The University Grants Commission (UGC) has urged universities and colleges to instil ‘professors of practice’, as per the guidelines issued by UGC where they drafted guidelines to hire industry experts and professionals as guest professors to provide skill-based education in August.
“Vice-chancellors of universities and principals of colleges are requested to take necessary steps to engage ‘Professor of Practice’ according to the requirement and by following the guidelines,” UGC commented said in official notification.
In the context of holistic and multidisciplinary education, as recommended in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, it is important for higher education institutions (HEls) to address capacity constraints, especially with reference to the integration of general education with vocational education. Realizing that the HEls need people with skills and expertise acquired in non-academic careers, in teaching and research, the UGC has taken a new initiative of engaging a Professor of Practice in HEls, UGC said.
According to UGC’s guidelines, professors of practice will be engaged for one year initially and the maximum duration of service should not exceed 3 years. The professors will be engaged under 3 categories: funded by industries, funded by HEIs from their own resources, and on an honorary basis. Those in teaching professions will not be eligible for this post.
Professors of practice will develop and design courses; introduce new courses and deliver lectures; encourage students in innovation and entrepreneurship; conduct workshops, seminars, training programmes, and special lectures in partnership with regular faculty members; carry out joint research projects.