New Delhi, Oct. 19: A Delhi-based tech school is set to start a bachelor's course in information technology and social sciences with equal stress on both, literally embracing the words of Steve Jobs to help budding technocrats connect better with society.
According to the proposed BTech programme that the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology plans to launch, students have to study 13 courses each in IT and two social science subjects such as psychology, sociology or economics.
The institute plans to start the BTech course in information technology (IT) and social science from the 2017-18 academic year.
The Delhi government-run tech school appears to have adopted the philosophy of the Apple co-founder who had said it was "technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our heart sing".
Professor Dheeraj Sanghi, the IIIT's dean, academics and international relations, underlined a similar approach. "One needs to understand society to be able to give technological solutions. This course would be unique and useful in that sense," Sanghi said.
At the end of the BTech programme, students wouldn't get a double degree - higher education regulator UGC doesn't allow simultaneous double degrees in different disciplines - but Sanghi claimed they should be able to pursue a master's in either technology or any of the social science subjects they studied.
The IITs too make BTech students study social science subjects. But the share of such courses is very small, said Sanghi, who taught at IIT Kanpur till last year.
Academic and sociologist Andre Beteille welcomed the proposed programme. "I think it is very relevant to offer a course by combining technology and social science. Humanities and social sciences always give a wider perspective," Beteille said.
A panel headed by former UGC chairman Yashpal too had asked institutes not to put stream barriers for students. In its report on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education, the panel had said higher studies in India were compartmentalised.
