India may get the full-fledged membership status of the Washington Accord by June, enabling global recognition of Indian degrees and improving mobility of students and engineers. Gregory Prastacos, Dean, Stevens Institute of Technology, USA, in an interview with Mohd Ujaley says “Accreditation guarantees the quality of education provided it is according to the standards agreed upon, but accreditation alone is not sufficient to enhance the educational system”

You have a vast experience for strategic leadership, teaching and deep understanding of technology. You recently attended WOSA here in India. From your interaction with the government officials and private entrepreneurs, how do you look at Indian higher education system? Do you find the real zeal in conjunction with the right policy in India?
The Indian educational system is a traditional one — while it is dominated by the public universities, there are growing numbers of private non-profit universities that do a brilliant job preparing students for the needs of the economy. I find Indian students in good private universities to be disciplined, innovative and entrepreneurial, with professional attitudes and good foundations in the knowledge of their field. As the private schools do such an admirable job preparing those students, the public universities feel the competition and improve also.
In such an environment, it is essential to have an accreditation system, so the various institutions will improve their quality with the goal of getting accredited. Especially in a big country like India, with so many institutions of higher education, an accreditation system is of great importance. At WOSA, I was impressed with the enthusiasm the participants have toward the accreditation process that is going on. I am very optimistic that such a system will be established and successful.

India may get the full-fledged membership status of the Washington Accord by June, enabling global recognition of Indian degrees and improving mobility of students and engineers. In your opinion, how it is going to help Indian students and engineering education system?
Getting full-fledged membership in the Washington Accord is a great prospect for the country. It will facilitate mobility and provide Indian students with easier access to not only the great international universities, but also to the global companies located outside of India. I have always been impressed by the alumni of Indian universities, who are successful in the international market. That’s a sign of the excellent foundation students get at universities here. They get all the credentials they need to succeed in a very competitive international environment. That trend stands to increase greatly with the global recognition of Indian degrees, thereby providing immense benefit to the country.

In India, there are multiple agencies which look into the accreditation, but majority of them have failed to bring quality. In your opinion, does accreditation per-se helps in enhancing the quality of education?
Accreditation is a necessary but not sufficient condition, as we used to say in mathematics, to improve the quality of education. The process toward accreditation is a learning one, which is how institutions and accreditation agencies should approach it.
Accreditation “guarantees” the quality of education provided it is according to the standards agreed upon, from content and relevance, to pedagogy and connections to industry. It’s a quality guarantee not only to students and parents, but also to employers, who can be assured of the quality of education, a job candidate has received before employment.
But, as I said, accreditation alone is not sufficient to enhance the educational system. A successful system incorporates accreditation while emphasizing a culture of continuous inquisition and improvement — including regular evaluation and monitoring of performance. Such a system will sustain the continuous monitoring of the appropriate metrics, and will assess the learning outcomes with respect to the learning objectives.

Important bills related to education sector are pending in Parliament; one of them is “The Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill” which is intended to regulate the entry of foreign university in India. How foreign universities are going to help Indian education system?
The most successful people in any industry today are the global citizens. Providing students in India the opportunity to attend international universities at home will help create more global citizens, which can only be beneficial. Those students will be exposed to an international faculty and educational system, a different culture, maybe a new skill set and probably different pedagogical methods. This is good for any country, but especially India, which needs to increase the skill level of a large percentage of its population and maintain a high rate of growth.
At the same time, the entry of international schools into India is also good for the local universities. It will enhance competition for excellence and promote collaboration between local and international institutions, thus raising the level of education and research provided by Indian universities. Therefore, it is important that the bill in Parliament goes through, allowing the opening of the market in a thoughtful and well-planned way — and especially in areas where the government realizes the need for international know-how.

