India’s higher education system is at a crucial crossroads—grappling with rapid globalization, rising student aspirations, and the ambitious reforms introduced through the National Education Policy (NEP). To better understand the challenges and opportunities shaping this space, Triparna Ray sits down with Dr. Sohum Sohoni, Director of the Hyderabad Institute of Technology and Management (HITAM). With over two decades of academic experience in the United States and a decade of passionate involvement in Indian education reform, Dr. Sohoni offers a deeply insightful perspective on the way forward—from redefining research priorities to fostering innovation through private institutions and international collaborations.
How do you see the current state of higher education in India, and what major challenges do educational institutions face today?
There has been a marked improvement in higher education in India over the last few years. With the establishment of more institutions of eminence, and more top-tier institutions like the IITs, AIIMS and IIMs, as well as an overall evolution of thought through the NEP, we are looking at significant changes in the Indian higher education landscape. However, the issue of quantity vs quality still remains. As someone who has experienced higher education in both the US and in India as a student and having been in academia in the US for more than 20 years, I can say that we have a long way to go in India. In the context of engineering, the broad issues of outdated curricula, the lack of practical and hands-on training, disengaged students and the inability to recruit quality faculty are quite well-known. From my experience the past 10 years volunteering for an organization that has the aim of improving the engineering ecosystem in India, the specific challenges that we need to overcome are as follows. Faculty need to be motivated and empowered- better training and better pay can certainly help with that, but a shift in mindset is necessary: teaching is a calling, not just a job, and faculty really need to care about the success of their students. Attracting the right set of people to take up faculty positions is a big challenge, especially for institutions that are limited through regulatory bodies on how much tuition and fees they can charge. Students need to take ownership of their learning. This too needs a shift in mindset. Just passively sitting in class does not benefit anyone. Students should spend time outside of class preparing and should come to class ready to engage with their teacher and with the subject. The institutional leadership/management should focus on the outcome that matters the most: a well-educated student who is ready to enter the workforce or pursue further studies. At HITAM, I am very happy to say that there is clarity of vision and a strong focus on the end product – our students. HITAM has also availed of the services of Aalborg University’s UNESCO Center for Problem Based Learning and the Indo-Universal Collaboration for Engineering Education (IUCEE), the organization I referred to earlier, for training their faculty and to motivate students through several internationally recognized initiatives like Engineers Without Borders (EWB), the Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP), and Purdue University’s Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS).
With increasing global competition, how can Indian universities enhance their research output and rankings?
Conducting high-quality research is critical to the long-term success of the nation. Research comes in many forms; it can be applied research, translational research or basic/fundamental research. I believe that focusing on the number of patents or number of papers per faculty can have many adverse consequences. These numbers are very convenient for making comparisons, which unfortunately results in hundreds of thousands of hours spent on projects and papers that have absolutely zero impact. This plays out in hundreds of institutions across India where the resources for investing in research are limited because their fees are capped by external agencies and whose faculty have traditionally not had the opportunity to engage in high-quality research. I believe that for Indian universities to be truly competitive on the global scale, we should collectively take a multi-tiered approach to research. A significant majority of the faculty in most of our institutions should limit their research only to problems that need to be solved in the short to middle term- i.e. on applied research where solutions are tested and refined within a year or two. The next tier would be faculty across select institutions who can focus on larger problems with longer timelines. If we truly want to be globally competitive, we should work across institutional boundaries, and our state and central governments as well as our industry partners should provide adequate support for building, maintaining and appropriately utilizing facilities and equipment needed for conducting such research, so we can identify key emerging areas like AI, alternative energy, and healthcare and focus our investments there. These investments could translate into globally significant gains and serve not only the needs of the nation but contribute to societal needs on a global stage. Lastly, based on faculty strengths and preferences, some faculty should be allowed and encouraged to work on projects with really long horizons, the kind of projects that last longer than individual careers, and might not even have tangible deliverables in the short or middle term. I believe that India is at a point where it can certainly afford the luxury of investing in a few projects of this kind, so that we leave our mark on the future of this planet.
What steps can be taken to bridge the gap between academia and industry to improve employability?
There are several tried and tested things that I have observed for bridging this gap. A holistic approach is needed, rather than one or two initiatives. All of the following suggestions require our industry partners and academic institutions to take the approach of long-term investment and relationship-building when partnering with academic institutions, rather than trying to seek any short-term benefit. Joint centres of excellence or research labs can be set up, wherein the academic institution provides space as well as faculty and student time to work on projects that are of interest to our industry partners. For optimal benefit, the industry partners should depute an expert to be at the centre on a regular basis and work on coaching and mentoring both faculty and students. Not only students, but also faculty could spend a semester interning with our industry partners. New models of employment could be explored building on the idea of faculty internships, so that joint appointments could be made for some faculty, where they split their time between the academic institution and the industry partner on a multi-year basis for them to serve as the glue between the two, understanding the culture and expectations on both sides to break down the barriers. Faculty should strive to identify topics or even entire modules in their courses that could best be taught by industry professionals. This too could easily be expanded to having a robust pool of adjunct faculty or professors of practice, not just to cover subjects that are left over, but to create additional electives that complement the existing curriculum. In general, all avenues for cross-pollination between academia and industry should be explored to see which ones function within the constraints of each institution and industry partner. A culture of self-reflection and humility is also necessary to foster all of this, so that faculty do not feel shy to admit that they themselves need training and upskilling in certain areas.
