Meta-university launch in slow gear

The proposed launch of a meta university in India, which would allow students to pick and choose course modules from Delhi University (DU), Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), and IIT Delhi, may not happen this year. While JMI has managed to get required approvals from its statutory bodies, DU and IIT Delhi are still planning their moves, which could delay the launch. JNU has indicated that it might be not able to participate in the project this year.

The new courses that had to be offered jointly by the partner universities had to be launched from the academic session 2012-2013. But only JMI has been able to chalk out modalities in time for the launch. DU academic council and executive council will meet this week to discuss the issue of meta university and credit transfer among universities. Read more

Jamia is ready with an elaborate research agenda and the PG Diploma in Public Health programme, where it had to take the lead. It is waiting for the approval and funds from the University Grants Commission (UGC).

The meta university will be a major innovation in the Indian education system as it will allow students to pursue courses across the partner institutions. It will help them to design their own courses and include course options from the most reputed colleges related to these institutions. Besides, students will also be able to benefit from access to faculty, libraries, and laboratories of multiple institutes at a time. See details

The concept of credit transfer and cross-university education has been a hit in East India too. Jadhavpur University (JU), Calcutta University (CU) and the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C) are also working on jointly launching a meta university soon. JU is leading the project. Know more

While meta-university may not get launched this year, DU has decided to launch a ‘meta college' on a pilot basis. Undergraduate students from DU, who are keen on tailoring their own courses from any of the colleges affiliated to DU, will have to clear the required entrance exam and top 20 will get a chance to experiment with the concept. This will allow chosen students to handpick courses from one or more colleges and reach beyond disciplines to study what they want. Thus, one can pursue English literature from Lady Shriram College, a course in economics from St. Stephen's and combine it with a course in pure sciences from Hindu College. The only requirement will be to earn a certain number of credits assigned to the courses during the four-year duration. Know more about meta college

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