LG Sinha Sets Six-Month Deadline for Universities to Implement ‘Design Your Degree’ Programme , Calls for academic collaboration, integration of AI and technology, and effective implementation of NEP 2020
JAMMU, NOVEMBER 04: ANB ,Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting of the Jammu and Kashmir Higher Education Council (JKHEC) at Lok Bhavan, setting a six-month deadline for universities across Jammu and Kashmir to implement the ‘Design Your Degree’ (DYD) programme.
The meeting focused on evolving a comprehensive roadmap for transforming the higher education sector, with particular emphasis on academic excellence, research and innovation, institutional collaboration and aligning university programmes with emerging technological advancements.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Minister for School Education, Higher Education and Jal Shakti, Shamim Firdous, attended the meeting along with Vice Chairman of JKHEC Prof. Dinesh Singh, Acting Chief Secretary and Additional Chief Secretary, Finance, Shailendra Kumar, and senior government officials.
Vice Chancellors of various universities, including the University of Jammu, University of Kashmir, Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST), Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, SKUAST Kashmir, SKUAST Jammu, Central University of Kashmir, Central University of Jammu, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University and Cluster Universities of Jammu and Srinagar, also participated.
Directors of IIT Jammu, IIM Jammu and NIT Srinagar, along with representatives from IIT Bombay and Delhi University, were among the participants.
During the deliberations, the Lieutenant Governor called for expediting academic reforms and ensuring the time-bound implementation of the ‘Design Your Degree’ framework in all universities across the Union Territory. He also stressed the need for institutions to share academic credits, research laboratories and other resources to strengthen collaboration and improve the quality of higher education.
“Transforming higher education in Jammu and Kashmir into a comprehensive, holistic and visionary system is a shared responsibility. The time has now come to translate Higher Education Council initiatives into tangible achievements, while ensuring that every student benefits from outcome-oriented asset utilisation,” the Lieutenant Governor said.
Emphasising the importance of institutional coordination, Sinha said that meaningful reforms would require sustained collaboration among universities, structural improvements and a well-defined long-term strategy.
He also underscored the need to incorporate Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Data Science into undergraduate and postgraduate curricula, directing attention towards emerging technologies and future-oriented academic programmes.
The Lieutenant Governor further stressed that technological advancement and academic modernisation must remain rooted in Jammu and Kashmir’s local languages, cultural heritage and regional knowledge systems.
The Council also discussed mechanisms for sharing academic credits and institutional resources, besides restructuring undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in accordance with the ‘Design Your Degree’ framework and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Deliberations were also held on establishing a dedicated task force to facilitate the integration of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science into university curricula.
JKHEC Vice Chairman Prof. Dinesh Singh called for appropriate policy directives to align undergraduate and postgraduate academic programmes with the DYD framework.
Vice Chancellors and other Council members presented their suggestions and observations on advancing the implementation of DYD and various interventions envisaged under NEP 2020.
The meeting also reviewed the progress of ongoing higher education initiatives, including Engineering Kitchens and entrepreneurship programmes, besides examining the budgetary outlay and proposed reforms in the fund allocation mechanism.
The Lieutenant Governor stressed that universities must move beyond policy formulations and ensure that ongoing initiatives translate into measurable improvements in academic quality, research outcomes and student opportunities. ANB
