'NEP in a young nation like India is a revolution'

What is the role of education in nation building?

My childhood was spent reading through my entire maternal grandfather's library - a lifetime of collected works, and starting to assemble a small one in my own generation

Education to my family has always been about transformation. I witnessed how education was the real equalizer in this world. A great education (which was always more than just academics) could push an individual to incredible heights in one generation, and a poor one could bring down a long dynasty of accomplishment in the same time.

There is no higher calling than education to build our nation, my grandfather, Dr Stya Paul a jailed freedom fighter, always used to say.

What is the good news in the NEP for higher educational institutions?

The NEP is excellent news for higher education institutions such as Apeejay Stya who have pioneered its principles for decades. Finally, these institutions will be able to deliver on their promises of world-class education in India without being shackled by

useless and defunct ideology and

regulatory chains. Further, it supports the elimination of severe corruption and rot through the system, and ensures sub-par education institutions are identified and forced to either step-up or

shut down. It also pushes the government-run higher education institutions - to properly benchmark and reform themselves.

What changes will NEP bring in higher education?

The new National Education Policy (NEP) seeks to bridge nearly thirty years of policy stagnation in the ecosystem. While our top regulators have tried reforms, they have been restricted by outdated laws and policies.

Education institutions such as Apeejay Stya have, for decades, advocated these reforms and have created an environment of excellence. The NEP not only encourages the rest of the country to innovate similarly but also be pushed towards best-in-class benchmarks.

There will be much resistance to change as the policy breaks ideological dogma and vested interests, and will take extraordinary political leadership at the center and the state level to implement it. The NEP puts the student at the center of the transformation which is essential for us to deliver for and on the potential of our millions of young people graduating from colleges every year.

How will NEP impact the parents and students?

For parents and students, this is an exciting time even during the transition period. The millions of higher education aspirants finally now have a policy and regulatory system that meets their needs and can deliver on their aspirations.

The policy has made it clear that single-stream colleges will be phased out over the next few years and only those who offer multi-disciplinary approaches (such as Apeejay Stya University) will be allowed to continue.

With affiliating universities being scrapped, students will have a larger number of choices among the colleges that remain who would be empowered to teach and research according to their vision, mission, philosophy, and the needs and aspirations of their students. Parents and students who are considering options should ask up front if the college they are applying for (whether it is for a Bachelors or Masters) has a multi-disciplinary approach that includes a wide variety of subjects outside the core focus.

How is Apeejay Stya University dealing the COVID-19 pandemic?

COVID-19 has also been an opportunity to apply and accelerate many of our digital-first initiatives, blended learning models, and expands our ability to bring in international speakers and collaborative projects.

With our investments in Cloud Computing technology (Amazon has declared us leaders for over a decade), we were able to, within a few days of the lockdown, start returning to a full virtual experience from a technical perspective. The heroes were our faculty, staff, and students, who rose to the challenge, and despite their conditions, were able to create an impressive and immersive experience. Post COVID-19 period, we are excited to take many of these learnings and best practices and make them standard.

While following their passion, how should students differentiate between a career option and a hobby?

It pays high dividends to take the time to understand what one is good at or for what one has an aptitude.

This does not come by taking aptitude tests or counseling but rather jumping in and trying things oneself. Whether it is internships, online courses, or projects by digging and experiencing the field, one starts to see if one can succeed at it.

If one is serious about learning and the future one would want to understand the chosen career path or paths well in advance of taking a college course.

Remember if one has passion about something but not good at it or making money from it then it's not a career it's a hobby. That can be a wonderful and fantastic thing, and there is always the possibility in the future that a hobby can turn into a profession or career.

My advise - Build a career around what one is good at and get paid for, and build hobbies around what one is passionate about.