Globalisation And Internationalisation Of Higher Education

Creating education that is impactful and that resonates with the globalisation and Indianisation is imperative in today's scenario that is ever evolving. The Indian education, from the Vedic times, has deep roots in its culture. But with the changing global scenario, the need to adapt to diverse international scenarios is felt now more than ever.

Speaking at 6th BW Education Annual Higher Education Conference held at Chennai on Wednesday, Dr S Vaidhyasubramaniam, Vice-Chancellor, SASTRA University, said, "The internationalisation of universities cannot happen overnight. The international universities across the world have spent a lot of funds for attaining the standard that they have. A lot of finding is required to set up a world class university of international standards. So, we must understand the financial undercurrents. The larger question is whether we actually have the financial capacity to fund both private as well as public universities."

The Indian mindset is that Indians invest in education and therefore they look for affordability. The lack of funds are institutional support, therefore, is the most important feature which would reform the Indian education system.

"The universities in India are rarely changing themeselves like the international universities. This is the biggest bottleneck. The solution is the funding. India is spending 0.6 per cent of its GDP on education whereas in the USA more than 5 per cent is spent on education. So, unless we spend more on our research and infrastructure, the chances are very bleak in increasing our global competency. In every university in India, the level of competency varies according to the infrastructure, faculty etc. This reduces the fast pace of globalisation," said Prof Dr T Arumugam, Vice-Chancellor, Thiruvalluvar University. 

As we move forward, more institutions are increasing their awareness and the need to internationalise as the need to globalise and make their standards at par is being felt.

Prof K Vijaya Bhaskar Raju, Vice Chancellor, Bharath Institute of Higher, stated, "The institutions are ready for internationalisation and globalisation in the universities. All the institutions are tying up with international universities to have faculty and student exchange programmes. This will bring a positive change. We will have to see the impact of the international universities in the Indian scenario."

India produces the best of graduates. But international skilling is absent. It is because India does not have cutting edge laboratories. Faculty needs to be augmented through motivating them and improving their standard. 

"Globalisation is not a new phenomenon. It has strengthened post corona as there has been an institutional push towards technology," Dr S Ramachandran, Director, Academics, SRM Group.

Our courses must compete with the international programmes. For that, we need to streamline education and its different facets to have a solution based approach.

"During the pandemic, Coursera went live. Education continuity is our responsibility and we have to enable education without any roadblocks. Universities already have globalised mindsets provided they are equipped with the required technology. We try and inculcate the best practices of the world into our curriculum and make sure whatever we deliver is world class. There is a high rate of adaptation from faculty. Therefore, the globalisation mindset already exists. The next step is making it attractive for the international students. For that, the perception of our academic excellence needs to be improved," said Prashasti Rastogi, Director, Coursera for Campus.

The concept of leapfrogging through technology is what India is known for. It is being seen in product and data companies. The curriculum modernisation process can be revamped and leverage can be made to deliver learning. India will soon become the hub of holistic and international level education for the whole world.