches and research foci. To envision and accomplish this objective, the Department offers an MA in Philosophy and a PhD in Philosophy. Furthermore, open elective (OE) courses are offered to students from other disciplines to assuage and underline the relevance of philosophy to ignite their interests and aptitude for critical thinking, analytical abilities logical clarity, and above all a curiosity to know about the basics of philosophy, its traditions, methods and applicability in day to day life. I once again welcome you to the Department of Philosophy and hope that your academic and professional journey takes a new and enriching flight at IUST.