The Liberal Arts as philosophy covers all subjects and disciplines, from engineering
to English, from medicine to philosophy.
Steve Jobs said, “All through my professional life, a Liberal approach has never let
me down...it has made all the difference in my life”
Albert Einstein said, “The value of education in a Liberal Arts Institution is not
the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think something that
cannot be learned from textbooks.”
The key question to ask is how are these pillars integrated into the curriculum and
academic system? How is a university designed to follow this and lead to the
superior outcomes given by a liberal arts education?
If you read through the marketing materials of many private education institutions,
you were continuously hear buzz words such as inter-disciplinary,
multi-disciplinary, trans-disciplinary, credit based pedagogy and such. These buzz
words are now thrown around by educationists and even industrialists, often
interchangeably, without understanding them, or having implementing them on the
ground.
These institutions unfortunately, follow the same old education paradigms, while
simply changing the words on the brochure, or adding a few cosmetic things to an
existing curriculum as a band-aid, or throwing in a five-star hotel like lobby.
What we need is a revolutionary change in the way we look at education. Moving from
a mass production system where everybody learns the same thing in the same
classroom, to a one that is focused on the individual.
Very few universities in India are willing to take the plunge and truly embrace the
education that is needed for the 21st Century. Around the world the top universities
are already scrambling, Stanford University and Harvard University follow this
system, and MIT, traditionally an engineering only institute, in the past five years
has made rapid progress in adopting the practice of the liberal arts philosophy.
At the Apeejay Stya University we have tried to build this into our DNA from day
one, becoming India’s first truly liberal arts, and to throw another wonderful buzz
word, meta, university. What we do is remarkably different in India. Being a true
non-profit enables us to focus on higher social outcomes, and to spend time and
money on the things that are truly important. In the first week of scholars (we
prefer to call student’s scholars) joining the university, Professors assemble to
market their courses to scholars, to convince them that their course or field is
superior. Scholars are asked to design their individual customized schedule based on
a combination of their desired degree, their interests, and a robust core system
that exposes them to a wide variety of essential perspectives.
Our courses themselves are market dynamic, adopting the latest as it happens, and
even our first year scholars are encouraged to get involved with research,
catapulting them ahead even of industry.
We believe there are no boundaries between disciplines and teaching and research is
designed in a manner that is not restricted by the terminology of the field.
It forces our students to work and study hard, as transformation, academically and
as human beings does not come easy. But the journey is worth it. Six months in most
scholars cannot imagine a world that restricts their potential by putting artificial
barriers and boundaries.
We want other education institutions to emulate us in India. This is what the new
economy in the 21st century needs. Young men and women who are not only ready to
lead, but have a firm grasp of the multiple dimensions and perspectives of the
world, and the ability to apply those in pragmatic execution and thought.
Our admissions reflect our priorities. We seek not only academic accomplishment, but
accomplishment as a human being, a drive to do something ambitious, to make the
world a better place. Ultimately that is the aim. To create leaders for today and
for tomorrow, to make the world a better place.
We all can learn a few things from Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein.
The writer is the Pro-Chancellor and Co-Founder of Apeejay Stya University
to English, from medicine to philosophy.
Steve Jobs said, “All through my professional life, a Liberal approach has never let
me down...it has made all the difference in my life”
Albert Einstein said, “The value of education in a Liberal Arts Institution is not
the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think something that
cannot be learned from textbooks.”
The key question to ask is how are these pillars integrated into the curriculum and
academic system? How is a university designed to follow this and lead to the
superior outcomes given by a liberal arts education?
If you read through the marketing materials of many private education institutions,
you were continuously hear buzz words such as inter-disciplinary,
multi-disciplinary, trans-disciplinary, credit based pedagogy and such. These buzz
words are now thrown around by educationists and even industrialists, often
interchangeably, without understanding them, or having implementing them on the
ground.
These institutions unfortunately, follow the same old education paradigms, while
simply changing the words on the brochure, or adding a few cosmetic things to an
existing curriculum as a band-aid, or throwing in a five-star hotel like lobby.
What we need is a revolutionary change in the way we look at education. Moving from
a mass production system where everybody learns the same thing in the same
classroom, to a one that is focused on the individual.
Very few universities in India are willing to take the plunge and truly embrace the
education that is needed for the 21st Century. Around the world the top universities
are already scrambling, Stanford University and Harvard University follow this
system, and MIT, traditionally an engineering only institute, in the past five years
has made rapid progress in adopting the practice of the liberal arts philosophy.
At the Apeejay Stya University we have tried to build this into our DNA from day
one, becoming India’s first truly liberal arts, and to throw another wonderful buzz
word, meta, university. What we do is remarkably different in India. Being a true
non-profit enables us to focus on higher social outcomes, and to spend time and
money on the things that are truly important. In the first week of scholars (we
prefer to call student’s scholars) joining the university, Professors assemble to
market their courses to scholars, to convince them that their course or field is
superior. Scholars are asked to design their individual customized schedule based on
a combination of their desired degree, their interests, and a robust core system
that exposes them to a wide variety of essential perspectives.
Our courses themselves are market dynamic, adopting the latest as it happens, and
even our first year scholars are encouraged to get involved with research,
catapulting them ahead even of industry.
We believe there are no boundaries between disciplines and teaching and research is
designed in a manner that is not restricted by the terminology of the field.
It forces our students to work and study hard, as transformation, academically and
as human beings does not come easy. But the journey is worth it. Six months in most
scholars cannot imagine a world that restricts their potential by putting artificial
barriers and boundaries.
We want other education institutions to emulate us in India. This is what the new
economy in the 21st century needs. Young men and women who are not only ready to
lead, but have a firm grasp of the multiple dimensions and perspectives of the
world, and the ability to apply those in pragmatic execution and thought.
Our admissions reflect our priorities. We seek not only academic accomplishment, but
accomplishment as a human being, a drive to do something ambitious, to make the
world a better place. Ultimately that is the aim. To create leaders for today and
for tomorrow, to make the world a better place.
We all can learn a few things from Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein.
The writer is the Pro-Chancellor and Co-Founder of Apeejay Stya University
No comments:
Post a Comment