If you get hyper-fixed in day- to-day routine events, firefighting some self-created and some externally induced situations and lose a bigger plot to take University to the next level, the years shall quietly pass- by you in an unproductive struggle and University would continue to seethe in mediocrity.
Mindfulness in university leadership is to cross milestone-achievements. Each milestone will get you closer to your university’s mission and strategic goals, and together-the eminence.
You won’t be required to go berserk hunting for students’ admissions, internships and placements.
Let us identify out of much over 100 enablers or metrics, which 21, if pursued with compelling vigour, will hold transformative potential in gathering momentum to the rise of university to institute of eminence – the larger big goal.
Instead of making an another parallel document, let these 21 milestones become an integral part of the university’s Institutional Development Plan (IDP), with targets reflecting its ambitions, supported by clear ownership, resources and timelines but certainly tagged and filtered to bring these 21 priorities into focus for a monthly review led by the Vice Chancellor. If you leave progress to wait at the door for a quarter of a year, it would vanish from your focus, leaving you to your underwhelming routine. A monthly focused view on the 21 milestones (on a planned Calendar) can reveal progress, enhance ownership, shift dependencies, if required, and handle constraints/impediments requiring timely decisions and support. If a VC feels that presence of a key member of the GB would influence outcome of the review and enable requisite financial flow to 21 milestones, request her/his presence by all means. It is your university. Anyone who can make a difference must chip in be it a Pro Chancellor or even the Chancellor.
Milestone 1:
Requisite ratio of accomplished (knowledge n’ up-skilled) full-time faculty and academic leaders recruited, developed and retained in priority disciplines.
Milestone 2
Institutional accreditation secured in higher grade/level, and sustained. NIRF rank improved year-on-year. Basic 2(f) and 12 (b) to be pursued if not undertaken. On cracking 100 NIRF rank, go for the QS and THE ranking.
Milestone 3
Eligible programmes accredited by NBA and if Milestone 2 and 3 substantially accomplished, then go for accreditation of international bodies like ABET, AACSB, EQUIS etc.
Milestone 4
Graduates job placements in significantly improved numbers and in better reputed companies on higher CTC year-on-year. Increased number of successful entrepreneurs year-on-year, and externally funded.
Milestone 5
Graduates secure postgraduate and doctoral admissions, competitive exams, scholarships and fellowships.
Milestone 6
Central Instrumentation Laboratory and shared research facilities, including Centres of Excellence, commissioned, operational and impactful
Milestone 7
Departmental research laboratories commissioned, continuously audited for relevance, upgraded, optimally utilised in the chosen areas of specialisation, including AI.
Milestone 8
Competitive external research grants (government, industry, foundations) secured and funded projects successfully completed.
Milestone 9
Doctoral programmes led with compelling rigour by all concerned, produce graduates for specialist industry positions and startups.
Milestone 10
Research published in leading disciplinary journals of high impact in SCOPOUS and WOS meeting quality and numbers as specifically targeted-requiring max faculty participation. Maintain ethics.
Milestone 11
Undertake joint research projects and joint research publications, internationally. Attain internationally benchmarked citation impact (Refer THE and QS ranking benchmarks ). It would prepare your university for international recognition.
Milestones 12
Industry and university optimum collaborations which deliver on jointly funded research, apprenticeship, internships, skilling programmes, setting up industry collaborative labs, and contemporary skilling facilities.
Milestone 13
Innovation and incubation centre and university-led technologies become operational with working prototypes, patents and leading to transfer of technology and commercialised active ventures.
Milestone 14
University becomes capable of running highly credible ODL and Online programs and max faculty develop competency in reinventing their courses on 4-quadrant approach for the LMS and a select number of faculty writing courses for the SWAYAM. Faculty contributing to national policies and model curriculum.
Milestone 15
Students participation in professional societies, clubs, hackathons, industry projects, entrepreneurial initiatives leading to quantifiable outcomes.
Milestone 16
Consultancy, MDPs and executive education secure recurring external income.
Milestone 17
International immersion of significant value to students including joint degrees and Semester-abroad programs.
Milestone 18
Foreign students admissions not limited to SAARC or African but across globe, foreign faculty and faculty-students academic/research exchange.
Milestone 19
Campus optimally tech-loaded, smart connectivity, ERP and CRM driven e-governance, empowering learning resources easily accessible 24×7, functional dashboards used by leaders transparency and ethics drive the giant wheel, seamlessly efficient.
Milestone 20
Sustainability projects deliver verified reductions in resource consumption and emissions, contributing to saving the planet.
Milestone 21
Faculty and students secure credible Awards and Recognitions in sports, hackathon, mootcourts, projects, academics, innovation, research, SDG and neighbourhood community service.
💎 Develop KPIs, ownership timelines and enabling ecosystem and adopt the above with no time wasted.
Prof-JR Sharma
