The governing and advisory board members include Prof. Fernando Reimers, Director of the International Education Policy Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education; former Under Secretary of the United States Department of the Navy and Senior Presidential Fellow at New York University, the world’s largest private university, Honorable Jerry MacArthur Hultin; Dr. Sethuraman ‘Panch’ Panchanathan, Senior Vice President of the Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development at Arizona State University; and Harjiv Singh, founder-publisher of BrainGain Magazine, South Asia’s largest online magazine for study abroad. These professionals bring together vast hands-on experience in leading large industrial corporations and across multiple projects in education strategy, reform, innovation, administration, operations and implementation.
As a prelude to the launch, University-21 conducted a pan-India survey, in which heads of 67 of 150 randomly-selected universities and colleges participated from 24 states in India including Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh and others. Two thirds (66%) of the respondents admitted that they did not expect to register more than 20% growth in their enrolment numbers in the coming academic year. 73% of the respondents felt that faculty and student exchange programs could help make their students more employable and enhance the quality of outcome. Only 52% respondents felt that their faculty was fully engaged and motivated. 55% of the universities and institutes that participated in the survey were satisfied with their current performance, while 37% admitted to having less than 50% campus placements in the last year. Besides Central, State, Private and Deemed Universities, University-21 also reached out to engineering colleges with over 1000 students and MBA colleges with over 100 students, among others.
Says Mr. Mahendra Bapna, founder and CEO, University-21, “Education is the human, social and economic capital of any country, and the economic growth of developing nations such as India and regions like Middle East is at risk due to lack of quality in higher education. AICTE received 231 applications from MBA schools to shut down during 2013 academic session. Some engineering colleges registered zero admission after counselling session during 2013. In Andhra Pradesh alone 70 engineering colleges are up for sale. The scenario for MCA is even worse. MP, Gujarat and Andhra colleges expect to fill less than 40% seats during this year. Institutes in other states are also witnessing similar challenging trends.”
He adds, “For India to take advantage of demographic dividend and to become super power by 2030, India’s universities and higher educational institutes need to (a) embrace 21st century education which is all about creativity, cultural awareness, problem solving, innovation, civic engagement, productivity, communication, collaboration, accountability, responsibility, exploration, initiative, leadership, creativity, and making classroom as dynamic as the world around us, (b) focus on entrepreneurial and innovation education, (c) innovate blended/hybrid education system for scale.”
Elaborating on the need for professional consulting services in higher education, he adds, “University-21 aims to be the leading strategy adviser to the higher education industry by helping private and public institutions redefine their growth strategy and focusing on quality, scalability and international accreditations. We conduct a comprehensive strategic assessment to identify gaps and help institutes with a framework of pragmatic solutions to fill them. We also collaborate with them till the last mile to ensure a successful implementation. Finally, we help conduct periodic audits to ensure compliance of best operating models in a dynamic manner to adapt to any emerging business realities.”
Congratulating Mr. Bapna on the new initiative, Fernando M. Reimers, Ford Foundation Professor of International Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education, says, “We live in times of immense challenges and opportunities for higher education institutions. The potential contributions to contribute to an innovation economy, to empower individuals and develop citizens who can improve their communities of which they are a part has never been greater. The possibilities to address ambitious challenges through innovative programs and curricula are enhanced by the rapid spread of technology and the means to access knowledge about what works. We are witnessing the very re-invention of the University".
Honorable Jerry MacArthur Hultin, Senior Presidential Fellow - New York University, and President Emeritus - Polytechnic Institute of New York University, adds, “As young people across India see every day, their future wealth and well-being is tied directly to having the knowledge and skills needed to compete in the 21st century. Delivering such knowledge and skills at an affordable price means transforming many of the educational institutions in India, a critical but not easy challenge. That’s why University-21 is so essential to the future of India’s nearly 500 million young people seeking education and skills. Mahendra Bapna has assembled an internationally-qualified team of educators and business leaders to assist educational institutions across India in meeting these educational challenges. I am excited and honored to be a member of the University-21 team”.
Dr. Sethuraman ‘Panch’ Panchanathan, Senior Vice President of the Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development at Arizona State University, said, “I am excited to see the vision for University-21 focused on advancing higher education reform in India and elsewhere. This is a pivotal moment in higher education as we prepare the workforce to meet the demands for the 21st century innovation economy. This requires students with not only disciplinary strengths but also endowed with other attributes such as entrepreneurial spirit, being globally aware, multi-disciplinary thinking, team-orientation and focused on solving society’s grand challenges.”
Harjiv Singh, founder-publisher of BrainGain Magazine, South Asia’s largest online magazine for study abroad, says, “Be it the recent ASER Report from Pratham or the report on Indian Education from UNSECO, the writing is on the wall. We cannot afford to live in denial forever. As India opens its doors to international education, Indian universities and institutes must assess the outcome of their past efforts honestly and seek professional help to transform. We are at a cusp which can propel our future growth or wipe our existence out, depending on the choices we make and how soon.”
University-21 helps improve the overall performance of educational and vocational institutes by partnering with them throughout their growth process in areas including organisational leadership and strategy; faculty and staff development; marketing and branding; industry network and partnerships development with world leading universities and technology service providers; regulatory framework and compliance; student and alumni affairs; student and faculty exchange programs; due-diligence of JV partners; financial restructuring; enrolment, retention, curricula and pedagogy development; procurement and outsourcing; IT system development; setting up innovation and excellence centers, and program evaluation and impact measurement.
Among other areas, University-21 helps universities, colleges, institutes and education service providers design new educational initiatives, optimise organisational structure, reduce operational cost, improve ranking and enable practical tools and systems to measure outcomes and improve performance through data analysis and feedback systems.
