As part of PSG & Sons’ Charities’ Centenary Year celebrations, PSG Polytechnic College organised a Centenary Lecture on Monday.
The Chief Guest, Rangan Banerjee, Director, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, delivered a lecture titled “The Future of Higher Education, Research and Innovation in India.” In his address, Rangan Banerjee stated, “Healthcare and medicine are the next frontiers for science and engineering because much of this field is still empirical.”
He noted that the role of higher education is the creation of new knowledge and ideas, excellence in teaching and research, and creating social impact. Higher education should generate knowledge and ideas to solve local, regional, and global problems, create the future workforce and responsible citizens, and provide thought leadership. “Education can transform an individual, families, and generations,” he added.
He emphasized the importance of focusing on sustainability, multidisciplinary education, AI and ML, and design thinking, while also stressing the need for strong communication and teamwork skills.
While speaking about research, he said that the research equipment available at IIT Delhi is accessible to every scholar across India.
Addressing educational administrators, he said that financial powers should be clearly defined, and institutions should provide autonomy and flexibility to individual departments. He also emphasized the need for proper feedback mechanisms, clearly defined roles and responsibilities, and a long-term strategic approach.
He further stated that it is important for every institution to have a strategic plan with broad stakeholder involvement. Institutions should announce and publicize their plans and goals, integrate strategic plans with annual budgets and decision-making, regularly review progress, and make mid-course corrections whenever necessary.
He also suggested several strategies for academia, including developing new models of industry-academia collaboration and identifying areas where India can be globally competitive through partnerships among industry, academia, and government. He encouraged institutions to collaborate while maintaining healthy competition, proactively understand future trends, recognize trade-offs and choices, and promote innovation and entrepreneurship. Finally, he emphasized the need to adopt new methods of curriculum design and pedagogy.
Earlier, Giriraj, Principal of PSG Polytechnic College, delivered the welcome address. The Centenary Lecture is part of a lecture series being organised as part of PSG & Sons’ Charities’ Centenary Year celebrations across PSG Institutions. This session was held for Ph.D. scholars, research scholars, and faculty members.
