Why universities need to foster students with global competencies

Educational institutions should adhere to the expectations of students and the requirements of employers, both today and for the future

Higher education is entering a new and exciting period. A significant contributor to the country’s ability to compete in the global market, higher education system is crucial to our economic strength  and position as a world leader. The key factors influencing the quality of education are curriculum, faculty, technological infrastructure, research environment, accreditation, and good governance. 

Quality teaching in higher education is important for student learning and engagement. The academic excellence of students depends upon effective teaching. Quality teaching has become an important issue as the landscape of higher education has been facing continuous changes such as increased international competition, increasing social and geographical diversity of the student body, increasing demands of value for money, the introduction of information technologies, and much more. Educational institutions should adhere to the expectations of students and the requirements of employers, both today and for the future. 

Universities should understand that they need to change the teaching methodology from conventional fact-based lecturing to interactive teaching. The aim should be to impart life-long skills to students for them to adapt to today’s dynamic world. Classroom projects, group discussions, case studies, and assignments, involves various level of thinking such as reading, comprehending, analysing, and evaluating complex problems until effective decisions to solve problems are made. As students practice more complex problem-based learning, their thinking skills develop and enhance. 

Faculty at universities have an important role to play in the education system. Preparing students to achieve core competencies, to face the global requirements successfully is imperative. Therefore, university professors should be innovative, creative, and entrepreneurial in their approach, to ensure skill development amongst students. They must have expertise in their subject matter and pedagogy. Choice in assignments, the enthusiasm of lecturer, empathy with students, quality of assessment procedures, and appropriate pace in lecturing are some of the essential traits of a good teacher. A premier institution of learning and accredited grade ‘A’ by NAAC, UPES is committed to imparting quality education and expand opportunities to all the aspirants and across all realms of knowledge. In this pursuit, UPES has welcomed to its fold eminent Chevening Award Scholars, Commonwealth Scholars, and Fulbright Nehru Scholars. 

With the help of the esteemed faculty, students will have gain expertise in their chosen discipline,  develop conceptual skills and practically apply them as they process knowledge and information. 

From a global perspective, India is one of the leading countries in providing the world with highly skilled scientific and technical professionals. Despite myriad challenges, the Indian education system has experienced rapid growth and expansion. With  the increasing use of state-of-the-art new-age learning tools and technology,  the future looks bright for the higher education ecosystem in the country.