Higher Education witnesses tech-adoption, innovation and global collaborations: Gunjan M Sanjeev, Government News, ET Government
Tech-adoption, innovation and global collaborations are among some a priority list of India’s higher education sector for the continuity of education. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only brought in a plethora of opportunities for internationalization of higher education but also made the whole-process cost-efficient, time-efficient and inclusive.
“Who could imagine pre-COVID-19 that we could connect with the brightest academicians across the world at a click of button,” says Gunjan M Sanjeev, VP – RBEF (Amity Education Group) & Director, International Affairs, Amity University Haryana, in an interview with ETGovernment, whilesharing opportunities in internationalization of higher education.
Edited Excerpts:
How are you converting COVID-19 crisis into opportunities, especially in internationalization of higher education?
The COVID-19 pandemic has not only brought in a plethora of opportunities for internationalization of higher education but also made the whole-process cost-efficient, time-efficient and inclusive. Internationalization could mean a large number of areas in higher education. However, I am focusing on the key ones that have been given spotlight also in National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 such as collaborations with Global Universities, Study abroad opportunities at foreign Universities and presence of international students at the campus.
Who could imagine pre-COVID-19 that we could connect with the brightest academicians across the world at a click of a button. It was not common to have students sitting at different time zones from across the world signed in to one’s classes, be it the USA or Congo in Africa or Nepal in South Asia. But it is happening right now at our campus and we are very excited about it.
What has been your market-experience in global collaborations?
The experience has been phenomenal. Probably I should say beyond our anticipation. It’s interesting to note how the world is thinking of cooperation and collaboration in the post-COVID-19 era. In fact, there is growing interest from many of the top tier Universities across the world that is looking at us for collaborations to offer joint programmes.
We launched Global Study Programmes across all our campuses in partnership with several Universities in the US, the UK and Australia. Under this programme, students can do part of the programme at Amity and part of the programme at the partner University. So we see a lot of growing interest from our partners worldwide for twinning and joint programmes.
There were several Indian students who aspired to pursue their higher education abroad but due to travel restrictions could not do so. These programmes are great innovations in establishing joint programmes with our partners so that students can finally graduate with a foreign degree as they enroll on these programmes.
The timing is just right in terms of the regulatory environment as internationalization is given great amount of importance in the NEP 2020 where it is desired that greater collaboration should take place between Indian and foreign Universities.
How are you using technology towards internationalization in the University?
It’s not technology that has changed the world in the current times but it’s the acceptance of technology that has brought everyone to one platform. Our foreign partners across the world, our international alumni, embassies and government officials from several countries, our current international students, international accreditation organizations amongst others are in constant touch and it has been possible only due to adoption of technology as the mainstream medium in the current times.
For all our meetings, technology platforms came to the rescue. Interestingly, we are meeting them, of course, virtually many times more than we were actually doing in the pre-COVID era. Technology is being used in all teaching and processes at our campus and with barriers to cross country movement; usage of technology is certainly a must for internationalization initiatives that we are pursuing right now.
What are your priorities right now?
Our priorities are the continuity to maximize the global exposure to our students through an active interface with eminent foreign academicians across the world. I am happy to mention that we have hosted several eminent academicians from top Universities of the world in the past to create an excellent learning environment for our faculty and students.
Does your campus have international students? How are you providing support to them during the post COVID times?
We have our students and alumni from over 30 Nationalities at Amity University Haryana. We are making consistent efforts to strengthen the number further. These include Ireland, Chile, Congo, Kenya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bahrain, Libya, Gambia, Mauritius, Sierra Leone, Bhutan, Iraq, Nepal, Cambodia, Nigeria, Yemen, among others.
At our University, every institution ensures the smooth conduct of online teaching for the students so that the education is not disrupted amid this situation.All international students had access to online classes and faced no disruption in their learning mechanism irrespective of whether they were in India or whether they were in their home country. Due to this Pandemic the major issue with the International student was to getting their VISAs extended without any disruption. The students were supported in an efficient way and all their paper work was completed online so that they are safe and did not have to travel out to respective offices for the same.
We are doing our bit to support the “Study in India” initiative launched by the Government of India in 2018 where it is envisaged to have 200,000 international students by the year 2023. We currently have around 50,000 international students in the country so at Amity we are doing efforts at our end to support the nation towards this endeavour.
How do you think internationalization initiatives led by you are building Future-Ready Workforce?
All our internationalization initiatives are giving exposure to all our students on these fronts resulting in holistic education being provided to them and they will certainly emerge as global citizens in the virtually compact world of tomorrow.