USF to develop new courses at GND varsity

A strong foundation in research and focus on innovation are the two essential ingredients of a robust higher education system in the country. in a move to bolster this government has recently invited 10 US universities to collaborate and share expertise in different streams with Indian universities. As part of this intiative the University of South Florida is among these 10 universities that are currently exploring different Indian universities to collaborate for courses that will be not only research intensive but will also be job intensive. Dr. Roger Brindley, Vice-President, USF World, visited Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar recently in this regard. “At GNDU we are working on strengthening/developing their Sports Medicine and Sports Management programmes as part of their broader business and entrepreneurial courses. We hope to have a team from GNDU visit the University of South Florida over the summer months”, he said in an interaction during his visit there. Excerpts:

What are key areas of interest of your university when it comes to the partnership with Indian universities?

The University of South Florida (USF) is among the top 25 public research universities in the United States. Our research focus is on positive societal change and so we have welcomed partnerships with Indian research universities around all areas of global sustainability, effective and entrepreneurial business practices, innovation in engineering and medical fields, and social science research that improves the quality of life for all citizens. USF has worked on research that makes an impact in communities with a number of Indian institutions over the past decade.

Which are the courses which your university is keen to explore in India?

At this time, USF works with Indian universities in the academic areas of engineering, public health, and business. We are keen to collaborate with Indian universities adopting and updating their courses to prepare students for India and the world in the future. This requires that USF and our Indian partners offer coursework that not only covers the required content knowledge but critically ensures graduates have the problem-solving and solution-oriented skills necessary to effectively analyse and create improved systems and processes in the industrial and business sectors. 

What value addition will this collaboration achieve?

In addition to the new and exciting entrepreneurship programmes, we are working with our university partners to increase access to education. We would like more of the best and brightest minds in India to have the opportunity to learn from a world-class curriculum at USF. So, we are considering other subject areas such as the sciences and medicine, and new ways to articulate US curriculum with Indian curriculum so that more gifted students can afford to attend university and to move between our two countries. There has always been an emphasis on inter-disciplinary programmes at USF — and that is one of the demands of today’s market. 

Which are the new courses that students should be looking at to be employable globally?

All universities must graduate globally competent students who understand the systems and processes of their work and the worldwide implications for societies. Universities must help prepare future leaders who can affect positive societal change. They will need to be creative thinkers, and solution-oriented, problem solvers. These are the skills that will prepare them to be flexible as they enter career paths that will give them the opportunity to be employed anywhere in the world, whether that is Mumbai or Miami, Chicago or Chandigarh. I encourage students to choose a course or programme according to her or his passion, because armed with these essential skills, employability in high-demand and high salary areas of the economy will follow. Every area of study — from music to maths and analytics to art history — has a wealth of opportunities available and waiting to be created in today’s exciting job scenario. Having said that, the courses that we see attracting the most Indian students to USF, include Business Analytics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Public Health. 

— As told to Geetu Vaid