Priority Unlocks

What Institutions and Industry could do now

Student Centricity

• Develop multidisciplinary courses to make students ‘industry ready’.
  
• Industry must move beyond premier HEI’s and look at engaging with other institutions.
  
• Inculcate concepts of vocational education within the curriculum of academic degrees.
  
• Develop a socially conscious alumni network and ensure socio economically disadvantaged group students move up the ladder.
  
• Establishment of satellite centers and technology development centers within universities.
  
• Tie up with education finance NBFCs to provide financial assistance to students.
  
• HEIs can use CSR and government funds to build capacity.

Research and Innovation

• Collaborate with industries and research organizations to impart knowledge on technological advancements and research.
  
• Bridge the gap between academic curriculum and industry need.
  
• Develop research intensive academic programs.
  
• Liaise with Indian research HEIs for business problems, helping industries and incubators gain specialist knowledge.
  
• Have a dedicated “outreach resource” which engages with industries to understand their R&D needs & explore possible ways to collaborate.
  
• Top 100 HEIs, collaborating with industry needs for research support and collaboration with incubators on campus.

Faculty development

• SOP for recruitment of faculties; faculty evaluation framework & dedicated annual budget for faculty professional development.
  
• Develop low-cost training modules that are flexible and available in different modalities.
  
• Promote autonomy to teachers to choose the pedagogy that is most effective for their students.
  
• Provide low-cost tech enabled solutions that reduce the administrative burden of faculties.
  
• Launch a faculty rotation program within and outside the country to help teachers explore and develop new teaching styles and pedagogies.
  
• Faculty training workshops by industry experts to enable faculties to understand and teach job ready skills to students.

International Mobility

• Increase access of exchange programs beyond select HEIs.
  
• Initiate investment in areas with scope for setting up of IBCs (e.g. GIFT City) on an international scale.
  
• Facilitate university partnerships with research collaboration, studen.t exchange programs with the Top 200 HEIs of the world.
  
• Develop and provide affordable student housing solutions to facilitate the envisioned student intake ramp up.
  
• Set up 30 40 IBCs of leading Indian institutes abroad.
  
• Set up supporting social infrastructure i.e. hostels, eateries, etc. in the upcoming education cities.

Digital Learning

• Develop institute wide SOPs for deploying digital tools; ensure HEI leadership, faculty and students buy in on the use of digital interventions.
  
• Ed tech players should build low cost and mass implementable tech tools that can be deployed within the academic & non activities of HEIs
  
• Inculcate basic modules on coding, AI/ML, design thinking etc. within curricula across all disciplines.
  
• Collaborate with private ed tech companies to integrate and develop new technological capabilities and learning methods.
  
• Set up high end in campus tech-based facilities such as AR/VR labs, 3D printing labs, research facilities with high end computing facilities etc.
  
• Ed tech players can aim to develop a “one stop shop” student financing portal where easy financing and scholarships are readily available.

How policymakers could help

Student Centricity

• Build an ecosystem of flexible credit-based curriculum across the HEI landscape.
  
• Allow students the flexibility to undertake MOOCs on ed-tech platforms, credits for which should be recognized by HEIs.
  
• Aim to create at least 5-10 safe and thriving student cities for students.

Research and Innovation

• Promote & fund research-focused HEI’s to increase spend on R&D (a proportion of GDP) to reach 1.5-2%; invest in faculty development program.
  
• Develop state-of-the-art physical & digital infrastructure for research facilities.
  
• Ensure that policies for improving research output in the country not only focuses on quantity, but quality as well.

Faculty Development

• Allocate adequate funds and resources to ensure acquisition and retention of talented and qualified personnel in the teaching profession.
  
• Develop clear policies of permissible student teacher ratios for HEIs with an aim to bring it to ~20:1.
  
• Develop short and focused teaching education programs.
  
• Develop and extend the chain of NITTTR (National institute of technical teachers’ training and research).

International Mobility

• Focus on developing research capabilities and improving perception of Indian HEI’s to place 30-40 Indian HEIs in global top 200 rankings.
  
• Attract universities from the “Top 200 category” that offer relevant programs for advancing the needs of the country.
  
• Set liberal frameworks and investor friendly regulations to attract IBCs in India.
  
• Rebrand the Indian higher education as a “Modern Higher Education Destination with Strong Heritage”.

Digital Learning

• Allocate US$ 1.5 billion funding to develop digital infrastructure within central and state government run HEIs.
  
• Partner with various ed-tech players to develop a national level content library that will include high quality e-courses for all discipline.
  
• Democratize quality private higher education.
  
• Develop a fully digital university with high quality faculty to provide academia as well as vocational degree programs.