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Overview
Delivering High Quality Education is the Priority for Indian Universities Now
Date: July 2012
Posted By: AUSIB EduNext Rising expectations from students pursuing higher education in India and a willingness among parents to pay more for good quality education is revolutionizing the world of Indian universities and institutes of higher learning. Responding to these higher expectations from students and their parents, many universities in India are investing heavily on multiple fronts and have drawn up ambitious plans to scale up on infrastructure and the quality of education imparted. In the process, the universities are also preparing for a resurgent India of the future driven by higher economic growth of an estimated 8% to 9% and a demand for good quality education in specialized streams. The front-ranking universities across the country, especially those that are self-financed are taking decisive steps to create 21st century campuses and infrastructure that will easily qualify for global standards. Thus it is not surprising at all that the 300-acre campus of the Symbiosis International University at Lavle, Pune or that of the Foundation for Liberal and Management Education (FLAME) in the same part of the city, resemble the well laid-out and well-designed campuses that one is used to seeing in the best universities in the United States. This is the story across India in prominent cities such as Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad, to name a few. Apart from high class infrastructure, a large number of universities and schools of higher learning are investing heavily in good faculty. A third approach adopted to re-invent themselves is to enter into partnerships and collaborations with universities abroad, especially those in the United States. For Indians across generations, the United States has traditionally been a dream destination for pursuing higher education and the Ivy League American universities such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Columbia, recognized as the citadels of learning. Many Indian students have traditionally studied at these and other institutes across the United States. Now, however, there is a rising demand for educational tie-ups with American universities in India and this drive is being supported by both, the Indian and US governments through the Obama-Singh 21st Century Knowledge Initiative. With its strong background in fructifying business tie-ups between firms in India and the United States and a well-established network in the two countries, AUSIB EduNext- the educational wing of AUSIB (The Alliance for US – India Business) has been playing a key role in helping universities in India and the US enter into fruitful partnerships. These partnerships emerge out of participation in the delegations planned by AUSIB EduNext to university campuses in India and the United States. AUSIB EduNext has helped universities explore inter-university faculty and student exchange programs, joint degree or twinning programs and numerous other innovative options for collaborations between like-minded universities in the two countries. (For more details see AUSIB.org). An extremely supportive environment is being created by the Indian government to encourage such tie-ups in the interest of improving the quality of higher education in India. Georgia Tech Institute of Technology, Virginia Tech, Harvard, Virginia Commonwealth University, The University of Texas at Austin, University of Massachusetts Amherst and The University of North Dakota are among the numerous institutions that have taken a lead in exploring a variety of collaborations in the form of faculty and student exchange, collaborative research initiatives, offshore campuses and joint programs in education. Many leaders in education in the United States feel that making an early start in understanding the educational environment and culture in India would help them identify the precise opportunities for collaborations. The full-fledged assistance provided by AUSIB EduNext towards this end has helped immensely in this process and has been highly appreciated by top level educationists in the US and India.
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