Universities Of The Future With Pranab Mukherjee...

Shri Pranab Mukherjee, President of India today inaugurated an international conference themed as “Universities of the Future: Knowledge Innovations and Responsibility’’ at O. P.  Jindal Global University (JGU). The 3-day conference hosted by the university is being held from 18-20th of March 2017.

The conference which seeks to examine the future of Indian universities in the 21st century is being organized by the International Institute for Higher Education Research and Capacity Building (IIHEd), O. P. Jindal Global University. It recognizes that while individual scholars have reached global excellence, the Indian university, as an institution requires essential reforms to acquire the intellectual status and eminence.

The inaugural was a landmark event graced by a host of distinguished guests notably Professor Kaptan Singh Solanki, Governor of Haryana; Shri Rambilas Sharma, Minister of Education, Government of Haryana; Smt. Kavita Jain, Minister for Women and Child Development; Shri Ramesh Chander Kaushik, Member of Parliament, Sonepat and other eminent personalities.

Speaking on occasion, Shri Pranab Mukherjee said, “Knowledge mobilization through quality higher education is pivotal to the socio-economic development of a nation. Innovation and futuristic universities are the driving force behind this. There is an urgent need to improve the education system in terms of the quality of instruction, faculty, research and capacity building.”

The President lamented that no Indian university figures in the top 200 universities in the world. Transforming universities into centers of excellence is the key challenge policy-maker and academic leaders face. Educational institutions have to gear up to face the socio-economic challenge the country is facing in terms of job creation. The ‘demographic dividend’ in our country has to be tapped with the help of these educational institutions, which will have to be holistic, value-based, skill-intensive and technologically advanced. He stressed that the future of higher education lies in the increased use of IT through innovation and futuristic teaching.

The President said, “Quality, affordability, and accessibility are the three cornerstones of higher education which need to be understood in the Indian context. Our universities need to actively pursue linkages with the best universities in the world to ensure student mobility, collaborative research, and joint projects.” He also emphasized on the linkages between education and industry and said, “Innovation should be linked to the market.  Through collaborative work and international knowledge exchange, educational institutes can build a larger influence in the international education arena.’’

Speaking to an eminent gathering Shree Rambilas Sharma, Education Minister, Haryana said, “Knowledge, innovation, and responsibility have been Indian patents since ancient times. Knowledge is not only our past but is our future.”

Welcoming the first citizen of India to the JGU campus, Mr. Naveen Jindal, the Founding Chancellor, of the University said, “We are proud and honored to have the President of the country inaugurate this conference. It is a rare fortune for us at JGU to have him in our midst. He is at our campus for the second time today. His first visit was in March 2013 for the Conference on ‘The Future of Indian Universities,’ a moment vividly remembered as one of the most inspiring in the institution’s history”.

Talking of Universities of the Future, Naveen Jindal said, “In this context, three reform initiatives are imperative. First is to debate the option of a four-year undergraduate programme. Even as our universities churn out thousands of graduates every year, serious questions are often raised about their employability. The four-year undergraduate degree provides an opportunity to gain additional knowledge and skills and goes a long way in improving the quality of education. It gives flexibility through exit points at the end of 3rd year and 4th year, better combination of major and minor courses.

Secondly, he suggested, “The traditional models of classroom based learning are challenged by e-learning and massive open online courses (MOOCs). Social media is changing the way learning takes place. We must fully harness the technological potential for building a university of the future. His third suggestion was interdisciplinary and professional approaches to higher education.

Talking about the pertinent need of the conference, Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor, JGU said “The Indian higher education system is facing many challenges, as issues related to quality, quantity, accessibility, and equity are simultaneously being addressed.  While there has been an effort to address the challenge of expansion and provide opportunities to access higher education, a lot more needs to be done. O.P. Jindal Global University aims to overcome these challenges in a sustained manner to become a truly world-class institution.

This is a defining moment for the Indian Higher Education with the political leadership aligned with institutional aspirations. With substantive and sustained regulatory reforms, and significant funding made available to the Indian Higher Education sector, we can realistically hope that the next decade can have a few Indian Universities to become truly world class”.

