Reimagining higher education through the ‘PHYGITAL’ mode of learning: Enhancing student employability
It was almost unimaginable until recently that practical training for skill-based vocational courses could be given so efficiently online! The desire to utilize digital technology in combination with traditional training techniques has enabled us re-imagine skilling in higher education in many new ways, thanks to the push from COVID-19. “Not only did the pandemic force us to reconsider how we delivered skill training; the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 also asks for speeding up skill-based training through “Blended learning” or in a “Phygital mode.” In simple terms, phygital learning is the combination of physical and digital learning environments or platforms. Learning in a phygital paradigm aids in the development of domain skills as well as the development of digital abilities. As a result, a phygital model that includes workplace experience, vocational competence, and crucial employability skills has a favourable impact on the learners’ professional career preparedness,” said Chandan Anand, Founder, CEO & Group Editor of ArdorComm Media Group while moderating the panel session at ArdorComm- Higher Education and EdTech Conclave & Awards 2022, Pune on 6th May 2022. In what ways phygital education helps in making teaching learning easier and stay motivated? To propel discussion on this, the eminent higher education leaders and industry experts emphasized on the same. Sanjay Padode, Founding President and Chancellor, Vijaybhoomi University; Chairman, JAGSOM said, it is important for us to understand that there are three aspects in this context. First is physical, second is digital and the third is employability. We are trying to figure out how the phygital world is actually going to impact employability. So, let’s look at the physical world and the digital world, they have been existing for the last 20 years, its just that during COVID 19 it has impacted us and digital has emerged because that was the only option over the last two years, so digital just emerged off. Fortunately, it is good to know that earlier we were completely physical so it’s completely polarized and in the last two years it has been completely digital. The phygital is going to happen now, where we have understood the limitations of digital right now and we know the powers of physical. So, there’s a big debate going around amongst all the educators. I know a lot of faculties who are very comfortable in class, and talk with people. Many students are not coming to the classes, these are some of the sub-challenge of the phygital world. What’s really happening is that its not really about physical teaching or digital teaching, it’s a broader impact. It is the impact on the physical and digital all over. For example, let’s say I’m in Harvard in the physical time and I have a five-year experience, and gave up a cozy job, obviously if I’ve got into Harvard I must be a top performing student, so I must be having a cozy job, I give that up to go into a two-year program so I’m losing some money and I’m shelling out a huge amount of 100-200 thousand dollars from my pocket to go through the program. Now I go to Harvard, lockdown happens, one month I’m learning from home and then I realize ok now that I’m learning from home why don’t I go back to my job guy and tell can I work from home. So, the job guy says that’s good you start working, so I start working, and at some point, of time I realize this arrangement is working well. And then COVID disappears and Harvard says please come back to classroom, students say why the hell did I lose my job. Now that I have tested the fact that I can learn from home and work from home, why the hell should I give it away. See the mixing of physical and digital is happening in the student’s mind. Now how do we leverage learning, we take cognizance of the fact that this possibility exist, now here is an opportunity where we have a learner who is in the work place. So, I don’t have to arrange for internships, how we can bring that in a class and merge is going to determine how you are going to enhance employability. We have to understand how we can leverage both of these facets to do that. Prof. (Dr.) G.K.Shirude, Vice-Chancellor, Sri Balaji University, Pune said, afterall learning never ends, never stops. Even pandemic has not, rather given us a different opportunity and opened up the creative eyes of the society as well as the digital platform. Phygital from decades together have no issues, we are accustomed with that habituated with that and therefore vigilance up to some extent. But the credit goes to the pandemic because it has given a big push as far as the transformation process is concerned. Whenever I say digitalization is concerned I will always prefer that unless the youngsters, our learners, they are not habituated by using these tools they are not going to be accepted in the industry. So, whenever we talk about employment and phygital, now there is no question as far as physical or digital. Physical is going on society has accepted it, and students have accepted it. Again, there are two things, I’m talking about ‘India’ and not talking about ‘Bharat’, where the infrastructure is quite well and particularly Digi-education is always focused, target oriented and employment is the target. What is the outcome that is expected from the students? It is where they are going to be placed. So now there are three questions whenever we talk about the phygital and employment. What are the expectations of the students from us now? What are the expectations of the parents from us? And what are the expectations of the industries from the institutes and universities? If we have these three questions in our mind, particularly whether the universities or whether the PG programs or standalone institutes are concerned. The question is very simple K+S which creates the …