Professors of practice: why UGC’s decision to allow industry experts teach can transform education

Getty Images

Synopsis
The lack of employability among Indian students has been a concern. With the UGC coming out with draft guidelines for bringing in ‘professors of practice’ in universities and colleges, the idea is to recognise people with practical skills who can teach students more efficiently. The decision can be a game-changer for the educational sector.

This one’s personal. So, let me start with a story. Growing up in a family of teachers, the expected career path for me was to complete my PhD and then take up teaching. As a precocious five-year-old, I had proudly declared that “we are all professors in the family, including myself”. Enter the twist in the plot. In a black-sheep moment for my academic Bengali family, I chose to do an MBA instead. Then, in an even more unfathomable move, I chose