Nalanda University is an international and research-intensive university located in the historical city of Rajgir, in Bihar, India. It was established by an Act of Parliament to emulate the famous ancient university of Nalanda, which functioned between the 5th and 13th centuries. The idea to resurrect Nalanda University was endorsed in 2007 at the East Asia Summit, represented mostly by Asian countries including China, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam, apart from Australia and New Zealand, and as such, the university is seen as one of the flagship projects of the Government of India. It has been designated as an "International Institution of National Importance" by the Parliament, and began its first academic session on 1 September 2014. Initially set up with temporary facilities in Rajgir, a modern campus spanning over 160 hectares (400 acres) is expected to be finished by 2020. This campus, upon completion, will be the largest of its kind in India, and one of the largest in Asia.The first Chancellor of the university was Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, followed by former Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo. Nalanda is exclusively a graduate school, currently only offering Master's courses, with PhD programmes starting in gradual phases from 2020.On 28 March 2006 the 11th President of India A. P. J. Abdul Kalam proposed the idea while addressing the Joint Session of the Bihar Vidhan Mandal for revival of Nalanda university.For best architectural design, a global competition was held for construction of an international state-of-the-art institution. Vastu Shilpa Consultants have been selected as the winner of the design competition with dbHMS providing the triple net-zero energy, water and waste strategic plan.The academic session of the University started on 1 September 2014 with 15 students in the School of Historical Studies and the School of Ecology and Environmental studies. A hotel operated by Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation in Rajgir would provide initial hostel accommodation.The School commences its operations with one year Post-Graduate Diploma Programmes in Japanese, Chinese and Sanskrit, but it will gradually expand to include other programmes in Indian and foreign languages.