The global education industry has evolved dramatically over the last decade. Moving beyond the traditional ways to facilitate learning, universities across the world have now adopted, at large, a smarter and more tech-driven methodology. However, despite such a monumental shift, these universities have consistently struggled to navigate one particular barrier. You see, while the classroom has certainly got more agile, it hasn’t necessarily addressed the need to create innovators for the future. Hence, we are still stuck on that instruction-based idea of education, leaving the young generation’s meaningful and lasting transformation out of the window. But what’s the solution? Well, the solution we need resides in one simple commitment i.e. don’t just prepare students for the future, but make sure that they are also ready to go out and actually create a future which hasn’t been seen before. Another detail worth a mention here stems from how the need for this shift isn’t just born out of a plain desire to upgrade. It is instead unequivocally mandated by the shifting demands of modern employment stratosphere. To give you a better understanding, with the emergence of technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, data science, and more, the employers today have started looking for a workforce which brings that perfect blend of technical acumen and soft skills to harness the resources currently available at our disposal.
In line with these demands, organizations like CGC University, Mohali, have cultivated a more advanced take on higher education. The said take begins from how students consume knowledge in their day-to-day routine. At CGC, we empower our students through a project-based brand of learning, where they are asked to try and discover possible answers for real-world problems. This pursuit for practical learning is also aided by our bleeding-edge facilities that feature smart simulation labs, dedicated innovation hubs, and fully-automated workshop facilities, each component coming together to produce a highly-functioning learning ecosystem. Apart from the facilities in question, CGC University, Mohali, also allows you to participate in a host of events, including hackathons and challenges that are designed to test students’ skills in a perfectly-simulated environment, all while giving them a chance to win exciting cash prizes. Having referred to practical learning’s glowing prospects, we now must turn our attention towards the enhanced role of research in present-day universities. Gone are the days of passive learning when individual and collective focus was mostly on knowledge consumption. Today, universities from across the world are pursuing a different ballgame altogether by encouraging students to participate in active research efforts. The idea here is to develop, among the youth, skills like critical thinking, data analysis, and empirical evaluation, skills that enjoy applicability across every domain. Talk about research, CGC University, Mohali, has already made a name for itself within the presented context. Thanks to 50+ smart labs, students can leverage various different tools to learn, iterate, and innovate. CGC’s R&D pedigree can be better understood once you consider that our organization has, thus far, led the filing of 2,600+ patents and publication of 2,800+ research papers. Backed by an annual research budget of 15 Cr., CGC University, Mohali, has successfully managed to secure 150+ patents till date.
Then, there is the aspect associated with industry collaboration. For years, the higher education space has suffered from the limitations of an outdated curriculum, causing global employment to rise by a substantial margin. If we are talking numbers, almost five percent of the entire world population is unemployed at the moment. Against this fundamental issue plaguing our education system., Indian and other countries’ universities are now filling making amends by bringing core corporate environment right into their classrooms. This involves working in conjunction with real-world corporate houses to help students access guidance from working professionals. The wider arrangement also gives aspirants an unprecedented opportunity to contextualize their learning using latest technical frameworks, eventually propelling them closer to the workings of modern industrial players. At CGC University, Mohali, we believe in staying ahead of the curve. As a result, we already have an extensive industry partners’ network, spanning companies like EY India, IBM, Capgemini, KPMG, OS-SCI., and many other heavyweights. Each one of these players markedly chips in through a more relevant curriculum and mentorship support. Hold on, there is more, considering CGC University, Mohali campus even features several corporate-led Centers of Excellence, including Capgemini CodeXperience Center, WNS BFSI Academy, Bosch Bridge Center, Ashok Leyland Innovation Center, and more. In case that wasn’t enough, the companies in question also unlock rewarding internship and placement opportunities, with packages going as high as 1 Cr.
Although the primary purpose of this industry-integrated education is to conceive timely corporate exposure for every student, an important byproduct we can expect to emerge from the same relates to the development of an entrepreneurial mindset. With an overarching aim to produce job creators and not just seekers, universities today are making a concerted effort to nurture the students’ entrepreneurial side. Encouraging them to bring to life an idea of their own, these universities are also providing their students all the capital they need to turn their vision into a reality. On top of that, there are concrete opportunities now for aspirants to display their product across various in-campus events and gain immediate feedback. Making the proposition even more attractive would be the potential to receive inputs from proven founders who stand right at the forefront of worldwide startup economy. Assuming your initiative is well-received, then there is even a leeway to explore collaboration pathways with these founders. In order to keep the momentum alive and turn it into something bigger, CGC University, Mohali, has setup its VentureNest program, which happens to be a comprehensive incubation program capable of offering personalized mentorship from industry experts, strong networking opportunities, as well as access to investors and other crucial funding resources. In fact, the impact this program has managed, since its inception, shines through plenty of figures. For instance, up until now, our VentureNest initiative has incubated 100+ startups, helping them raise upwards of 1.5 Cr.
Taking a departure from the commercial angle, universities must also guide student in applying their innovative instinct across the social backdrop. Hence, rather than chasing the hottest subjects out there, one should learn how to identify bottlenecks that currently hamper our daily lives and subsequently find novel trajectories to overcome them. These bottlenecks may include challenges in healthcare, education, sustainability, agriculture, and more. The focus should also be on giving innovation a more inclusive makeover. This may revolve around ensuring that both new and existing technologies are able to reach historically underserved area, paving the way for collective progress.
As we round off, we take this opportunity o reinforce how universities, in the near future, must implement innovation at every touchpoint to achieve holistic outcomes. The stated exercise, therefore, should deploy a productive mix of industry-inspired curriculum, next-gen tech infrastructure, an intelligible research machinery, entrepreneurship scope, and social welfare. The result? A quality of human life which surpasses every benchmark to take us towards a smarter, and more importantly, a responsible future.