Over 4300 Applicants Apply On Professor of Practice Portal: UGC

Over 4,300 industry experts and professionals have applied for the Professors of Practice, a new category of college teachers proposed by the higher education regulator University Grants Commission (UGC). The post attract a lot of attention. A top official said that at least 140 higher education institutions have expressed interest in inducting these candidates.

The portal was launched on May 16 by the University Grants Commission to bridge a gap between academia and industry by facilitating the hiring of experienced professionals in different domains.

The commission in August last year introduced the professor of practice scheme for higher education institutions (HEIs) as a part of the National Education Policy 2020.

The commission had launched the Professor of Practice scheme for higher education institutions (HEIs) as a part of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in August last year.

As many as 4,388 experts or professionals and 140 universities, colleges and institutes have registered on the portal till July 2. Those registering for academic positions include experts in the fields of engineering, science, technology, entrepreneurship, commerce, social sciences, media and literature.

The concept of professors of practice is catching up across the country, UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar said. “Many universities including colleges are now appointing PoPs. This is an opportune time for experts in different sectors to mentor and train our students in HEIs. PoP can also result in great industry academia collaborations. UGC is proactively promoting the PoP concept by writing to industry bodies,” he added.