Editorial 2: Giving shape to the university of the future

Context

Building a higher education system in India as per the National Education Policy 2020 will require a carefully planned and well-structured approach.

Introduction

The National Education Policy aims to move away from a siloed system by setting up large multidisciplinary institutions. It focuses on cross-disciplinary learning, better teaching methods, and more interdisciplinary research.

How to transform India’s higher education and research system:

• Move from just having multidisciplinary campuses to:
  • Cross-disciplinary teaching and research
  • Interdisciplinary thinking
  • Research based on combined knowledge from different fields

Types of Approaches

• Multidisciplinary:
  • Many subjects exist side by side
  • No real interaction between them
  • Each uses its own methods and stays in its own space
• Cross-disciplinary:
  • Encourages collaboration between subjects
  • Builds connections and dialogue
  • Example: An educationist and an economist writing together
• Interdisciplinary:
  • Blends ideas and methods from different fields
  • Solves complex real-world problems
  • Creates new knowledge across boundaries

How to Phase Out Single-Stream Colleges and Build Multidisciplinary Campuses

There are two main ways to shift from single-discipline institutions to multidisciplinary campuses:

1. Add Departments Within Existing Institutions

• Example: IITs are adding humanities and social sciences to their core technical focus.
• They are offering integrated master's programmes in economics and related subjects.

2. Create University Clusters

• Combine nearby single-stream colleges (e.g., commerce + science + arts).
• These form a cluster university through collaboration.
• Needs administrative coordination, not just academic teamwork.
• It’s a cost-effective and time-saving method in the short term.

3. Challenges to Clustering

4. Future Steps

• India aims to have at least one multidisciplinary university per district by 2030.
• It’s better to build one strong campus in a district, rather than many small branches.
• Research shows: Public universities are good at teaching.
  • But when they manage multiple campuses, research quality drops.

Vision for the University of the Future

• What It Should Not Be: A simple collection of independent departments.
• What It Should Be: An academic space that promotes:
  • Collaboration across disciplines.
    • Openness to diverse viewpoints.
    • Faculty experienced in interdisciplinary work.

Steps to Build a Cross-Disciplinary Culture

1. Start with Students:

• Encourage students to take courses outside their core discipline.
• Provide exposure to multiple academic perspectives early in their education.

2. Enable Collaborative Work:

• Support joint research and projects across departments.
• Encourage faculty and students to apply their specific expertise in collaborative settings.

3. Create Cross-Disciplinary Courses:

• Example course:

Institutional Support and Sustainability

• Facilitation of cross-disciplinary:
  • Courses
  • Projects
  • Research centres
• Funding Needs: Sustained and dedicated funding is essential to support and grow interdisciplinary initiatives over time.

International Example

• Depth in a major field
• Breadth across disciplines
• Skills to work in interdisciplinary settings.

On inter-disciplinary thought

• Cross-disciplinary learning: Involves collaboration across distinct academic fields.
• Interdisciplinary research: Requires deeper integration, drawing connections to build unified frameworks.
• IGERT experience (positive): Integration was successfully achieved in combinations like biotechnology, medicine, chemistry, and biology.
• IGERT experience (challenges): Fields like engineering and architecture faced issues with publishing, academic placement, and disciplinary recognition.
• Core problem: Existing academic systems often do not accommodate integrated work, pushing interdisciplinary efforts back into conventional molds.
• Required reforms: Overhaul funding systems, reshape publication platforms, and redesign faculty hiring and promotion practices to support and sustain interdisciplinary research.

Conclusion

The changes ahead will be very costly and will take many years to complete. To manage this, the government will need to rethink how it spends public money. At the same time, any changes in rules and governance must be carefully planned. India is aiming to build a higher education system similar to the peak of the American model, which developed naturally over a century in a very open and competitive environment.