Founder and Chancellor of the University
Lord Diljit Singh Rana -
Born at Sanghol in Punjab (INDIA), I have lived in Northern Ireland since 1966. Some of my achievements are listed below:- •• Appointed to the House of Lords in 2004 by the then UK Prime Minister Tony Blair in recognition of my work in driving the successful regeneration of Belfast city centre and my efforts to encourage political dialogue which led to peace talks in Northern Ireland. •• During the darkest days of the “Troubles” , hosted peace talks by inviting key political and religious leaders and encourage a dialogue. This dialogue ended 30 years' of terrorism. This was perhaps the most turbulent periods in the recent Irish History. •• Appointed by Government of India as Honorary Consul for India to Northern Ireland from 2004-2012 and then reappointed in 2014. I am currently serving India. •• In March 2003 I was invited to the Buckingham Palace to have Lunch with her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, The Queen of England. •• Awarded the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1996. •• Elected President of GOPIO (Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin) International in 2009 and is currently the Chairman of GOPIO International, headquartered in Mauritius.
•• First ethnic businessman to be elected President of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce, the region's biggest business organisation. •• Actively promoted business, education, political and cultural links between India and Northern Ireland, leading a series of business missions from Northern Ireland to India. Due to these efforts, India is the 2nd biggest investor in Northern Ireland next to USA and many Northern Ireland companies have set up businesses in India and vice versa. •• Awarded honorary degrees from the region’s two universities, Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Ulster, as well as the Bengal Engineering and Science University.
•• Awarded Pravasi Bharti Samman Award by Dr Abdul Kalam, then President of India, in 2007 for his work in promoting links between U.K. and India, and outstanding service in peace efforts and charitable causes. •• Awards for enterprise from the Confederation of British Industry in the UK..
Sanghol Education Project
The Cordia Group of Educational Institutes, situated in Lord Rana Edu-City, Sanghol, is a life-time vision of mine.
It wishes to transform the lives of rural youth through world class educational opportunities in an integrated campus with state of the art world class infrastructure, skills and personality development in an environment of excellent teaching and learning practices.
It was my childhood desire to do the best for the development and growth of Sanghol, my birth place, finally, along with the Members of the Sanghol Panchayat, and eminent educationists, it culminated into the growth and development of an Education complex on the Chandigarh-Ludhiana highway, in the state of Punjab. The former President of India, a great visionary, scientist and teacher, Late Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who himself was committed to the rural development inaugurated the educational complex in 2005. Since then, I am committed to the education of rural youth. The Cordia Group of Educational Institutes has been a source of excellent education in Arts and Humanities, Computer Applications, Science (Medical and Non-Medical), Commerce and Business Management, Hotel and Tourism Management, Education and Skill Development programmes along with opportunities to provide international exposure to its students and faculty.
Committed to education of rural youth and rural transformation, the Cordia Group in its beautiful green and educationally conducive environs it is steadily progressing towards the realization of the ideals and vision of Late Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and my dream.
1966 I came to Belfast from England and started my first business, a small café near the city centre. By 1971 this business had grown to three restaurants.
1971 The restaurants had all fallen victim to the terrorism by December 1971. I then moved into clothing by setting up a small fashion boutique. The business grew to a series of shops and a wholesale operation. Paralelly I also invested in commercial and residential property.
1981 Subsequently I set up Andras House, as the vehicle for my business interests. The property developments included a series of retail units, restaurants and office blocks. These helped to kick-start what became known as the "Golden Mile" and helped in bringing life back into Belfast and leading to the regeneration of the entertainment heart of the city at a time when no-one would invest in the city centre because of the terrorism.
1990 I opened the 82-bedroom Plaza Hotel, the first hotel to open in Belfast for over 20 years. Further hotel developments followed including Renshaws Hotel in 1992 and in 1996 the Express by Holiday Inn with 118 bedrooms.
2001, I opened the 4-star Ramada Hotel with 120 bedrooms. Days Hotel opened in May 2003. This is the largest hotel in bedroom numbers (244) in Northern Ireland. He has completed five hotels, brought five international brands to Northern Ireland. Further sites were acquired in other cities including Londonderry.
2010 The first Ibis franchised hotels in Northern Ireland, Ibis Belfast and Ibis Queen’s Quarter, were opened by his company.
Andras House Ltd started one of Belfast’s most ambitious and visionary development projects. Lincoln Centre is the current £80 million project that will make a very special impact on the city life of Belfast.