The Conference is a culmination of a range of ideas and perspectives that aim to shape India's aspirations of building world-class universities through comparative and international dimensions. It is a recognition that the future of Indian universities and their ability to seek global excellence will depend on three critical paradigms, first, need for creating a vision for higher education that will focus on research and knowledge creation, institutional excellence and global benchmarking as the indicators for standard-setting; second, the need for pursuing substantial reforms relating to policy, regulation and governance of higher education; and third, is the need for investigating a paradigmatic shift for promoting interdisciplinary in higher education with a stronger and deeper focus on the pedagogy of teaching and learning in different fields of inquiry.

Through a series of perspectives from noted academics and scholars from around the world, the Conference will attempt to discuss these three strings of thought across various sessions, including sessions on research and innovation, regulation and policymaking, financing of universities, internationalisation of higher education and subject specific sessions on science and technology, medicine, law, management, social sciences and humanities, journalism, international affairs and public policy.

The goal is also to create higher education opportunities that will enable the future generations of students to pursue a world-class education in world-class universities in India.

Freedom For The Children, Their #WingsToDreams...

Wings To Dreams. 

Indeed. 

Each of our dreams possesses unseen wings. 

Wings which enable them to soar higher than the pinnacle in the clear blue, infinitive hues of blue. 

~~~ 

It is these dreams which enable me to visualize a better 'Me', progressing as the wheel of time does. 

 It is these wings which inspire me to pursue the goal to materialize such a visualization. 

~~~

Life comes a full circle. 

Indeed, it does. 

Take a look at this. 

That's me and my elder brother, aged 1.5 and 6, respectively.

We've come a long way from the days of the monochrome. We've come a long way from the days of yore. Each passing year has added a new facet to the myriad and the entirety of life and its ways. 

Our dreams have grown. 

They've grown in their being. 

They've blossomed from their cocoons and transformed into picturesque butterflies. 

We've learned to dream big. 

With the passage of time, we've also matured to learn how to pursue those big dreams. 

~~~

I feel that this too, constitutes a chunk of the famed 'Generation Gap'.

The way reality is seen paving way for dreams. 

The way dreams are seen paving way for reality. 

~~~

I am sure it seemed a dream for the girls to pursue the armed forces or for the boys to pursue nursing. 

Now, it is not so. 

We've broadened our horizon to cater to the ideology of 'To Each, His (Her) Own'.

~~~

Rightfully so. 

In the present scenario, girls and boys are no longer bound by molds of following the family's lineage of professionals. 

Now, we don't get to hear this, do we?

राहुल चौधरी साहब का बेटा है ना? 

वह तो बड़ा होकर दुकान ही संभालेगा! 

Or this?

हम सभी ने, हमारे दादा - परदादा ने भी देश की सेवा में अपनी ज़िन्दगी दी है! 

यह अमित क्या हमसे अलग है? 

इसके मुँह से 'वन्दे मातरम' का स्वर कितना सुरीला होगा ना? 

~~~

Thankfully we don't. 

Today, Rahul has his say - whether he wants to carry on with the family business or pursue his career as an independent professional. 

Today, Amit has his say - whether he would feel comfortable reporting to the nation or reporting to the recording studio as a musician. 

~~~

Today's parents are progressing on the path of getting to know their kids better. After all, what makes each child special is the uniqueness in their skills and abilities. 

The secret to a content individual lies latent, in catching them young. 

Instead of imposing the cliched माता - पिता के अधूरे सपने on the children,  believe in honing their skills in an area of their interest. 

For us as parents, we need to realize that no profession is weighted heavily or lightly. 

As a teacher since the past three decades AND as a parent since the last two decades, I can reassure you that no field of interest is to be looked up to or to be frowned at. 

~~~

Parents must search for and observe their child's ability as early as possible so that their initial steps into their respective temples of learning, their education provides the right propulsion to concentrate their focus in one direction. 

That one direction, which must hone itself to become their primary direction. 

As I've said, today's kids are breaking the mold. 

As much as they've broken it, to not follow conventional careers or be bound solely by their elders' prestige, they've also broken it to extend their reach to not just one but multiple fields of interest. 

~~~

The said field of interest could be one of these...

Who knows if your child may become a prolific writer or an illustrious painter? 

Who knows if your kid may unleash a passionate traveler? 

Who can guess if your toddler has an edge for finer arts like photography or filmmaking? 

Who can bet their odds if your youngster has an eye for styling individuals to look and feel their best? 

~~~

Or these...

Who knows if your child may become an adept academician, to pursue teaching or research?

Who knows if your kid may unleash an expressive actor? 

