We would like to know about your journey from being a software professional to edu-preneur.
The journey started by training young graduates to crack bank probationary officers and other government jobs. Since I trained them in a unique way in Mathematics and the success rate was very high, in a couple of years, the small one room coaching centre became a full-fledged institute, which led me to fully focus on this. My driving force was that young graduates of Bengal must do well in government jobs selection and I will work as a catalyst in that. I went around Bengal with a fiery passion, opening training centres, creating a pool of committed teachers, and bringing in a rigorous training regime. Today at least half or more of all civil services, government school teachers, and local bank officials have been earlier trained from RICE, Roy’s Institute of Competitive Examinations. Soon I realized that education needs to be strengthened from its base and that is how Adamas International School came up in Rathtala, followed by Adamas Institute of Technology and Adamas World School both in Barasat in the same campus. This lush green large 130 acres campus has later evolved into 9 schools 30 departments Adamas University today.
Please tell us about Adamas University highlighting the latest achievement, core strengths, curriculum and capabilities.
The core strength of Adamas University is its strong emphasis on quality of teaching and its high-end detailed infrastructure for all STEM and non STEM programs. There are more than 250 faculty members, one of the largest in eastern India in a privately managed university, running 118 programs in 182 class-rooms, with 101 laboratories and studios. More than 160 of these faculty members are with PhD degrees and others are in advanced stage of completion. We are among 2 universities in east and northeast India who were awarded QS E-LEAD recognition for e-preparedness facing pandemic as early as June 2020 and among 3 universities of east-northeast and among first 110 universities of India to have completed online examination of our students within July 2020. Our Biotech and Pharmacy schools have been given several government funded research projects, and now Sciences and Engineering schools are also getting a few. Outlook has named Adamas among top 50 private universities of India, Business World calling our Engineering and Business Schools among the best 4 in east and northeast of India. Zee group and ABP group have awarded Adamas as the best private university of the region, and the university with the best innovation & infrastructure, while Public Relations Society of India has awarded us for best COVID times communication work for our pioneering role in providing quarantine centre for a thousand people for the service of mankind.
What is the current update on the reopening of the university?
We are waiting for government instruction for the same and are completely geared up. Our faculty and non-teaching staff are all working from campus, taking online classes, conducting small practical training offline too, and preparing e-learning materials, etc. Lot of new infra-structural developments are going on for capacity building of the campus.
What are the key issues before the University?
Reopening of physical classes with full precautions as per government guidelines and blended mode of education ahead, for which we are ready. Further expansion of new infra-structure, like additional boys and girls hostels (we already had 1200 combined capacity, and now increasing to 2000 students in hostels), additional labs for STEM schools, new studio for media and design, additional online library capacity, along with stabilizing the new 36 programs launched in 2020.
What is your outlook on the Indian education sector?
Indian education system has matured over the years, and the new education policy will bring unprecedented newer norms and practices to upgrade the same. We are surely moving towards a blended mode of education where the physical and the digital shall merge seamlessly. Since it is a nation of 135 crores and higher education has not yet reached even 20% of the population, there is a long way to go.
How, you think, the deployment of new technologies will shape the education sector?
New technologies are bringing in speed, transparency, engagement and better discipline in education. Both the teachers and the students are learning fast to adapt to these technologies and ultimately this will lead faster to ICT based knowledge society and faster business and social operations.
What, according to you, are the key things Indian law universities and colleges need to focus on to be on par with international law schools?
Indian medical and engineering sciences have already globalized and we find them in large numbers even in advanced nations like USA and UK. We need to globalize India law education now. This can happen with higher focus on international law, cyber law, patents law, maritime law, etc, which are the same across the world to a large extent. Exposure to global legal and judicial processes is another thing that Indian law students know for which they have to travel and participate in global events and conferences, etc.
What are the big challenges to university education in India?
Indian university education has to be technologically and digitally transformed with higher efficiency. Also the blended education will combine digital and physical, home and campus, lab and class, theory and the practical, and thereby increase pace and quality of education delivery: both. The universities have to rise up to meet these. Also, the governance and compliance have to be even more innovation friendly. Unlike the western universities, the Indian universities are yet to generate adequate revenue from research and other publications. This would be our major challenge in future both in terms of quality and quantity for such publications.
The interest of the students towards the arts and fine arts subjects is lacking. Your views?
Over decades now, there has been a wrong policy of the government not to have given adequate importance to arts or humanities at the school level, between class 9 and 12, and the teachers and parents often also fell victim to this. Humanities are connected to jobs in bureaucracy, communication, social sector. Today liberal education is giving a new life to humanities. New education policy calls for abolition of distinction between art, science and commerce and allow students to choose a combination of subjects from all these three to suit his/her interests and career plan.
What can the government do to address the issues like “brain drain” and “unemployability of graduates”?
Beyond a point, frontiers or borders are meaningless in employment and just like the people of Kerala or Punjab, people can go anywhere in the world and work productively, and contribute back home also with their foreign exchange and global network and experience. Employability of the graduates will enhance through better professional skills and technological efficiency in their operations, apart from higher job opportunities in the economy.
With online learning becoming the new normal, what transformations are you planning to bring into your working strategy?
We have already started introducing blended education in its first measures, and preparing for e-learning with every course getting ready with videos, slides, audio and info-graphics to be taught online too. One round over the last 12 months, all courses have been delivered online and all study resources sequentially preserved in cloud and in campus servers. We are increasing video, audio and graphics production capacities to enhance the quality of the massive online courses we are now making with the support of a poor of above 250 faculty members.
How can we bridge the skills gaps between academia and the professional world?
This can only be done through an intense professional skills training, like English language skills, soft-skills for interviews and group discussions, life skills to handle basic questions of life, crisis management skills, teamwork and leadership skills, and higher emotional intelligence.
May we have your comment on the support rendered by the Government towards creating congenial environment to encourage private and deemed universities?
Legal compliance structure is given to private and deemed universities. However, enhance autonomy, flexibility in operations, and some infra-structural or research grant support etc will go a long way to create far better teaching-learning-researching universities in India.
India’s new policy allows foreign universities to establish campuses in India and Indian universities to do the same overseas. Your comment?
Competition and expansion are good. This will upgrade the overall standards of education in India. For Adamas also, over the next three years, after further consolidation of our operations here, we intend to expand further, especially in Australia and Middle East.
How can we avoid the trap of treating education as a business?
A university wanting to create legacy has to plan for a century. As an educational group we are around for 35 years and as a university in the sixth year now. This journey has proven are credentials of seeking to establish excellence in education and not run a teaching shop alone in the university.
What would be your ideal vision for education in 2030?
Access to higher education for the entire population, some of India’s best universities in the top 100 of the world, Indian universities becoming a hub of innovation, Adamas among the top 100 universities of India, and our research getting global recognition.
How do you like to see your Chancellorship here in next few years? What is your vision for Adamas University?
I would look forward to an investment of 500 crores in the university over the next ten years, opening up of a medical college, a sports complex, design and architecture schools, and a 24×7 vibrant culture in our large 130 acres campus of the University.