An equally vexing problem facing at least some private universities is the difficulty in attracting the finest teaching talent. How does Nirma fare in this regard? In the last two decades, higher education has grown exponentially in this country. Unfortunately, faculty talent did not grow in the same proportion. Even the best of national institutions suffer from a lack of adequate number of faculty. We have taken up the challenge of faculty talentcrunch quite seriously. Our unique approach lies in growing our own timber. We have evolved two kinds of strategies. Firstly, there are intensive schemes for the existing faculty to attend different quality improvement programmes. As a result, they are enabled to enhance their expertise. Consequently, they can be considered for higher positions. Secondly, the institutions under the University also
PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES have evolved a scheme in which postgraduate students who are interested to be a teacher in the concerned field are groomed right from the beginning of the second year of the Post Graduate programme. We also take talented young faculty and provide them with rich developmental experience and offer them sufficient opportunities to upgrade their qualifications. We also ensure that we retain them. We are a student-focused and faculty-driven institution. The faculty have thus developed a sense of belonging and ownership of the institution. Unlike many private universities Nirma University has the unique distinction of being founded and led by a remarkable entrepreneur and visionary, Dr. Karsanbhai K. Patel. How has Nirma University capitalized on this advantage, to
Seasonal Magazine
any private universities are said to experience difficulty attracting the best-performing students. As an older private university, has Nirma University come out of this phase, and are you fully satisfied with the kind of student-talent that you are attracting? From the very beginning, Nirma University and its constituent institutions emphasised that we have to attract quality students and give them the best faculty and facilities. We have always provided excellent academic and campus life experience to our students. We have also continuously worked on quality education and high employability. As a result, we are the first preference of students in the state of Gujarat and a significantly favourite educational institution nationally.
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