The University Grant Commission (UGC) passed new guidelines regarding Universities and Industries’ collaboration in its meeting held on 27th June 2023. The Guidelines introduces Research and Development (R&D) form for Universities and Industries linkages to adopt technological needs. The new linkage is named UI, scopes training, and apprenticeship, besides enabling students’ skill sets.
The approved guidelines by the UGC meeting on 27th June were kept unclosed on 30th June 2023 to publicize it for feedback from HEIs heads and Industries stakeholders. The UGC guidelines seek to form HEIs into Research and Development (R&D) clusters at both central and state levels. The R&D clusters will find how to solve the technological needs of Industries in the state and region.
This UI linkage will work in Coordination with the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHE)/ Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME). This R&D cluster with state governments, will design Technology-centric mechanisms to find out regional problems and turn them into a project for students’ assignments for their credits.
Jagadesh Mamidala, the UGC Chairman, said that the UGC’s newly passed guidelines for UI linkage is under New Education Policy 2020 recommendations as it aims to make students globally competent. Further, the chairman clarifies the objectives of UI linkage as R&D – “The linkages between universities and industries create scopes of training, apprenticeship, in many organizations as R&D labs and industries, etc.”
To prepare and structure the program – The Higher Educational Institutions have been ordered to establish an Industry Relations Cell (IRC), and the industries have been asked to structure University Relations Cells (URC). The Cell IRC will create projects between university faculty groups and industry groups. The URC in industries will fulfil the R&D needs. Both cells will be responsible for the funds needed.
The universities will have professionals in governance bodies and in faculties from the industry as “Professors of Practice” according to UGC norms – Guidelines mandates.
