January 20, 2021
TED NewsDesk, New Delhi: One of the reputed institution for higher studies in India, Delhi University, is in a process to establish an academic-cooperative system between its department and colleges and other varsities. P.C. Joshi, the acting Vice-chancellor of DU, informed about the same on Tuesday
In a recent release of DU’s six-month report card, the VC said that the University plans to collaborate with other partner Institutions through “Vidya Vistar Scheme” (V2 Scheme).
The initiative will help these institutions to access DU’s faculties, library and other academic facilities and develop academic cooperation. The University will conduct lectures (offline and online), workshops, joint researches, train faculty and publish in collaboration under the scheme.
“The V2 Scheme has already started. Letters have been sent to all colleges and departments. Now we are giving them the freedom to chose. We are not imposing anything,” he said.
“For now, we are talking about all our online resources. DU has state-of-the-art resources, our lectures, textbooks, projects, everything. In the coming time, we will see if we can invite researchers here and share our laboratories and other facilities with them,” Joshi said.
The colleges are yet to reach out to the DU administration.
Discussing the future syllabus, the VC said, the University will focus on escalating its QS Ranking and promote its rich history. The University will complete 100 years of its establishment in 2022. The administration plans to create a “DU Encyclopaedia”.
“My mission right now is Mission 500, which is to be ranked between QS Ranking 400-500. Currently, we are at 510. It means we will have to improve ourselves on several fronts to get to that number. This involves recruitments, promotions, teaching methods, our researches, and connections with our alumni,” Joshi said.
“I am forming a new committee that will be involved with the 100-year history of DU and creating a DU encyclopedia. Some so many people have been a part of DU, but we don’t know much about them since we weren’t working in that direction,” he said.
Talking about the activities of the previous months, the acting VC said the University formed a 42-member committee to implement National Education Policy 2020. Professor Vivek Suneja chaired the committee. It also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Council for Cultural Relations and 18 other global universities for collaborations and academic cooperation with students and Indian and foreign scholars.
Besides, DU conducted Open-Book Examination (OBE) in online mode for the first time. Over 2.5 lakh students appeared for OBE in the semester held in August 2020 and 1.7 lakh students in December semester. First time in its history, the University facilitated admission process entirely in digital mode. It also awarded 19,821 students with digital degrees and 3885 students with provisional certificates.
“There will be a mixed (online and offline) convocation ceremony on February 27,” Joshi added.
Yogesh Tyagi, the former VC of DU sought medical leave and was, later, suspended over allegations of administrative lapses, following which Joshi became the acting VC. Following the allegations, the government-appointed an inspection committee in October 2020 to review the issue.
Source: Hindustan Times
