Patna, Feb 8: Former President APJ Abdul Kalam today set in motion the plan of action for setting up of the Nalanda International University, modelled on the lines of the famed ancient seat of Buddhist learning.

Addressing the first meeting of the university's governing body at Rajgir, about 100 km from here, Kalam said: "We will make it a world class university, so that great research will be done here."

He expressed hope that the university would regain its past glory.

Nalanda was a renowned university in days of yore. Students and scholars from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey, besides India, attended the Nalanda University, which existed until 1197.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who accompanied Kalam, had to face the ire of farmers, who claimed that they had not received adequate compensation for the land acquired to house the university building.

However, Kumar said that he was ready to face any challenge to the upcoming project.

"We want support from everyone. Some opposition is obvious when something big is coming. And we are ready to face all the obstacles," said Kumar.

Kalam was appointed the first visitor of the proposed Nalanda International University. The visitor will play a key role in the constitution of the university's supreme body -- the governing body.

The idea of the university was first mooted in the late 1990s, but it was given shape by Kalam in 2006. (ANI)