Dual degrees will benefit students & create more jobs: N Dhaliwal

What is your opinion on borderless campuses as the future of Indian higher education system?

Today education is limitless as well as borderless. One may now access the top instructors and learning materials from anywhere in the world, even if you are in a distant part of the country. With digitization education has become easy and much affordable. Higher education institutions are redesigning their buildings from the ground up to fit the demands of this new era as the fundamental way that education is consumed has changed.

In this, classes are no longer restricted to the traditional classroom and learning strategies are modified to produce flexible and student-centred models of learning. Borderless campuses are a reality and have redefined the Indian education system holistically.

Will the dual degree benefit students?

In the new education policy, UGC has granted permission to pursue Dual degrees simultaneously. Students who choose to pursue a double degree can do so in two distinct fields or in the same field of specialization. It is a great step taken by UGC that will definitely benefit students because it will create more job opportunities. At the same time will help students to gain knowledge about different subjects within a short span. It will also expose students to fields they want to pursue their career in. It will help them to locate their interests.

How can we inculcate more research-based approaches in students?

Research is extremely important when it comes to academics. The universities should focus more on research, and the professors who earn good incomes not for their teaching skills but for their research activities are in charge of instilling in the students a research- oriented mindset. It does not take a lot of time or money to improve research culture among students.

Research can be inculcated through facilitating open discussions and giving students a chance to discuss and share their experiences. Universities must organize seminars, workshops and conferences that will help students to understand the importance of research, also providing them a research environment where they can perform research activities.

How can higher education make India a centre for international students to study?

Indian education is one of the largest in the world with over 35 million students. Indian education has come a long way; it has made a great impression on global platform. With the result higher education can make India a centre for international students by providing them low cost and quality education.

Moreover, it can attract international students by providing them global immersion programs, tension free visa and registration procedures, scholarships that will fund their education and stay at India. At the same time Indian universities should offer programs (that are completely novel) that will help to attract international students and should internationalize their curriculum as well.

How will institutions schedule courses to avoid time clashes in dual degrees?

The criteria for pursuing two academic programmes concurrently have been made available by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Most important question is how to avoid time clashes if students will attend two degrees simultaneously. The answer has been given that students can attend two institutes to get two degrees at the same time by pursuing up to two ODL/online academic programmes at once, one in full-time physical mode and the other in open and distance learning (ODL)/online mode.

Students will have the option to choose two distinct degrees as part of this programme in any form, such as full-time physical mode, online mode, or distance education mode. This policy on dual degrees will also apply to diploma programmes as well as traditional and online degrees.