‘Varsities must develop critical thinking’
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 18: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired the first meeting of the Advisory Board for Creating and Developing Entrepreneurship (ABCDE), constituted under the aegis of J&K Higher Education Council, at Raj Bhawan today.
The meeting, attended by Prof Dinesh Singh, Vice Chairman, J&K Higher Education Council; Alok Kumar, Principal Secretary Higher Education Department; Dr Mandeep Kumar Bhandari, Principal Secretary to Lt Governor; Vikramjit Singh, Commissioner Secretary, Industries & Commerce Department; Vice Chancellors of various Universities, Director, CIC Delhi University; Director Colleges and other Board members, emphasised on strengthening of industry-academia connect and building new partnership with corporate.
Sinha exhorted Higher Education Institutions of the Union Territory to reinvent classroom learning, reorient curriculum to focus on entrepreneurship in education to develop critical thinking, problem-solving skills and promote hands-on activities and projects in collaboration with diverse industries.
“Today, Jammu Kashmir is emerging as a frontrunner in planning and implementing innovative interventions in education sector. It is high time for our Higher Education Institutions to carry out self-assessment of capabilities and work on a collaborative model of ‘Entrepreneurship with Education’ aligning with National Education Policy”, he said.
He further highlighted the need for mentoring the students and providing them with an enabling environment where they can realise their ideas and specific goals.
The meeting also discussed the comprehensive strategy for the seamless integration of entrepreneurship into academic curriculum and creation of progressive entrepreneurship ecosystem spearheaded by Design Your Degree programme.
Pioneers in the industry including Piyush N Singh, Senior Managing Director Accenture; Vinod Sood, Co-Founder Hughes Systique Corporation; Sanjay Salil, MD Media Guru; Dr Subi Chaturvedi, Global SVP Chief Corporate Affairs & Public Policy Officer InMobi and young entrepreneurs Aditi Kakar and Garima Sipani- Co-founders Timoniyo Design also attended the meeting and shared their valuable suggestions and inputs on promotion of startups and entrepreneurship in Jammu Kashmir.