Universities across Jammu and Kashmir have been given six months to roll out the ‘Design Your Degree’ (DYD) programme, following directions from Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at a meeting of the Jammu and Kashmir Higher Education Council (JKHEC).
The meeting, held at Lok Bhavan, was attended by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Higher Education Minister Shamim Firdous, JKHEC Vice-Chairman Professor Dinesh Singh, university vice-chancellors and heads of several national institutions, including IIT Jammu, IIM Jammu and NIT Srinagar.
The programme is part of the Union Territory’s efforts to restructure undergraduate and postgraduate education in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The council discussed academic credit sharing, access to research laboratories and the pooling of institutional resources to strengthen collaboration among universities.
“Transforming higher education in Jammu Kashmir into a comprehensive, holistic, and visionary system is a shared responsibility. The time has now come to translate Higher Education Council initiatives into tangible achievements, while ensuring that every student benefits from outcome-oriented asset utilisation,” Sinha said.
What is the Design Your Degree programme?
The Design Your Degree framework aims to give students greater flexibility in choosing their academic pathways. It allows them to explore subjects across disciplines and combine theoretical learning with practical projects, based on their interests and career goals.
The University of Jammu introduced its four-year undergraduate Design Your Degree programme in the 2023-24 academic session. Its framework includes multidisciplinary courses, project-based learning and opportunities to select major and minor subjects across disciplines.
The University of Kashmir also runs a Design Your Degree programme. According to the university's official programme information, its four-year undergraduate course began with 30 students and has since enrolled three additional batches, taking the total student strength to around 110.
The proposed expansion across universities would require institutions to align their academic structures and course offerings with the framework.
AI and data science to enter university curricula
The council also discussed setting up a task force to examine the integration of artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning and data science into undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
The proposal remains at the discussion stage. The meeting reviewed the modalities for constituting the task force, but no formal notification or implementation schedule for the proposed curriculum changes was announced.
Sinha called for universities to incorporate emerging technologies into their academic programmes while ensuring that local languages and cultural perspectives remain part of the curriculum.
Universities asked to share academic resources
The meeting also focused on greater cooperation between institutions through the sharing of academic credits, research laboratories and other resources.
The University Grants Commission's Curriculum and Credit Framework for Undergraduate Programmes, introduced in line with NEP 2020, provides for flexible course choices, multidisciplinary learning and multiple entry and exit options. It is intended to allow students to pursue subjects according to their academic interests and career plans.
JKHEC Vice-Chairman Professor Dinesh Singh called for policy directions to align undergraduate and postgraduate curricula with the Design Your Degree framework. Vice-chancellors and council members also presented suggestions on implementing the programme and other NEP-related reforms.
The council reviewed ongoing higher education initiatives, including Engineering Kitchens and entrepreneurship programmes. It also discussed budgetary allocations and proposed changes to the mechanism for distributing funds.