In a big country like India, with so many institutions of higher education, an accreditation system is of great importance

What is your major focus at Wesley J. Howe School of Technology Management of Stevens Institute of Technology and where does an Indian student fit in?
Stevens is a leading technology university, and the Howe School is the business school of Stevens. We are located in one of the most beautiful campuses of the United States, on the banks of the Hudson River across from New York City. We are especially known for a number of differentiating characteristics — our strong technology and analytics focus, our emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship, and our emphasis on relevance and practical approach. All three characteristics resonate very well with candidates from India. I find candidates from India to be strong on quantitative skills, have excellent knowledge of technology, be innovative and entrepreneurial, and have good problem-solving skills. For these reasons, I believe that the Howe School is a very good fit for Indian students.

What do you think of academia collaborations? Why are they useful, and how would you recommend that they should be promoted?
Collaborations between industry and academia are essential, and extremely beneficial to all parties involved. For universities, collaborations produce a number of benefits. They help improve the effectiveness of the learning process, they allow good placement of our graduates in the job market, they help secure internships and scholarships, thereby attracting the best students. They improve enrollments and revenue, help promote research and retain top faculty, help in commercializing R&D and raising revenue from IP, attracting philanthropic gifts for infrastructure, events, and of course, help achieve accreditation by improving rankings.
Similarly, for industry, collaborations with universities can be very beneficial. They help in hiring top new employees, especially in view of the “war for talent, help bring fresh ideas from students and faculty, help in enhancing the training of the existing workforce, get access to certificate, degree or part-time programs and workshops, help solve problems through access to specialized skills (consulting), perform advanced research by tapping to the most specialized and advanced know-how in the world, submit joint proposals for research funding, and, of course, demonstrate social responsibility by giving back to society.
Especially for start-up companies, collaboration with a university can be very beneficial. It gives them access to faculty with specialized know-how, as well as to students who can provide valuable research help, helps them to develop new IP that can result in wealth creation, enhances their ability to submit joint research proposals to government and funding agencies, and gives them access to specialized equipment, facilities, and market developments.
Collaborations between industry and academia have been going on for a long time. However, in recent years, there has been a shift towards more strategic collaborations. Companies are interested in a smaller number of strategic collaborations, from which they can get bigger value and a fuller portfolio of services. At Stevens, we are very successful in developing excellent industry relations, as seen by the multiple collaborations at multiple levels. In addition, our students have excellent placement upon graduation, with starting salaries far above average — 10-year salaries rank No. 3 in the country, while the return on investment is ranked No. 9 in the United States. Our most visible corporate partnership, the Howe School Alliance for Technology Management, has been sharing best practices in innovation from both worlds for more than 20 years, and involves some of the most prominent businesses in New Jersey.

Going forward, the institutes expect the demand for Energy, Infrastructure and Transportation (EIT) professionals to remain high as the government and private sectors remains committed to building EIT in the country, says Dr Parag Diwan, Vice Chancellor, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) in conversation with Ankush Kumar

Institutes across the world are coming up with new ways of imparting education. How are you bringing innovation in pedagogy at your institute?
The delivery mechanism in the higher education system has undergone several major transformations e.g. from teacher centric system to student centric system. Currently, the system is transforming towards learning centric model, leading to evolvement of a number of delivery models such as (1) classroom, (2) online, and (3) experimental hybrid model. Additionally, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) is bringing the following innovations to its pedagogy: Distinctive advantage with domain specific education: Students today have greater choices and data is becoming more transparent. UPES is committed to building higher quality in its role as a university and offer distinctive advantage with domain specific education covering the entire spectrum of EIT domain.
Value addition outside the content: With developments in online education and MOOCs, the content is becoming ubiquitous and would cease to be the decisive factor. UPES adds value around the content with innovations leading to high quality of teaching and mentorship programmes.
Application-based education: UPES interacts with industry closely to reduce the gap between theory and practice. Online blended hybrid delivery models for working professionals: UPES is testing hybrid delivery models for working professionals, who desire face-to-face interaction as well as ease of studying online at their convenience.

