Edu-leaders

It was almost 20 years ago that Rajendra Pawar first thought about building a university. But regulations and unforeseen hurdles kept getting in the way. Moreover, he had high aspirations and didn’t want to cut corners. His patience has finally paid off— NIIT University (NU) was officially launched on November 15, 2009.

Along the way, Raji and the NIIT leadership used the time to gather a high-quality group of advisors and mentors to translate their audacious vision to reality. The story of their patient and inspiring journey is the subject of our cover feature this month. NU is not just another university. It is a bold new experiment that aims to address the gaps in our current ways of teaching and learning, and also prepare our youth for the challenges of the future. We are privileged to share with you an approach and thinking that could very well become a model for high-quality Indian higher education. Indeed, we are also excited that this is the first story in EDU’s mission to chronicle the successes and frustrations of our higher education leaders as they build India’s institutions for the future.

We are overwhelmed by your response to our launch issue. Thank you for your positive comments and encouragement. The one concern we have heard frequently is whether we can sustain the quality of our launch issue going forward. We appreciate your concern and acknowledge the need and effort required to sustain and maintain EDU’s standard. We can only assure you that we will not let you down. Hopefully, this second issue will build some confidence in our abilities! We have a great set of writers and contributors and with continued feedback and support from you, our readers, we are confident of fulfilling your expectations.

But, please do continue to push us with your criticisms and suggestions. We would like EDU to reach as many higher education leaders as possible. Do spread the word about us and feel free to email us contact details of colleagues and friends who you think should receive the magazine.

Our website http://www.edu-leaders.com is also active. Please send us your updates for our daily coverage online. Soon, we will be launching our e-newsletters as well.

Best wishes for a wonderful New Year ahead— 2010 promises to be a critical year for Indian higher education if our HRD Minister’s pronouncements are anything to go by!

Dr Pramath Raj Sinha
pramath@edu-leaders.com