FICCI to host two-day 'Higher Education Summit'

FICCI is set to organize a two day global conference, '11th edition of Higher Education Summit' 2015 in association with the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

With the theme 'Transforming Higher Education: The Asian Imperative', the event witnessed address by Professor Arvind Panagaria, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog.

"There was an imperative need to link academia, industry and research with the higher education institutes to upgrade the quality of Indian higher education and become competitive in the world market," he said.

Professor Panagaria said that the industry could partner with the universities in two ways. If the universities have dedicated research faculty then the industry could reach out to the educational institute for providing intellectual support. Also, industry could send their employees to the university to train them upgrade their skills.

Professor Panagaria said that there was a need to consider the compensation of the teachers as well which is discouraging them to take up jobs. Also, the move of the government to expand the IITs and IIMs was a step in the right direction as these institutes are known for providing high quality education in an autonomous set up.

He urged FICCI to collate the best practices of the states in the field of higher education and prepare a document, which could be used as a reference by higher education institutes across the country.

On the occasion, the dignitaries released FICCI-EY Report 2015; FICCI-EFMD Report 2015; and FICCI-British Council Report 2015.

Dr. Jyotsna Suri, President, FICCI, said that higher education and research will play a significant role in the regional trade and policy integration provided there is a change in approach which some of the Asian countries like Korea, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia and China have done. Countries like India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, continue to grapple with over regulation of the sector leading to the mushrooming of poor quality public and private institutions. There is a huge graduate unemployment. It is therefore imperative for Asia to build a new narrative for higher education, leverage private sector participation and enhance student/faculty cross mobility.