You have been one of the premium institutes in the field of Energy, Infrastructure and Transportation (EIT). Do you think there is sufficient demand in the industry for students specialized in these subjects? Energy, Infrastructure and Transportation (EIT) sectors are the backbone of all developed and emerging economies. In India, EIT sectors make a directly contribution of 40-55 percent to the GDP and accounts for approximately 70 percent workforce including the tertiary and ancillary jobs.
With domain specific focus on EIT, UPES has achieved a consistent placement rate of over 85 percent for the previous five years. Going forward, the institute expects the demand for EIT professionals to remain high as EIT sectors continue to experience high growth as the government and private sectors remains committed to building EIT in the country.
For instance, government has proposed 88GW and 123 GW power addition during the 12th five-year plan and 13th five-year plan, respectively. Moreover, $2 trillion investment is planned in infrastructure during the 12th plan.

The business environment has become more dynamic than ever before. Do you think the students need to have (a unique combination of technical skills and emotional quotient) to succeed in this competitive market scenario?
We believe that rational decision-making is better business. Management schools emphasise on several techniques for rational decisions such as data analysis, market research, statistical tools, econometric models, etc. In real business, however, managers are as much intuition driven as they are driven by logic. And it is acceptable because business is best when managers feel passion and commitment to what they are producing and customers feel they’ve received value. Motivation, responsibility, and an artist’s love for his/her profession are all examples of emotions in business. Therefore, the real task before management institutes is not to curb emotions out of decision making but to develop emotional maturity in students in a safe environment. The dynamic business environment requires business professionals who are quick to adapt technologies and have the emotional quotient to relate to the decision.

Accreditation leads to development and maintenance of standards from infrastructure to teaching pedagogy

How important is to have a strong academia-industry linkage for an institute and how it is beneficial to the students?
The need to have strong academiaindustry linkage is more than ever. Industry and academia have common goals but usually operate in isolation to each other. Industry wants qualified graduates from academic institutes and academia wants employment for its graduates from the industry. A qualified graduate in this context does not mean someone who has a certificate but someone who is able to perform the job. Since there exists a gap in industry expectations and academia delivery, the generally accepted industry practice is to hire graduates with certificates and train them internally to make them competent for the job. A strong collaboration between academia and industry would benefit academia by providing industry vetted curriculum, industry level technology and equipment, and content delivery by professionals from the industry. Similarly, the industry would benefit from ready to deploy employees, hence, saving the cost of training and initial gestation time. The students are the biggest beneficiary of academia-industry collaboration as they gain employment ready skills and an expedited growth path when they join the industry.

What are your views on the amendment of Supreme Court ruling on the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) Act?
Last year, the Supreme Court of India had stripped many of AICTE’s powers stating that colleges affiliated to a university does not fall under the category of technical institutions. Consequently, the MBA and MCA courses in India were taken away from the purview of the AICTE and colleges offering these courses were no longer required to obtain any permission/ approval under the AICTE Act.
The Ministry of Human Resource Development has proposed amendments to the AICTE Act to restore its powers to approve MBA and MCA courses. The proposed amendment to the Act is a temporary arrangement until the AICTE Act is officially amended. The power of AICTE would still be limited to approving the courses and to set the standards for technical institutions. According to the proposed arrangement, the University Grant Commission (UGC) would have to provide the affiliation for the course. Moreover, the institutions would still have to be accessed by the National Board of Accreditation.

The UGC along with Government is planning to set up NARA (National Accreditation Regulatory Authority), an autonomous body comprising experts who will identify agencies for accrediting institutes. Do you think it will help in improving the quality of education?
Accreditation is synonymous with quality enhancement and quality assurance. Accreditation leads to development and maintenance of standards from infrastructure to teaching pedagogy. Currently, higher education institutions in India are required to voluntarily opt for accreditation. The National Accreditation Regulatory Authority (NARA) seeks to make it mandatory for higher educational institutions (except agricultural education) to be accredited by an independent accreditation agency. Mandatory accreditation in the higher education would enable the Indian higher education system to become a part of the Global Quality Assurance system such as the Washington Accord. However, in order to achieve these goals, a clear and dynamic accreditation framework has to be evolved and published.

