Ananya Mukherjee The second vice-chancellor of the university takes over from Roopmanjari Ghosh. Prior to joining, Mukherjee served as Provost and Vice President Academics at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Okanagan Canada, and Professor in the Departments of Economics, Philosophy and Political Science. talking to
Education TimesMukherjee, who holds a doctorate degree in political economy and public policy from the University of Southern California, United States, focuses on her mission for the future, and encourages Indian higher education institutions to think about global standards in a more holistic way. Why is it needed?
What is your outlook for the University in light of the recent IoE situation?
Over the past 10 years, the university has grown into a multidisciplinary, research-focused university. Its next decade begins with its recognition as an Institution of Eminence (IoE) that will enable us to scale new heights but also provide us with some serious responsibilities. It is an opportunity for our students to learn multidisciplinary, bring international students to India, promote research and develop autonomous governance structures. IoE also needs to benchmark itself to leading institutions which will ensure that we remain humble and at the same time move ahead with academic aspirations. All of these are already contained in the university – I have to enable them even more.
The pandemic has underscored the importance of online and hybrid learning, but it has also caused huge learning losses. How should Indian higher education institutions face the challenges?
The pandemic has taught us two things. First, human interaction is essential for learning as it cannot be completely replaced by technology. While technology is an essential tool that enables us to transcend borders, it is still constrained by social inequalities, especially the digital divide. Therefore, HEI needs to address both these aspects – developing best practices for technology-enabled learning and research; And also find a solution to the digital divide. This is not the work of one or two institutions, but will require everyone to come together and develop a national strategy that can be implemented at the local level.
With research gaining momentum at the undergraduate and master’s level under NEP 2020, do you think Indian HEIs are increasingly aligning with global standards?
Efforts are definitely on in India to achieve global standards. An example of this is the growing interest in participating in the global ranking framework. While this is one method, ranking frameworks are often more quantitative in nature. There is a need to give more thought to the qualitative and innovative aspects of research taking place in leading global institutions and to think about global standards in a more holistic manner. For example, providing students with the opportunity for independent research as part of their undergraduate degrees has far-reaching consequences for society. In India, and more generally in developing countries, we need to think about how to provide research opportunities to every graduate student. Research universities need to catalyze those possibilities – and set a standard for transformational research with lasting human impact.
With the massive reforms in the Indian education sector, do you think ‘Stay in India’ will become increasingly popular among meritorious students?
This may take some time. But we should try to make the choice more difficult for our students who choose to study abroad. As higher education institutions in India continue on their path of excellence, students will have more options of quality higher education institutions at home. Then it will become a question of mixing different experiences from home and abroad, but not being forced to leave due to lack of options.
What is your opinion on the implementation of Common Entrance Test to bring the students of all the Boards on the same level? Should private universities follow suit?
There is a rich global debate on entrance examinations. Some of the world’s top institutions have shied away from using tests like the SAT, especially due to concerns about how they affect students from disadvantaged communities. I hope that in India we can take stock of global debates and prepare the best assessment for university candidates.
,