An increasing trend in scholarship programs is helping Indian youth equip themselves with the tools to cope with social challenges
India’s educational landscape is changing rapidly. The new national education policy focuses on the introduction of innovative pedagogies and learning techniques in the education system. Several colleges, particularly liberal arts, have led the discourse on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary education and changed the definition of advanced learning, while at the same time joining the international education system to create more space and opportunity.
This also arises from the deep human need to fully understand our world and its problems and to respond to them with equal wealth. An answer that emerges from an interdisciplinary understanding becomes a solution that is rooted in different areas of knowledge and is likely to be more effective. Problems like climate change require a multidisciplinary approach with the application of knowledge from areas such as psychology, politics, development economics, history, sociology, anthropology and cultural studies.
The ability to solve problems is promoted through occupation with professions from different dimensions of life such as ecology, environment, society, politics, innovation, technology, education and more. To do this, educators need to acquire multiple intelligences and use them to reshape our world in a healthy and sustainable way.
India’s academic framework is designed to segregate students based on their performance on board exams, their participation in leading learning institutions, their regional / national identity and their field of study. Hence, employment opportunities follow a similar path, leaving little room for job-related careers. Most of the students who dreamed of tackling social injustice, creating guidelines, or making widespread social change were relegated to the social sciences.
As a result, educators found that the Indian higher education system lacks the creation of world-class institutes that can both train educators with multiple intelligences and provide the infrastructure necessary for growth and institutional independence.
last changes
However, this has changed in the recent past and students are now choosing to stay in the country for their higher education. Through worldwide philanthropic movements, educators sought and found ways to network and benefit from shared knowledge resources. A movement to create an environment that enabled hands-on learning and experience was started. The programs have been curated to provide tools for understanding social landscapes and training students for lifelong learning. As a result, teachers, policymakers, social entrepreneurs, architects, academics and others made space for young people to stand up for the cause and helped create an environment that encourages curiosity. Such programs were offered as grants.
Today India has some of the best scholarship programs in the world, including in the humanities, politics, built environment, climate change, governance, law and social entrepreneurship, among others. Some target specific areas of work and / or study while others target network capital while staying true to the idea of providing real-world learning experiences and world-class academic capital.
Although the models of these programs may vary, many have developed a niche field of application and do not discriminate against a student’s background or subject.
Many students find this opportunity liberating. Not only do scholarships encourage students to become responsible movers and shakers, but they also alert citizens and holistic individuals. Many scholarship holders apply their home learning in global contexts and receive international recognition and recognition. This broadening of context gives Indian institutes the necessary advantage to participate in a global academic field.
A good educational institution offers students the opportunity to have an open discourse about the problems they are facing. With their connectedness to social issues and visionary framework, scholarship programs invite diverse discourses and therefore attract global academics who find the time to interact with students and question the world next to them.
While the curated format of a scholarship is designed to build a community of impactful, empathetic individuals, it also provides an interesting glimpse into the systemic gaps in the Indian educational system and harnesses the youth’s urge to be heard about pressing social and environmental issues.
The programs provide a window of learning for those interested in understanding the spirit of this generation. The hope is that this will lead to the creation of a vast network of “solution people” (revolutionary thinkers with a solution-oriented mindset) who can confidently step into the unknown seas of change and lead us to safer shores.
The author is the Provost at Anant National University in Ahmedabad.
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