Nirma University Strategic Plan 2014-2019 CONTENTS Page Nos. Strategic Plan – Nirma University 1-25 Strategic Plan – Institute of Technology 26-50 Strategic Plan – Institute of Management 51-78 Strategic Plan – Institute of Pharmacy 79-1070 Strategic Plan – Institute of Science 101-118 Strategic Plan – Institute of Law 119-143 Nirma University Strategic Plan (2014-19) PREAMBLE “Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity.” — Aristotle “University education stands for humanism, for tolerance, for reason for adventure of ideas and for the search of truth. It stands for the onward march of the human race towards even higher objectives. If the universities discharge their duties adequately then it is well with the Nation and the people.” Late Prime Minister Pt. J.L. Nehru Education satisfies human needs, wants, and aspirations. It empowers people by providing the necessary knowledge and equipping them with requisite skills. It also inculcates right values and attitudes among students to grow as responsible citizens. The economic value of education is well-acknowledged. It is widely demonstrated that higher education contributes to the economic growth of a nation and the welfare of humanity. Research conducted at higher education institutions (HEIs) conduces to the technological development of a nation and the productivity of people. Higher education also adds a significant value in students for social mobility. It creates rich human capital. People all over the world invest in a big way in higher education to increase their employability and earning capacity. Moreover, it has immense intrinsic ends. Investment in education is better than the investment in physical or financial capital. In the knowledge society, the importance of higher education has increased multi-fold. The knowledge society necessitates the continuous upgradation of skills and innovation in organisations. Human capital or competencies are the defining characteristic of a knowledge society. Need for Strategic Plan Strategy is an important determinant of the effectiveness and long-term growth of an educational institution. As the educational landscape is becoming complex in the Indian context, there is an urgent need for thinking and planning strategically. Nirma University has recently completed a decade of excellence in educational service. It is high time that we develop strategic plan for our survival and success. A strategic plan basically deals with four cardinal issues: Where do we stand today as an institution? Where do we want to reach? How do we reach there? How do we know that we are achieving our goals? This document is an attempt to answer these questions. A large educational institution needs to develop a strategic plan for itself as well as for its different constituents. The purpose of strategic plan is to achieve with excellence - the mandate given in the vision and mission of the institution - as well as to compete with peer institutions. It is possible only when we do an in-depth assessment of external environment and internal conditions. In addition, it is also pertinent to understand the intent and aspirations of organisational units and factor them in to the strategic plan. Strategic Plan Page 1 Most importantly, a strategic plan must chalk out strategic goals and consequent objectives and measures. It should also provide a set of action plans and mechanisms to achieve organisational goals and objectives. The strategic plan of Nirma University endeavours to analyse the external environment of the institution and then scrutinise the internal structure and dynamics of the University and its various constituents. Then it examines the critical success factors for institutional effectiveness and draws strategic goals, followed by the identification of objectives and measures. It also discusses additional budgets for new initiatives and necessary systems and structure for the implementation of strategic plan. The strategic plan is based on discussion with different internal and external stakeholders. We also conducted an intensive study of educational trends and examined their implications for our success and effectiveness. This exercise was undertaken at the university as well as institutional levels. The strategic plan went through an iterative process and many modifications were made after several rounds of discussions. The strategic plan is a living document for us. It guides and directs us. However, it is considered to be a flexible document that needs to change as per the changes in external and regulatory environments. Relevant portions of the documents are shared with students, parents, faculty, and staff members. Vision: Shaping a better future for mankind by developing effective and socially responsible individuals and organizations. Mission: Nirma University emphasizes on all round development of its students. It aims at not only producing good professionals, but also good and worthy citizens of a great country aiding in its overall progress and development. It endeavours to treat every student as an individual, to recognize their potential and to ensure that they receive the best preparation and training for achieving their career ambitions and life goals. Vision and mission of Nirma University provide the mandates for its strategic plan. Our purpose is to aid to the future of humanity by developing not only educated, ethical and effective graduates but also effective and socially responsible organisations. Our mission mandates that we focus on student centricity and develop students to realise their career ambitions and life goals. In other words, the university stresses personal and professional development. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS International Higher Education Landscape Quality of human capital is an important contributor of economic growth. South Korea has highly skilled personnel in its labour force (50%). On the other hand, its proportion is 16%, 14%, 7% and 6.5% for Brazil, Russia, India and China1, respectively. Knowledge economies are likely to perform better than traditional economies. India is at the cusp of becoming an industrial, knowledge economy; therefore, it has to focus on the reform and improvement of its higher education. 1 Knoema.com Strategic Plan Page 2 Most people in developed countries have higher education degrees. Developed countries have a large number of higher education institutions, many of them are committed to research and innovation. The developed countries on an average spend more than 6% of their GDP on education. The United States invests 4% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in higher education, while China invests 4.3% of its GDP. The European Union spent 6.2% of its GDP on higher education through public and private sources in 20092. In contrast, India spent only 1.22% (in the year 2010-11) of its GDP in higher education3. Emerging economies, like China and India, are growing their higher education fast to achieve economic growth and development. However, India is at least four decades behind industrial countries in higher education. The participation of youth in higher education is measured in terms of Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER). It is the percentage between the age group of 18-23 years of total population. The GER for the United States is 70%, while it is 27% for China. India’s GER is 18.8%. Thus, the United States has reached universal higher education phase. China has entered the phase of mass higher education. On the other hand, India is transiting from elite higher education to mass higher education phase. A project sponsored by Universitas 21 and conducted by the University of Melbourne4, 2013, on the ranking of National Higher Education Systems, studied 22 desirable attributes, clubbed into four categories, i.e., resources, environment, connectivity and output. It researched in total 50 countries. Overall, the United States and Sweden were ranked number 1 and 2, respectively. Sadly, India fared poorly and was overall ranked 49th, just before Indonesia. Table 1 shows that India fared poorly on the dimensions of resources, environment, connectivity and output. Table 1: Ranking of India among 50 Countries on Different Dimensions (2013) Dimension Ranking Resources 41st Environment 45th Connectivity 48th Output 45th Overall ranking 49th A robust indicator of effectiveness of higher education is student-faculty ratio. Figure 1 shows that Sweden has a student-faculty ratio of 9.5, China 16.8, while it is 24 for India. It implies that India has a lot to catch up in the quantity of teachers in higher education. 2 http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Educational_expenditure_statistics 3 University Grants Commission statistics, 2013. 4 U21 Ranking of National Higher Education Systems, 2013 Strategic Plan Page 3 Figure 1: Student-Faculty Ratio in Different Countries S-F Ratio 30 25 20 15 10 5 S-F Ratio 0 Domestic Higher Education Landscape Demographic Dividend: India has experienced demographic dividend in the past few decades due to better public health. The swelling population that was considered a bane is now emerging as a boon. Population growth is related to the socio-economic growth of a country. India’s proportion of young population to the total population is significantly larger. The ratio of the working population (15-64 years) to non-working population is in India’s favour. In July 2013, the population of India is 124 crores. It is more than 17% of world population. The current population growth rate is 1.53% per annum. The population is likely to reach 1.53 billion in 20305. The literacy rate of India was 74% in 2011. More than 50% current Indian population is under the age of 25 years. In 2030, the average age will be 40 years, 33 years and 29 years for the United States, China and India, respectively. By 2020, India will have a young population of 116 million (Age group 20-24 years) against a population of 94 million in China. In the next 20 years, the labour force is likely to go down by 4% in the industrialised world and 5% in China.