Even sixty years after independence, Indian Muslim women have remained unrepresented and unheard. The Sachar Committee appointed by the Prime Minister established the fact of poverty and socio-economic exclusion of the largest minority in recent decades. Although the report is sympathetic to Muslim women, it does not have detailed analysis of their condition and the issues faced by them. Women in every community are victim of neglect, discrimination and other forms of injustice. This is true for Muslim women too. However, as has been pointed out by many perceptive observers, Muslim women constitute “minority within minority”. The condition of Muslim women from the poorer sections is far worse.

In today’s fast changing society, the Rights of women are at stake and their position has become vulnerable. The balance between Womens’ Rights and its protection and her family and social responsibilities is totally disturbed. Women have a role to play in society, family and country. They have to fulfill their responsibilities as daughters, sisters, mothers, wife, daughter-in-laws and as citizens of the country.
If we talk about overall empowerment of women in India since independence, successive governments have tried to introduce measures to empower women. Yet, the expected measure of success has not occurred due to reasons like bureaucratic delays, political compulsions, social and cultural constraints and the continuing poverty of the masses. Obtaining some measures of economic self sufficiency and independence is prerequisite to any advancement of women at social, cultural and political level.
The silver lining in the cloud has been the development of several grassroot movements initiated by women themselves, especially from the lower sections of society.
No less important than the government’s initiatives are the society’s own mutually caring and cooperative actions that strengthen the ethos of social harmony and inter-dependence. Exclusive thinking, exclusive concerns and excessive reliance on exclusive policies can never lead to inclusive development. It will not promote social and national integration, which must form the bed rode of both government and societal effort for inclusive development.
Yet another shortcoming in the debate and the governmental action that followed the Sachar report is that the problems and concerns of Muslim women have been largely bypassed. Grossly inadequate attention has been paid to the condition of Muslim women, their socio-economic and educational backwardness, and the efforts needed to bring them into nation’s development mainstream.
Muslims lag in education, which is responsible for most of the problems faced by the community. If women of the community are educated, things would change as women are the axis of Indian families. Muslim women could reform the whole family. Moreover, this will help her in protecting her rights and controlling crimes against women. The community’s educational and economic backwardness makes it necessary for policy makers to take urgent steps to alleviate their condition. The exclusion of women, especially, calls for a thorough analysis, leading to understanding their need and issues, followed by multi-prolonged action to ensure equality of Muslim women in principle and in reality as guaranteed by the Constitution of India. The recent census in India has brought out a positive fact about the sex ratio in the Muslim community being better than most other socio-religious communities. There is a need to build this positive trend by paying equal attention to girl’s education and health and nutrition for the girl child and the mother.
Apart from health care and nutrition, girls need opportunities for higher education. They need safety and security in order to access education of their choice. They need support and encouragement at home and in the community to realize their full potential as human beings. It calls for policy measures and financial allocations by the government, apart from a supportive atmosphere in the family. Educated and empowered girls can be the change agents for an empowered community in the future. Social empowerment in general and women empowerment in particular is fundamental in achieving these goals.
Territory education is especially important so that women can move into positions of political, economical and social leadership. The Sachar Committee agreed that Muslim women were homebased working women. These women missed out on education opportunities, but were nevertheless working informally and out of their homes. They work for very low wages and often in hazardous activities like beedi making and others that are hazardous to eyes, lungs and skin.
They are mostly underpaid or unpaid and exploited by middlemen. These women need support at multiple levels beginning with skill training, skill upgradation, marketing support, financial support, etc. In fact, voluntary organizations and experts face a lot of challenges in empowering Muslim women. The work must happen at various levels, apart from continuous advocacy and campaigning for governmental accountability. They face the challenge of correcting and building understanding and perspective in the society.