The latest QS World University Rankings released a few weeks ago brought home once again the
uphill challenge we face in building world-class universities: all our top institutions and universities
slipped in their rankings by several notches compared to last year.
Amidst this sobering picture, I devote this column to four emerging bright spots: institutions that are changing the landscape, and which are likely to have an enduring impact over the next few decades. I had the good fortune to listen to their leaders recently, either at EDU’s VCs’ Conclave, or at the CII Innovation Summit.
NCBS: Hiring and Providing Support to the Best
One bright spot is the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. NCBS is arguably India’s leading centre for biological research. To understand the challenge before NCBS today, it helps to look at it in the context of the growth of Indian science, as NCBS Director K Vijay Raghavan did at the recent CII Innovation Summit. The British never intended the growth of science in India, and early scientific leaders like Satyen Bose, JC Bose, Ramanujam, CV Raman and Meghnad Saha could, therefore, be called ‘accidental geniuses’, as they were not the result of deliberate institutional efforts. A more deliberate attempt followed after independence, as India climbed on the science bandwagon, and set up new institutions. But these institutions tended to stagnate unless propelled by visionary leadership. Success was in spite of, rather than because of, the system.
Today, according to Dr Vijay Raghavan, we are entering a new phase of institution building. The
people attracted to institutions like NCBS in recent years have been trained at the best institutions in the world. It’s now up to the new Indian institutions to help them achieve non-linear
results. To facilitate this, NCBS is doing several interesting things. A US-like tenure system is in
place for faculty. The philosophy is to hire the best and to provide a supportive environment for them to flower and bloom. A new Stem Cell Research Institute supported by the Department of Biotechnology is being co-located on the NCBS campus to create a critical mass of biotech researchers at a single location, and promote collaboration across disciplines. Industry participation will be encouraged in this complex through a range of joint research, incubation and facility usage models.
The latest QS World University Rankings released a few weeks ago brought home once again the uphill challenge we face in building world-class universities: all our top institutions and universities slipped in their rankings by several notches compared to last year. Amidst this sobering picture, I devote this column to four emerging bright spots: institutions that are changing the landscape, and which are likely to have an enduring impact over the next few decades. I had the good fortune to listen to their leaders recently, either at EDU’s VCs’ Conclave, or at the CII Innovation Summit.
NCBS: Hiring and Providing Support to the Best
One bright spot is the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. NCBS is arguably India’s leading centre for biological research. To understand the challenge before NCBS today, it helps to look at it in the context of the growth of Indian science, as NCBS Director K Vijay Raghavan did at the recent CII Innovation Summit. The British never intended the growth of science in India, and early scientific leaders like Satyen Bose, JC Bose, Ramanujam, CV Raman and Meghnad Saha could, therefore, be called ‘accidental geniuses’, as they were not the result of deliberate institutional efforts. A more deliberate attempt followed after independence, as India climbed on the science bandwagon, and set up new institutions. But these institutions tended to stagnate unless propelled by visionary leadership. Success was in spite of, rather than because of, the system.
Today, according to Dr Vijay Raghavan, we are entering a new phase of institution building. The people attracted to institutions like NCBS in recent years have been trained at the best institutions in the world. It’s now up to the new Indian institutions to help them achieve non-linear results. To facilitate this, NCBS is doing several interesting things. A US-like tenure system is in place for faculty. The philosophy is to hire the best and to provide a supportive environment for them to flower and bloom. A new Stem Cell Research Institute supported by the Department of Biotechnology is being co-located on the NCBS campus to create a critical mass of biotech researchers at a single location, and promote collaboration across disciplines. Industry participation will be encouraged in this complex through a range of joint research, incubation and facility usage models.
APU & APF: Transforming Primary Education
The second bright spot is the Azim Premji University(APU), which along with its parent, the Azim Premji Foundation (APF), has a clear mission — to transform primary education in the country by enhancing the quality of schools. Anurag Behar of APF and APU outlined some of the barriers that hold back Indian primary education. While we have thousands of schools and teachers, we have not created effective education support infrastructure — experts in content, pedagogy, and delivery. This is the gap that the two institutions seek to close.
But setting up an institution like APU is not easy. Decades of under-investment and neglect of this sector have resulted in a dearth of people specialising in education. The challenge for APU is therefore, to scale up through internal capacity development. A critical element of the APF philosophy is that concepts of education and practice have to work closely together — all ideas have to be tried out in the field, not just restricted to theorising and academic writing. So, the APF/APU philosophy is to “hire for attitude” — recruit people who are passionately interested in education, willing to work in teams and collaborate, and not insist on a disciplinary background in education.
