Emboldened by the overwhelming positive response of the community and the students, the management perceived a need to develop into a University, where autonomy and self reliance would place the institutions on the global map and would internally motivate them to higher levels of excellence. The IAE sponsored the formation of a new trust, the Yenepoya University, which after due process of inspection by the University Grants Commission (UGC), was recognized by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India on 27 February 2008, vide their notification No. F.9-11/2007-U.3(A). The Yenepoya University is the first private University in the District of Dakshin Kannada (South Canara).