Who can guess if your toddler has an edge for culinary arts, as a chef or a food critic?

Who can bet their odds if your youngster has an eye for adventures like mountaineering or hot-air ballooning?

Not necessarily overlooking the believably reputable professions of medicine, engineering, government services, et alia.

~~~

Speaking of my daughter, who chose to pursue engineering as opposed to our familial genes churning out teachers since the past two generations, her scientific bent of mind was discovered early on. 

Not only geeky science, but also a penchant for quality music and articulate oratory skills, governed her developing years at school. 

She is now pursuing her graduation in Computer Science in one of the premier government institutions in the country while this entire trophy display spanning a good 20 medals and trophies adorns our home. 

Proficient in picking up tunes from her favorite instrument, the synthesizer, she also has many hues of gold credited to her oratory, quizzing, dramatization and musical skills. 

Have a look at the dramatist's and the musician's hats which she has donned in the past. 

The Final Countdown
At The Annual Function, 2004

The Framed Judgement And The Sentence

At The Annual Function, 2010

~~~

It is also very important for us as parents to provide the necessary push or an optimistic outlook for the kids to believe in themselves, for that 'Can Do' attitude. 

The least we can do as parents is to focus our attention on securing their myriad educational endeavors. 

This is what my husband and I had done. 

We ensured the security of our budding Young Scholar by relying on the pioneer in this field, Aviva India so that our child became Aviva's Young Scholar Secure! 

It was her focus, confidence, determination, and dedication, which have aided her in achieving her ambitions, to date and are going strong, by Lord's grace.  

She has had the passion for fuelling her dreams and the potential for fuelling her realization of those dreams, all at the same time. 

We had raised her to the pedestals she desired, to the best of our abilities, after deriving the best out of our experiences as full grown individuals, who have seen life and its ways better than her. 

Apart from all our efforts and her ambitious outlook towards her attempts, the credit is partly borne by Aviva and their meticulous Young Scholar Secure Scheme. 

According to Aviva and us, there are three key milestones, listed below, in a child's educational sojourn, two of which our daughter has successfully crossed. They are:

Tuition Fee Support (TFS), under which we received guaranteed annual payouts starting at the end of our Premium Paying Term and thereafter every year up to the year when our daughter turned 17.

College Admission Fund (CAF), under which we received a lump sum amount that could be utilized at the time of college admission, when she turned 18. 

Higher Education Reserve (HER), under which we are to receive another lump sum which can help provide for her post-graduation expenses, when she turns 21.

Even though we are financially sound and stable to support our child's needs, what we are not prepared for is what is unseen. What is unseen is what lies in the grip of time and destiny.

It is better to be safe than sorry.

Precaution is better than cure.

These age - old adages ring true as far as the well - being of each of our family members is concerned! :) 

~~~

This has been one of our better decisions as far as her secure future is concerned.

For, she is our Scholar...

Our Young Scholar...

Sprouting Into A Confident Scholar Secure...
Etching, Therefore, The Foundation To Insure!
Channeling That Effort In A Right Direction...
Unveiling A Complete Personality, In Sections!
Renewing  A Belief In The Finer Individuality...
Enabling Her #WingsToDreams, Trace Reality!

~~~

This post has been written as a part of the #WingsToDreams Blogger's Contest organized by Aviva India. 

P.S.: The graphics have been drawn by me. The images and the graphics are the blog's sole copyright. 

Professor Gaitonde's Tryst With History!

~~~

The Jijamata Express sped along the Pune - Bombay route, considerably faster than the Deccan Queen.

Lonavala arrived in 40 minutes, followed by Karjat and Kalyan...

Professor Gaitonde's mind had arrived at a substantial plan of action, already...

 Indeed, as a historian, he felt he should have thought of it sooner. 

He would go to a library & browse through the section cataloged 'History'. 

The most appropriate way of finding out how the present state of affairs came to be.

Upon his return, he resolved to interact with Rajendra Deshpande, who would surely help him understand what had happened.

That is, assuming that in this world there existed someone

called Rajendra Deshpande!

The small station, Sarhad, awaited, at the end of a long tunnel. 

An Anglo-Indian in uniform went on to check permits.

He noticed certain gentlemen conversing...

Khan Sahib and Professor Gangadharpant Gaitonde.

"This is where the British Raj begins. You are travelling for the first time, presumably?"

The voice at the other end replied in the positive, ignorantly inquiring about the time in the tow to reach Peshawar.

Khan Sahib patiently explained that it was a long journey, he'd embarked on - Bombay to Delhi, to Lahore and then Peshawar.

Khan Sahib passionately narrated his business and Gaitonde was a patient listener.

The train made its way through the suburban rail traffic...

And, 'GBMR' - Greater Bombay Metropolitan Railway, was a gentle reminder of British oppression.

The final destination, Victoria Terminus, arrived too soon...

