NEP Initiative to Bridge Industry-Academia Gap

UGC Professor of Practice Scheme 2023: The UGC has introduced the ‘Professor of Practice’ scheme under the NEP guidelines to recruit professionals, practitioners, and experts from different fields to the HEIs. Check the registration process, eligibility criteria, and other guidelines for UGC Professor of Practice Recruitment. 

UGC Professor of Practice Scheme 2023: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has introduced a scheme called the ‘Professor of Practice’ to attract professionals, practitioners, and experts from different fields to the higher education system. The scheme is a new initiative to bridge the gap between academia and industry. The scheme aims to bring experienced professionals from industry into higher education institutions to share their knowledge and expertise with students. It also wants to transform higher education by focusing on skill-based education to meet the needs of the industry and the economy. This will help in integrating vocational education with general education and strengthening industry-academia collaboration in HEIs.

UGC Professor of Practice Scheme – An NEP 2020 Initiative

The UGC has taken a new initiative backed by National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 to bring the industry and other professional expertise into the academic institutions through a new category of positions called “Professor of Practice”. This will help to take real-world practices and experiences into the classrooms and also augment the faculty resources in higher education institutions. In turn, the industry and society will benefit from trained graduates equipped with the relevant skills.

The objective behind introducing Professor of Practice by UGC is to enhance the quality of higher education by bringing practitioners, policymakers, skilled professionals etc. in to higher education system. Here is the portal to register yourself.https://t.co/qlGkZ7gdoY pic.twitter.com/a1eH8k3J8a

— Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar (@mamidala90)
May 16, 2023

Check UGC NET Minimum Qualifying Marks Categorywise 2023

UGC Professor of Practice Registration Portal

The UGC has developed a portal for the Professor of Practice, pop.ugc.ac.in, as a common platform for both experts as well as higher education institutions (HEIs) where they can register and search for appropriate opportunities. The experts can register and upload their biodata in the portal and look for vacancies. Similarly, the HEIs can advertise their requirements for Professor of Practice and select suitable candidates from the portal.

Check CSIR NET 2023 Result Date, Merit List, Normalisation of Marks, E-certificate details

UGC Professor of Practice Eligibility Criteria

Let’s look at the eligibility criteria to become a Professor of Practice in HEIs:

UGC Professor of Practice Initiative Objectives

The ‘Professor of Practice’ scheme will help to take real-world practices and experiences into the classrooms and also augment the faculty resources in higher education institutions. In turn, the industry and society will benefit from trained graduates equipped with the relevant skills. Here are the key objectives:

• To develop courses and curriculum to meet the industry and societal needs and enable the HEIs to work with industry experts on joint research projects and consultancy services which will be mutually beneficial;
• To bring in distinguished experts from various fields such as engineering, science, technology, entrepreneurship, management, chartered accountancy (CA), commerce, social sciences, media, literature, fine arts, civil services, armed forces, the legal profession, and public administration into the academic institutions;
• To enable the higher education institutions to formally associate with persons of eminence and encourage them to participate in experiential learning, research, training, skilling, entrepreneurship, and extension and to play a mentoring role.

UGC Professor of Practice Duties and Responsibilities

Let’s look at the duties and responsibilities of a Professor of Practice in HEIs:

1. Involve in the development and designing of courses and curriculum.
2. Introduce new courses and deliver lectures as per institutional policies.
3. To encourage students in innovation and entrepreneurship projects & provide necessary mentorship for these activities.
4. To focus on enhanced industry-academia collaborations.
5. Conduct jointly in collaboration with a regular faculty member of the institution, workshops, seminars, deliver special lectures and training programmes.
6. Carry out joint research projects or consultancy services in collaboration with the regular faculty member of the concerned HEI.

Check CSIR NET Expected Cutoff Marks 2023

UGC Professor of Practice General Conditions

The general guidelines for Professor of Practice in HEIs:

1. The engagement of the Professor of Practice will be for a fixed term.
2. The engagement of Professor of Practice will be exclusive of the sanctioned posts of a university/ college. It will not affect the number of sanctioned posts and the recruitment of regular faculty members.
3. Professor of Practice is not open for those in the teaching profession- serving or retired.

UGC Professor of Practice Categories of Engagement

It is envisioned that Professor of Practice can be engaged in one of the following categories:

1. Professor of Practice funded by Industries
2. Professor of Practice funded by HEIs from their resources
3. Professor of Practice on an Honorary basis.

The engagement may be initially for up to one year. The maximum duration of service of Professor of Practice at a given institution should not exceed three years and is extendable by one year in exceptional cases and the total service should not exceed four years under any circumstances.

UGC Professor of Practice Salary

Both for part-time/full-time engagement, the consolidated amount will be paid as mutually agreed between the institution and expert.

So, the UGC Professor of Practice scheme is a great opportunity for both students and industry professionals. For students, it provides an opportunity to learn from experienced professionals who are working in the field. For industry professionals, it provides an opportunity to share their knowledge and expertise with the next generation of leaders.