The University Grant Commission (UGC) approved the Guidelines for the Introduction of Short-Term Skill Development Courses in Higher Educational Institutes (HEIs) in the commission meeting held today, on Thursday, December 7.
As per the guidelines, the HEIs can consider offering short-term skill development courses from as many as 29 areas listed in the draft including Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Robotics, Data Science and Analytics, Cloud Computing, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, 5G connectivity, Fashion Technology, Yogic Science, Health and Wellness and much more.
Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, Chairman, UGC, explained “Anyone who has passed the 10+2/Senior Secondary Examination or its equivalent and is eligible for admission to any undergraduate programme of the HEI. The HEI shall offer credit-linked short-term skill development certificate courses of three to six months. The HEI shall use a credit mechanism to design the course structure. A short-term skill development course in any stream shall be at least 12 credits and a maximum of 30 credits.”
The short-term skill development course must have a greater focus on practical learning. The HEIs may develop a plan to facilitate employment opportunities and internships for the successful students completing the short-term skill development course, said the UGC Chairman.
The UGC will soon be releasing this draft for public feedback.
“The HEI may collaborate with the relevant Sector Skills Councils / Awarding Bodies and industries to gain credibility, access to placement opportunities, funding schemes and training, and ensure up-to-date course content,” he added.
Highlights:
HEIs included under Section 2(f) of the UGC Act, 1956, are eligible to offer short-term skill development courses subject to the availability of infrastructure and training capacity as per the prescribed standards. These courses should be provided with due approval of their Governing Bodies / Statutory Councils/Board of Management or any other equivalent academic bodies.
It is desirable that the HEI establishes a Centre for Skill Development Courses for introducing short-term skill development courses. The centre shall be headed by a Professor / Professor of Practice / Senior faculty as Centre Director nominated by the Vice-Chancellor / Principal.
The courses may be delivered by an individual/ more than one Faculty / Skill Instructor / Industry professionals, or a combination of Faculty / Skill Instructor/ Industry professionals / Professors of Practice. The number of academicians and practitioners should be in a 1:1 ratio.
The HEI shall offer credit-linked short-term skill development certificate courses of three to six months. A short-term skill development course in any stream shall be of at least 12 credits and a maximum of 30 credits. The short-term skill development course must have a greater focus on practical learning
The maximum student intake in one short-term skill development course should not exceed 60 for each cohort. The HEI may start multiple cohorts of any course depending on the demand of the course and the suitable infrastructure / faculty availability. The minimum faculty-student ratio shall be 1:30 or whatever is applicable in the respective HEI.
The HEI would issue the certificate, along with the number of credits and grades, on completing the course. In case the short-duration courses are offered with an Industry partner/ association / council /professional body, joint certification may be provided.
The HEI must declare the fee for the courses and also the fee refund policy in accordance with the nature and duration of the course, which is to be charged from the student. This must be displayed on the HEI's website.
The HEIs may develop a plan to facilitate employment opportunities and internships for the successful students completing the short-term skill development course.
