Making a strong pitch for holistic education, K. Kasturirangan, noted space scientist and the Chairman of the drafting committee for the National Education Policy-2020, has advocated that it is time eminent national institutes encouraged the multi-disciplinary education.
Speaking at the maiden convocation of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Tirupati which was organised in virtual mode on Wednesday, he said the education at the undergraduate level must focus on arts, crafts, architecture and aesthetics.
Critical thinking
“Efforts should be made to hone integrated skills of students including critical thinking, communication and life-long learning,” he said. The former Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) suggested that the IISER host a ‘Centre for Excellence in Educational Technology’ and work closely with the National Educational Technology Forum. He urged the students to broaden their knowledge and be guided by the values they believe in. He presented gold medal for academic excellence and the ‘Best graduating student’ prize to Ranadeep Roy and Jalaja Madhusudhanan respectively.
Research pursuits
Ashutosh Sharma, Chairman of IISER’s board of governors, underlined the need to negotiate, adapt, effectively respond and even engineer the changes. Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Education, advised the higher institutes to establish a network to achieve synergy in academic and research pursuits.
IISER Director K.N. Ganesh presented a report on the institute ’s achievements since its inception in 2015 and awarded degrees to 35 students in virtual mode. Registrar C.P. Mohan Kumar proposed the vote of thanks.
The institute decided to organise its maiden convocation in view of the coronavirus pandemic. The programme was telecast live in the IISER’s official YouTube channel.
