Outlook – July 28, 2019

60 OUTLOOK 29 July 2019

O

NE of the major chal­

lenges that India faces

in today’s time is its

need to truly enable

its large youth population.

In turn, when this begins

to happen, we shall begin

to meet the emerging and

vital needs and challenges

of the future. India, like all

nations, faces many chal­

lenges. Any insight into how

nations successfully tackle

their needs and challenges

consistently reveals that

knowledge systems have

played a significant role.

As things stand, India has

come a long way and most

cert ainly, our knowledge

systems such as universities

have played a major role, be

it in the distant past when

the invention of the rapalgai

was so successfully used for

deep sea navigation or the

crafting of the green revolu­

tion in modern times.

A university can be

deemed to be a university of

the future if those who pass

through its portals have

become adept at engen­

dering solutions to the

problems that beset society.

As an illustration of a

futuristic solution, take the

case of how the human race

tackled the scourge of

smallpox. Instead of staying

with the mundane practice

of providing piecemeal

remedies after the disease

had struck a patient, 18th­

century English physician

Edward Jenner broke the

mould and inven ted the

concept of vacci nation. As

Dinesh Singh

Former VC, Delhi

University, and adjunct

professor with the

University of Houston

FORESIGHT

UNIVERSITY

SPECIAL

University of the Future

Those who pass through its portals would be able to find solutions for society

TRIBHUVAN TIWARI