Form of words:
FOr for the past 15 years, I’ve been constantly monitoring Google’s annual revenue figures as well as a bunch of India’s top IT services companies. They tell us a compelling story of the power of knowledge in the economic progress of a nation. Can India’s Universities Help Its Economy?
For example, I have seen that Google as well as IT firms in India have been very profitable all these years. However, even a cursory glance at the revenue figures of these firms tells us a darker story. Google is generating far more revenue than every IT firm in India and the gap is widening year after year. in the latest set of statistics Google’s that I accessed Annual revenue has crossed $181 billion while India’s largest IT firm has barely crossed $22 billion. In fact, the combined annual revenue of the top three Indian IT firms lags far behind that of Google.
Here is another stark contrast. Google as of now has about 1,39,000 employees while India’s largest IT company employs more than three times that number. The search for the reasons behind this difference is not far off. Google runs on a single math-based idea with good logic and coding, all from Stanford University. A well in 2013-research survey The U.S. estimated the total economic value of the geographic area around Stanford, which owed its economic activity to the university, at $3 trillion. As far as we can tell, India’s IT firms do not seem to be tied to any knowledge-based idea or university system. The Stanford story is just as true as that of MIT or Caltech. Lest we also make the assumption that only high-end Ivy League institutions have stories we need to rethink.
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economy-supporting knowledge system
The University of Illinois System Contributed economic activity More than $17 billion last year, and the University of Houston has significantly impacted the economy of the city of Houston. In recent years, it has provided a plethora of research-based solutions to the real world and in 2020, it has impacted Economy Over $6 billion in the city of Houston. We should note that it is a state university, unlike Ivy League institutions, and it meets many of the obligations mandated by the state of Texas that private US universities do not have to worry about.
This story of the direct and powerful economic impact of university systems is repeated in many other countries. For example, take the United Kingdom. The fastest growing economic area in the whole of the UK is around the city of Cambridge, where the renowned university is located. The highly acclaimed AI-powered personal assistant known as Siri – developed by Apple – has a lot to offer Cambridge University. Similarly, one of the most profitable drugs in recent times- Anti Rheumatoid humiraThe credit of its existence goes to the ideas of Cambridge University.
What I am trying to say is that knowledge systems play a vital role in empowering the economy of a nation on a long-term and sustainable basis. This role of knowledge systems is not a modern or latest phenomenon. In ancient times, Indian maritime trade was greatly enhanced by the use of highly precise navigational ideas that were based on tools such as trigonometric tables and instruments. rapalgai. This helped Indian ships to cross the high seas with precision.
In fact, it is now well accepted that the sea route from India to Africa was known to Indians from centuries before the time of Vasco da Gama. His own visit to India was entirely due to the services of an Indian Sailor called Kanha which he raised and used in Africa rapalgai. Vasco da Gama records the use of this instrument by the Indians. India’s knowledge systems had also proven the manufacture of the highest quality steel known as Wootz Steel. This steel was in great demand in Rome and elsewhere because of the high quality of the swords made from it. India earned a lot of wealth from its exports largely by sea. Ancient Roman historian, Pliny wrote very badly Roman Sleep India was suffering due to import of steel and spices. The important point that needs to be underlined is that knowledge systems have helped drive continued economic prosperity and growth, whenever and wherever they have been used for real-world applications.
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what worked for india
It is in this context that I would like to point out the inadequacy of the current knowledge landscape in India. Indian university systems are far from the real world needs and challenges. Education along with their curriculum and especially education fails to inspire or motivate our youth. A great deal of effort and energy of the undergraduate system is wasted in cramming large numbers of students through blackboard driven teaching. Even in areas where much depends on learning by experiment, there are no challenges or surprises for the learner.
However, India now has a chance to revise and harness the knowledge system for economic development in real time. I make this claim on the strength and learning gained from the far-reaching results of the experiments carried out in the field of education at the University of Delhi during the year 2010-15. As is now well known and accepted, the features of the four-year undergraduate program – known as FYUP – are now the backbone of the much-lauded National Policy on Education (NEP). The NEP has paved the way for our universities and colleges to blend knowledge and learning with the challenges and needs of society and our nation. In other words, NEP puts knowledge into action. For example, at the time when we at Delhi University formulated and implemented the ideas and features of FYUP, a lot of knowledge based entrepreneurial activity was generated by undergraduates. The trick that helped us succeed was to give academic credit to entrepreneurial ideas and activities and to provide a support system to carry out their practical aspects. This not only called for a reorientation of the curriculum; Much effort was put into making the faculty think beyond the blackboard. This is best exemplified by the data- and math-based startup that three second-year graduates founded in 2013 and now has multimillion-dollar funding in the US. At the time of writing, there are startups worth several million dollars by students that are growing, and were created during the FYUP era. Alas, they are largely orphaned institutionally, but have survived the miseries of FYUP’s repeal.
The last thing I want to say is that there is a tendency among policy makers and political establishment to view education policies as not economically beneficial in real time. Our experiences at Delhi University tell a completely different and useful story. I firmly believe that if the ideas of NEP are implemented in a proper and time bound manner, India has a chance to grow economically in the next five years.
The author is former Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi, Distinguished Professor, SGT University, Gurugram and Assistant Professor of Mathematics, University of Houston. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Neera Mazumdar)
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