How do you view the role of private universities in shaping the future of higher education in India?
Public institutions are sometimes constrained by their mandate to serve the people of their state or to meet other externally defined goals. Private universities on the other hand have a free hand in planning their vision and mission to focus on the outcomes that they believe are important. At HITAM, for example, our vision is to be a role model technological university of national repute, and one of our mission statements focuses on employability skills for emerging trends and societal needs. This allow us to focus on preparing students for a global workforce, imparting skills like lifelong learning and preparing them to take ownership of their learning so that they will always be ready for the uncertainties of the future. By aspiring to be a role model institution, we have focused on building incredibly detailed processes, even more so that I have seen in my tenure at three different universities in the US. Sustainability, integrity and social consciousness are some of our core values. Thus, we orient our own behaviour and serve as role models for our students to uphold these values. From our LEED certified campus to the humility espoused by our chairman and the entire leadership team, we embody these values to build and maintain our identity. Thus, while the IITs and other government institutions have their own mission and vision to serve the public at large, private universities can have their own personalities and identity, creating a diverse bouquet for the student body to choose from. To sustain themselves financially, like any business in the free market, private universities will have to strive to maintain their brand identities, be competitive and have efficient and effective day to day operations. This will require them to continue to innovate and offer a great experience for their students, raising the bar for all institutions. We can easily look at the US for examples of how various private non-for-profit universities have created their niche, whether in research or in quality education at the undergraduate level, and what an impact that has had on the US and the world.
How do integrated courses benefit students compared to traditional degree structures?
Integrated courses, like our integrated twinning program can offer many benefits. Obviously, they provide clarity to a student regarding their options after finishing their undergraduate degree, since this is predefined. Such programs typically also save students a year’s worth of time as they get the undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in a total of 5 years instead of 6. The integrated twinning program at HITAM offers significant advantages over many other traditional degree structures. By getting the undergraduate degree from an Indian university and their postgraduate degree from a foreign university, our students will get the best of both worlds. The total monetary cost will be less than even a bachelor’s degree abroad or the total of 4 years in India and 2 years abroad for a master’s that is more typical. Most importantly though, our program was designed jointly with our partners, and we will put into place a number of practices that will ensure success for our students and minimize their struggle when they go abroad. For example, we will provide detailed orientation by partner university staff while the students are still in India. We will provide additional language and cultural exposure and support to ease their transition. We aim to have faculty and students from partner schools visit HITAM and for our faculty to visit our partner schools so that everyone can learn from each other and experience and understand the cultural nuances and teaching and learning practices at both ends. Another benefit of the integrated twinning program is that students will be more mature and independent after 3 years at HITAM compared to taking the leap to a foreign country right after their 12th standard. Overall, I believe that it is a win-win all around.
Do you have any tips for educational institutions to cope with the challenges that they may face while implementing the guidelines stated under the new national education policy?
The NEP is an incredibly forward-thinking document. It is not only bringing in a lot of good ideas based on what has worked well in the western world but also seeks to leverage some of the unique strengths of the Indian higher education ecosystem with a deep understanding of the challenges and constraints that we face. The very first tip I have is to not look at the NEP as yet another regulation or policy that we “have to” abide by, but to truly look at the amazing opportunities it provides. At HITAM, as we build our integrated twinning program and look towards becoming a technological university, the NEP serves as a guiding light for us. In practical terms, the biggest challenge would be the uncertainty caused by multiple-entry and multiple exit pathways. These pathways need to be worked out very carefully, and fluidity needs to be incorporated in our system. Fortunately, NEP also supports multidisciplinary degrees, which if planned and executed carefully, could actually insulate us from some of the issues arising from the multiple entry and exit points. I think that adopting a growth mindset and breaking free of departmental and disciplinary silos is the key to operationalizing the new national education policy. This will of course also require openness from regulatory bodies at the state and central level. Lastly, the categorization of institutions, similar to the Carnegie classification in the US, would allow for a more fair and useful comparison within categories. This would let institutions like HITAM build a unique student-focused identity that is aligned with our institutional vision, without being unfairly compared with institutions that have taken a broader rankings-oriented approach.
