Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women’s University, widely known as SNDT Women’s University, is one of India’s landmark institutions in the history of women’s higher education. Founded in 1916 by Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve as the Indian Women’s University, it was the first women’s university in India and is also recognized as a pioneering women’s university in South Asia. The institution grew from Karve’s earlier work for widows’ education and women’s self-reliance in Pune. Its first five women graduates completed their studies in 1921, and the university later received statutory recognition in 1951. It was named in honour of Nathibai Damodar Thackersey following major philanthropic support from Sir Vithaldas Thackersey. SNDT has since developed into a multidisciplinary public university with campuses in Mumbai and Pune and additional educational centres and developing campuses in Maharashtra. Its academic range extends from humanities, languages, social sciences and education to commerce, management, home science, technology, media, design, library science, social work and other professional fields. The university also supports research centres, women’s studies, inclusion-related scholarship, distance and online learning, teacher education and doctoral work. Its history reflects a sustained commitment to women’s empowerment through access to formal, professional and vocational education. The motto “Sanskrita Stree Parashakti” expresses the university’s belief that an enlightened woman is a source of immense strength. Across more than a century, SNDT has combined its founding social mission with changing academic and career needs, making it an institution where the history of women’s education, contemporary professional preparation and multidisciplinary research remain closely connected. The university’s institutional history includes landmark public occasions, including convocations and jubilees attended by major national figures, while its academic system has continually broadened beyond the original liberal-education model. This evolution allows SNDT to preserve its women-centred mission while responding to new disciplines, technologies and professions.