Prof Devendra Pathak is the Vice Chancellor at Uttarakhand University. Prof Devendra Pathak is known in academic circles as one of the most reputed educationists. He has been involved with education for more than four decades and has been Vice Chancellor of four Universities, as well as Director, Principal and Professor of reputed Management Institutions. Bringing his vast experience together, he wants to form a robust foundation for the students. Read here what he has to say in his interview.

Uttaranchal University

What factors keep you connected with the education sector? 

“Education empowers the nation”

Education is one of the prime requirements for the socio-economic development of the nation. And the vast number of students who are today in the education sector, especially in higher education. There are 36 million students in the higher education sector. So, I feel that India's future depends on the proper education that is being disseminated to them. In that context, throughout my career, as an educationist, students should be appropriately trained to help them become an instrument for change for society.

What is your philosophy of leadership?

“A leader always takes a collective decision”

I always consult with my colleagues. We have this system of convening meetings every week, and we discuss all the progress made. We strategize and execute the plan. I take into confidence all of my colleagues who are working with me. This is how I get a lot of ideas, and a lot of brilliant ideas come forward. I never take decisions unilaterally. Any decision or any action that is to be taken is presented before them. We have felt that it gives excellent results because the agreement and the different minds that have been put together definitely bring a better product. And that is in the best interest of the student as well as the university.

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What are your roles and responsibilities towards students?

“We have an effective student- mentor program”

Students look forward to a specific mentor, a friend, philosopher and guide, their entire career stay of 2 or 4 years. We have devised a system where one mentor is assigned to 15 to 20 students. The faculty member takes care of the academic part for the students and their personal development. Every Saturday, there will be a separate session where all the 15-20 students are gathered in a classroom. Mentors keep a track about various issues about students. The faculty member takes that matter with the concerned department's Dean or HODs. They arrange a special/extra lecture for them.

What do you think should be the University’s top priority over the next 10 years?

“We want to become an institute of prime excellence”

Due to COVID, we had to send the students back to their home. There was a period of uncertainty; all exams were held online. And from August onwards, we started all the classes, and they used to be conducted in a physical form. But now we have shifted to online classes. Our faculty members have started classes online, and we have seen that the maximum number of students attend them. Apart from this, we can see what I feel in the other ten years, the situation which is happening now, for a few years to come is not going to change. So, this blended learning has to be started. I feel relatively sure that within 2021; the situation will improve because we believe that offline education, with physical interaction in proximity, with eye-to-eye contact, is very relevant. In 10 years, I genuinely think that we will be on par with any other university in India and the global level because we have already adopted our pedagogy at par with many advanced universities. We are always interested in the developments made at prominent universities like Harvard, MIT, Kellogg, Yale, and we will try to bring those developments here to benefit our students.

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What was your vision for the university and how has it evolved over time?

“We ensure to bridge the gap between industry and curriculum”

When I first came to Uttaranchal University, I reviewed the position of the student placements. The two factors that are very important in my opinion are that besides the technical knowledge students must have excellent communication skills. The second factor is industry integration. We already have few of the industries where our final year students spend almost six months where they spend time in training and internships and learn about industry requirements. This program was needed to be very familiar with the work requirements when they join the industry after graduation. The companies have guided us to incorporate the provisions within the syllabus. For example, in the computer science field, we have partnerships with companies like Infosys and HCL. With this plan, students get comfortable with the work environment very quickly.