Prof. Buta Singh Sidhu, Vice Chancellor, Shobhit University, Gangoh shares insights on reshaping higher education beyond degrees through skills, innovation and lifelong learning

Q: What is your takeaway from today’s event, sir? What has been the learning from today’s interaction with so many people?

A: Okay, good. Very nice question because if I can say, this is a very fruitful session you had over here from the early morning.

So, automatically, everything connected with how we can reshape our education in the time to come, including what students have to learn in their regular degrees and what they are supposed to learn beyond that, even including the role of institutions, how they groom the graduates, what they are supposed to give to the graduating students for their lifelong learning.

So, really, I enjoyed and learned many things.

Q: You talked on the topic “Reshaping Higher Education Beyond Degrees.” So, what are your viewpoints, your bullet points about it, and how is your university doing in this period?

A: That is again a very wonderful session. Even for the preparation of a session, I have learned many things. But otherwise, it is really a practical concept that we have discussed for education.

The normal degrees which we are already giving, but the discussions are held accordingly on what new, what type of additional skills are to be given to the students, so that when they go to the market, when they do their job after graduation, then how they sustain in the world up to their lifelong circle.

Many things are discussed like that because the present scenario is we have to give them not only the knowledge, rather we have to apply that knowledge.

Along with that, we have to teach them innovations. We have to teach them about working in multinational companies. So, ultimately, it matured like that: your institution, your university will be like that, that will provide a platform to the students not only to learn, but along with that to promote innovations as well as to promote the work culture over there, what they are supposed to do after.

Q: So, any skilling initiative or any innovation in the field of regular courses which is happening in the university?

A: Yeah, that is very relevant because it much relates to our education policy. We are also adopting it because we have recently prepared for all of that.

When our policy says multi-entry, multi-exit system, number one, so if you actually implement that, then according to that, simply you can say after first year students will go, again come back. That is not perfect.

So, automatically, what we are planning is that, whatever the requirements are, along with whatever regular studies they are doing every year, you have to provide some extra skill.

Because if they want to leave after first year, then some of the skills they might have to acquire on which they may start some small business, they may opt for a small job.

So, we are aligning our degrees with skilling by giving some credits in the first year, some in the second year, and ultimately these are beneficial to the other students who are retained over there for all the four years.

So, that is so much aligned there. After their graduation, they will be given a minor degree along with them.

So, these credits turn out to be a minor degree, maybe Artificial Intelligence, maybe data learning, maybe something else.

Q: I’m also very pleased to share that this is the fifth year of ArdorComm Media as a media venture. We launched five years ago, and any message as an anniversary message would you like to give to ArdorComm Media?

A: I’m really thankful for providing me this opportunity today to interact with many of the great experts, even providing the opportunity to be a panelist on this very wonderful topic.

So, I think really you’re performing very wonderfully because I have joined this for the first time, but really, when you’re discussing all the things, even many things, as being a very experienced personality, still you don’t know what has to be provided.

So, when all will share on a common platform, many new things will come. Someone will have a different type of innovation, another will have a different type of innovation.

So, I think, first of all, I really congratulate and appreciate you for making a great galaxy of experts to share their expertise, to share their innovations that I can say prevail to all the institutions also.