~~~

As he emerged from the station, Professor found himself facing an imposing building. The letters on it proclaimed its identity to those who did not know this Bombay landmark:

EAST INDIA HOUSE HEADQUARTERS OF

THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.

Prepared as he was for many shocks, Professor Gaitonde had not expected this. The East India Company had been wound up shortly after the events of 1857 — at least, history stood testimony.

Yet, here it was, not only alive but flourishing!

So, history had taken a different turn, perhaps before 1857.

How?

When?

It weighed heavy on a historian's mind!

~~~

The Hornby Road, too, was sporting a different look.

The Handloom House was taken over by Boots and Woolworth, Llyod's, Barclay's and the likes of it.

Bombay had been presented as England, perhaps?

He made his way to the Forbes building, however.

Professor Gangadharpant Gaitonde requested to see a certain Mr. Vinay Gaitonde.

The English receptionist, however, shook her head in dismay and exclaimed that the Professor might have been mistaken and there was none there by that name, whom Professor wished to see!

This was a blow, not totally unexpected.
If he himself were dead in this world, what guarantee had he that his son would be alive? 
Indeed, he may not even have been born!

Professor, however, grabbed a quick lunch and made his way to the Town Hall.

~~~

Yes, to his relief, the Town Hall was there, and it did house the library.

He entered the reading room and asked for a list of history books including his own.
His five volumes duly arrived on his table. He started from the beginning.

Volume One took the history up to the period of Ashoka, Volume Two up to Samudragupta, Volume Three up to Mohammad Ghori and Volume Four up to the death of Aurangzeb.

Up to this period history was as he knew it.
The change evidentlyhad occurred in the last volume.

~~~

Reading Volume Five from both ends inwards, Gangadharpant finally converged on the precise moment where history had taken a different turn.

That page in the book described the Battle of Panipat, and it mentioned that the Marathas won it handsomely. 
Abdali was chased back to Kabul by the triumphant Maratha army led by Sadashivrao Bhau and his nephew, the young Vishwasrao.
 The account elaborated in detail its consequences for the power struggle in India.

 Gangadharpant read through the account avidly.

The style of writing was unmistakably his, yet he was reading the account for the first time!

~~~

Their victory in the battle was not only a great morale booster to the Marathas but it also established their supremacy in Northern India. The East India Company, which had been watching these developments from the sidelines, got the message, temporarily shelving its expansionist program.

For the Peshwas, the immediate result was an increase in the influence of Bhausaheb and Vishwasrao, who eventfully succeeded his father in 1780 A.D.

The trouble-maker, Dadasaheb, was relegated to the background and he eventually
retired from state politics.

~~~

As he read on, Gangadharpant began to appreciate the India he had seen. It was a country that had not been subjected to slavery for the white man; it had learnt to stand on its feet and knew what self-respect was. 

From a position of strength and for purely commercial reasons, it had allowed the British to retain Bombay as the sole outpost on the subcontinent.
That lease was to expire in the year 2001, according to a treaty of 1908.

~~~

Gangadhar could not believe how the face of India had changed in the blink of an eye!

How did the Marathas win the battle?
To find the answer he must look for accounts of the battle itself.
He went through the books and journals before him.
At last, among the books he found one that gave him the clue.
It was Bhausahebanchi Bakhar.

He found one in a three-line account of how close Vishwasrao had come to being killed...

... And then Vishwasrao guided his horse to the melee where the elite troops were fighting and he attacked them. 
And God was merciful. 
A shot brushed past his ear. 
Even the difference of a til (sesame) would have led to his death.

~~~

The librarian intervened at that very moment!
The library had to close for the day...

She requested him to leave, politely answering his query for the opening time, the next day.

Before leaving, however, he gathered his notes and absent-minded, shoved the Bakhar also into his right pocket.

~~~

The historian, after his meal for the night, ventured into the Azad Maidaan for a stroll.

In the Maidaan he found a throng moving towards a Pandaal.

