DSEU VC Interview: Multiple entry and exits; Students can earn extra points during UG admission

Established in August 2020, Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University (DSEU) focuses on making students equipped with world-class skill education to enable access to aspirational jobs and inculcate entrepreneurial mindset and entrepreneurship. DSEU aims to create a win-win for the youth and the industry by filling the existing gaps in skill training, said DSEU Vice-Chancellor, Dr Neharika Vohra during a conversation with Shiksha.com. Dr Neharika Vohra Vice-Chancellor, DSEU (Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University) during a conversation with Shiksha.com spoke about the objective behind establishing a university on skill development. She talked about the option of multiple entry and multiple exits being offered by the university many more objectives as per the recommendations under the National Education Policy (NEP).

Check out the excerpts from our interview with DSEU VC Professor (Dr) Neharika Vohra below:

Q: DSEU has been established on the underlying ethos of the NEP, can you elaborate on the benefits and facilities available for candidates here?

The university has been established with the idea to provide quality education in applied sciences and skill education with the express aim of changing the entire paradigm in skilling. The idea is how do we make skilling aspirational and how do we become a partner in upskilling and reskilling in our nation. DSEU offers the option of multiple entries and multiple exits. Rather than students joining a course and continue until they finish or when they end up dropping out without getting any credit, DSEU has designed degree courses in such a way that if you join and drop after one year, you would still be employable at a certain role. You can exit when you want to but there are two exits in a three-year programme, i.e. you can exit at the end of the first year, you can exit at the end of the second year or you can complete your degree and go. However, once you exit, that is also not final. It’s not like you have exited and you can never come back.

DSEU also has the possibility of multiple entries, if you exit and come back after let’s say two years saying I have worked in a particular area and I now want to enter this course, the University will also look at that. So there is the possibility to do both, i.e. multiple entry and multiple exits. Students can also transfer credit, for example, you finish the first year and then you worked and while working you took two, three, four courses via SWAYAM, NPTEL or any other platform, the University will also look at the courses that you have taken and night have an evaluation when you come back to the University. The University will give you those credits, this way your next two years might actually be completed in just one and a half years. 

Q: There are some skill development universities operating in the country like in Haryana, Rajasthan, etc. how this will be different from them?

We don’t want to say that having a skill-embedded course should be any different from having a conceptual course. I could be doing a BA History or I could be doing a BA historical studies (hypothetical), here a BA History would be completely theoretical however, BA Historical might actually prepare you to write travel logs, to write history books and understand the whole process. DSEU would make the graduates ready to walk into the job that s/he would be preparing for. Later, if the student wants to go for higher studies, s/he can always go for MA MBA, etc.

All our courses have been designed by consulting industry experts, finding out skill gaps in the industry, what makes a graduate so long to be productive, etc. Our courses have been designed to fill those gaps. These courses are also not going to be permanent. It is possible that four years later a particular course does not gel well in the industry so we will design a new course.

Q: Would request you to give us an overview of various types of diploma courses introduced for Class 10 students?

We believe that a university should not only start at a graduate level. Students who for whatever reason want to make a choice regarding in what field they want to work should also be able to make that choice after Class 10. For example, if I want to be an interior designer then why study all the subjects? Study one of the diploma course offered by DSEU which is a 3-year course in interior designing and then because it would be a plus-two in interior designing, you can also go forward and do a bachelor in the same at another point in time. Or, if you do a diploma in automobile engineering and at some point, you say that you want to become an engineer, you can get lateral entry into the engineering programme. We have also designed an integrated engineering programme in which students can get admission after Class 10 into diploma and if they perform really well in the 3 years of the diploma course, they will get an automatic entry into the engineering programme and complete their engineering degree in 6 years. After Class 10, if the student opts for the integrated engineering programme, s/he can easily walk out with an engineering degree.

Q: As Class 12 results are out, what would be DSEU’s criteria to enroll students?

DSEU offers 1350 seats at the undergraduate level, for Diploma courses we have 4500 seats. Enrolling criteria for DSEU admission would be the marks that students got in Class 12. The admission would also depend on extracurricular activities (the area is extensive) this includes participation in national, international events, volunteering, participation in science projects, writing, etc. Students will also get some extra points if they pick any vocational subject in Class 12. Also, if a teacher or principal gives a letter of reference for any student explaining why she or he is particularly suitable for the said course would also gain extra points for the student.

Q: Is there any quota for Delhi students? What are the other academic benefits (scholarships) that students can avail?

Considering that DSEU is a Delhi-based University, 85 percent of the seats are reserved for Delhi students. Talking about the benefits that DSEU provides, I can say that our scale is from zero to the upper limit. No student would be denied admission if s/he does not have money for it. If you are interested in studies and you fulfill the eligibility criteria of our course, we will find a way to teach you. Considering it is a state University, the rest of the reservations would be based on the government norms.

Q: How is DSEU planning to assist children orphaned due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Of course, the University will assist such students. We hope there is no more stress due to the pandemic but if in case such a situation arises, we are planning to conduct online classes. If we reopen, the lab classes will be conducted in small groups following all COVID-19 precautionary, social distancing, etc.

Taking about the last two years as an opportunity, the University is planning to design hybrid courses.  Even if there is no COVID, there will be some courses that will be taught in a blended mode. There will be courses that will be taught in a large class format and there will be some courses that will be taught in a small class format. In addition to faculty, for every course, there would at least be one teaching assistant who will also mentor students through the entire semester.

Q: What is DSEU’s planning on the commencement of offline classes? What all would be the measures taken?

The reopening of DSEU and conduction of offline classes would completely depend on the government’s instructions. We are getting ready to begin offline classes from October 1. However, if the government does not want us to start, we will not. It will completely depend upon the law of the land.

Q: How do you plan to give industry exposure to students and later help in placements?

DSEU is already merged with the industry. Our courses have been designed in which students spend half of their time in the industry. All our curriculum is half industry, half academic. We are always connected with the industry while designing the courses. For every course, some part of the delivery will be managed by the industry people. For every course, we are mandating guest lectures from faculty. We are also planning to take students for real-life projects. There are some courses in which we are planning not to start with theory in the first semester, for example, the first three months of our beauty and aesthetics courses would include practice in the industry. Students would also get stipends under the same. DSEU placement will be conducted in time but by that time, the students would already get so much exploration in the industry that they will be employed in no time.

Q: DSEU has collaborated with Mercedes-Benz for the diploma programme recently. Are we going to see more such collaborations? How are they going to benefit students?

DSEU has already signed 25 collaborations so far with HDFC, Infosys, Cognizant, etc. The Mercedes course is interesting as it is a top-up course. DSEU faculty as well as its students will greatly benefit from this highly advanced course and get insights from the field with a new perspective. The course will include a factory visit to the Mercedes-Benz Pune plant.

The University has been established with the idea to provide the best opportunities to students to gain hands-on experience and inculcate industry-relevant skills. This partnership is another step taken by the University to bridge the gap between industries and students.

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