Shrishti Labs: Creative Solving
The third bright spot is Srishti Labs, a part of the Srishti School of Design. Srishti Labs brings
together a design education institution and technology professionals to provide practical and aesthetic solutions. Warren Greving of Srishti Labs emphasised the importance of combining the
divergent thinking of creative individuals at the Design School with the convergent thinking of
industrial problem-solving. This is what Srishti Labs seeks to achieve. Warren himself brings a
fascinating background in setting up R&D centres in emerging markets like India and China on
behalf of multinational corporations. He is therefore acutely sensitive to context, and the importance of projects that are relevant to the country.
Shoolini: Harnessing Biodiversity
A fourth bright spot is the Shoolini University started by Dr Prem Kumar Khosla, a former professor of Forestry at the University of Horticulture and Forestry in Solan, Himachal Pradesh (HP). Unlike a well-endowed university such as APU, Dr Khosla has bootstrapped Shoolini with his own funds and friends’ support. Shoolini’s distinctiveness comes from its founders’ deep understanding of the biodiversity of the state of HP, and building a Biological Sciences programme around
this resource. Students, faculty and collaborators from all over the world are attracted by the opportunity to do cutting edge research on plants and trees, using the latest approaches and equipment. What struck me about these four institutions is their vision and clarity of purpose, and how well this is articulated by their leaders. These leaders were unanimous in underlining the importance of integrity of purpose in building strong institutions. They were unambiguous that there could be no compromise on their core missions. They emphasised the importance of carrying people with them, and infusing a sense of purpose to overcome barriers. They felt that team work was imperative to achieve excellence.
What’s also distinctive about these institutions is their focus. This is not surprising because in a
world of increasing specialisation, focus offers a smoother path to excellence. Just as most successful startups make their reputation by meeting the needs of a niche, these institutions have chosen to build their reputation by creating impact in specific domains.
I was also impressed by their efforts to go beyond the traditional boundaries of the university
to have a larger societal impact. They are shaping their organisations in such a way that
their knowledge finds application by design, and not by chance. And these organisational designs
are not generic, but objective and context-specific. In the case of NCBS, this involves creating opportunities for different models of commercialisation, while in the case of APU, this involves close working with a field organisation, the APF.
Let’s hope we see many more bright spots in the years ahead. Let a thousand flowers bloom.
Shrishti Labs: Creative Solving
The third bright spot is Srishti Labs, a part of the Srishti School of Design. Srishti Labs brings together a design education institution and technology professionals to provide practical and aesthetic solutions. Warren Greving of Srishti Labs emphasised the importance of combining the divergent thinking of creative individuals at the Design School with the convergent thinking of industrial problem-solving. This is what Srishti Labs seeks to achieve. Warren himself brings afascinating background in setting up R&D centres in emerging markets like India and China on behalf of multinational corporations. He is therefore acutely sensitive to context, and the importance of projects that are relevant to the country.
Shoolini: Harnessing Biodiversity
A fourth bright spot is the Shoolini University started by Dr Prem Kumar Khosla, a former professor of Forestry at the University of Horticulture and Forestry in Solan, Himachal Pradesh (HP). Unlike a well-endowed university such as APU, Dr Khosla has bootstrapped Shoolini with his own funds and friends’ support. Shoolini’s distinctiveness comes from its founders’ deep understanding of the biodiversity of the state of HP, and building a Biological Sciences programme around this resource. Students, faculty and collaborators from all over the world are attracted by the opportunity to do cutting edge research on plants and trees, using the latest approaches and equipment.
What struck me about these four institutions is their vision and clarity of purpose, and how well this is articulated by their leaders. These leaders were unanimous in underlining the importance of integrity of purpose in building strong institutions. They were unambiguous that there could be no compromise on their core missions. They emphasised the importance of carrying people with them, and infusing a sense of purpose to overcome barriers. They felt that team work was imperative to achieve excellence.
What’s also distinctive about these institutions is their focus. This is not surprising because in a world of increasing specialisation, focus offers a smoother path to excellence. Just as most successful startups make their reputation by meeting the needs of a niche, these institutions have chosen to build their reputation by creating impact in specific domains.
I was also impressed by their efforts to go beyond the traditional boundaries of the university to have a larger societal impact. They are shaping their organisations in such a way that their knowledge finds application by design, and not by chance. And these organisational designs are not generic, but objective and context-specific. In the case of NCBS, this involves creating opportunities for different models of commercialisation, while in the case of APU, this involves close working with a field organisation, the APF.
Let’s hope we see many more bright spots in the years ahead. Let a thousand flowers bloom.
Dr Krishnan is a Professor of Corporate Strategy at IIM Bangalore. He has an MSc in Physics from IIT Kanpur, MS in Engineering-Economic Systems from Stanford University, and a PhD from IIM Ahmedabad. He can be reached at rishikesha.krishnan@ eduleaders.com 