So, a lecture was to take place.
Force of habit took Professor Gaitonde towards the Pandaal.
The lecture was in progress, although people kept coming and going.

But Professor Gaitonde was not looking at the audience.
 He was staring at the platform.
The presidential chair was unoccupied!
The sight stirred him to the depths.
Like a piece of iron attracted to a magnet, he swiftly moved towards the chair.


The speaker stopped in mid-sentence, too shocked to continue. But the audience soon found voice.
“Vacate the chair!”
“This lecture series has no chairperson...”
“Away from the platform, mister!”
“The chair is symbolic, don’t you know?”

What nonsense! Whoever heard of a public lecture without a presiding dignitary? Professor Gaitonde went to the mic and gave vent to his views.

“Ladies and gentlemen, an unchaired lecture is like Shakespeare’s Hamlet without the Prince of
Denmark.
Let me tell you...”

But the audience was in no mood to listen. “Tell us nothing.
We are sick of remarks from the chair, of vote of thanks, of long introductions.”

He soon became a target for a shower of tomatoes, eggs and other objects. 

But he kept on trying valiantly to correct this sacrilege. 

Finally, the audience swarmed to the stage to eject him bodily.

And, in the crowd Gangadharpant was nowhere to be seen.

~~~

“That is all I have to tell, Rajendra. 

All I know is that I was found in the Azad Maidaan in the morning. 

But I was back in the world I am familiar with. 

Now, where exactly did I spend those two days when I was absent from here?”

Rajendra was dumbfounded by the narrative. It took him a while to reply.

“Professor, before, just prior to your collision with the truck,

what were you doing?” Rajendra asked.

“I was thinking of the catastrophe theory and its implications for history.”

“Right! I thought so!” Rajendra smiled.

 Professor Gaitonde produced his vital piece of evidence: a page torn out of a book.

Rajendra read the text on the printed page and his face underwent a change. 

Gone was the smile and in its place came a grave expression. 

He was visibly moved.

Gangadharpant pressed home his advantage. 

“I had inadvertently slipped the Bakhar in my pocket as I left the library.

I discovered my error when I was paying for my meal. I had intended to return it the next morning. 

But it seems that in the melee of Azad Maidaan, the book was lost; only this torn-off page remained. 

And, luckily for me, the page contains vital evidence.”

Rajendra again read the page. 

It described how Vishwasrao narrowly missed the bullet; and how that event, taken as an omen by the Maratha army, turned the tide in their favour.

“Now look at this.”, Gangadharpant produced his own copy of Bhausahebanchi Bakhar, opened at the relevant page. 

The account ran thus:

... And then Vishwasrao guided his horse to the melee where the elite troops were fighting, and he attacked them.

And God expressed His displeasure. 

He was hit by the bullet.

“Professor Gaitonde, you have given me food for thought. Until I saw this material evidence, I had simply put your experience down to fantasy. 

But facts can be stranger than fantasies, as I am beginning to realise.”

“Facts? What are the facts? I am dying to know!”, Professor

Gaitonde said.

~~~

As it turns out, 

When Professor was hit by a truck, he'd been thinking of the possibilities of India's fate if the Marathas had won the Third Battle Of Panipat.

With the collision, something in his brain got mislaid, some neurons got misplaced and he got into a different India.

No Congress.

No Gandhiji.

Flourishing East India.

NO Independence!

~~~

This post has been written as a part of the IndiSpire initiative launched by IndiBlogger. This post is an adaptation from Jayant Narlikar's Science-Fiction, 'The Adventure'.

~~~

A Blurred Horizon...

Today, I got an SMS --- "Save years -- Do direct graduation/PG this year, 10th, 12th, B.Ed, JBT, LLB, MBA, B.Tech, Diploma and other courses.

--- #!@% Group --- Contact No. ####......"

     Although not new, but still I was shocked to read this. How can we deal with our young generation in this manner? 

       Firstly, why do we have such students who don't take interest in studies and reach this stage where they fail again and again and look for shortcut methods to advance in life?

      Secondly, is this the path which can take our generation towards a productive and stable future?

       Thirdly, who are these people who are spoiling the generation just for their monetary gain? 

        Is there no authority to check on them?

         How are they operating so openly?

       Ideally Govt. Of India must take steps to check this and other such fraudulent businesses and rackets of fake degrees so that we can put our young generation on the right path.

But Again...

God Save Us...