Educators should create dreamers, achievers and winners, says Dr Joseph VG

Rithu Dravid

Dr Joseph VG, Chancellor, Garden City College, Bengaluru and the Honorary Consul General, Republic of Maldives (Bengaluru), is an educationist par excellence. He is the recipient of many awards like the Karnataka Shikshana Ratna, Bharat Samman, Karnataka Chetana, Karmaveer Chakra instituted by the U.N. for his exemplary contribution to education. He strongly believes that the rudimentary system of education needed formatting with a practical and inclusive approach.

The Garden City University, under his leadership, of which he is the founder and chairman, has crossed several milestones. It is surging ahead and aligning with his signature tag line of creating “Dreamers, Achievers and Winners”. Dr Josephh’s stresses on social development as an avenue for nation building and thereby creating practical thinkers. The motto of Garden City University is “Emphasis on Life”.

In an interview with News Trail, Dr Joseph spoke about how education can be a an exhilarating experience for students when given the right environment.

Your institution has reached out to many students –what are your thoughts on that?
Higher education should be wide open to students. Building a unique concept of, “creating dreamers, achievers and winners”is the key idea and focus of our institution. Bringing various cultures together from across 81 countries and thereby, enlightening these students helps broaden their vision towards progress. The best way for students to take on a university culture is to think scientifically and rationally and make the most out of it. Students across the globe and all over India come together for the purpose of learning and we help them become individual thinkers. What the students will take home are concepts and values that are deeply inculcated by the university. Life choices are made by individuals, so focus on them and move towards progress.

What is a well-run university in your opinion?
A university is not a place solely for learning, it is a centre for socialising and for practical purposes. Creating confidence in students by using the intra disciplinary system of learning is our model of education. Interactive learning with effective communication is what makes our students outshine at job placements. At the university we encourage students and the staff members to incorporate innovative ideas and adapt to changes towards progression.

With the pandemic our education system has undergone a lot of changes, yet we have been able to face these issues by effectively striking a balance. The blended study pattern that we had adopted in the university, gave the students multiple opportunities or tasks to explore.

The intra linked courses that we offer help students in numerous ways. Courses like fashion technology, hotel management, media studies, business management and other branches work hand-in-hand to create and showcase student’s talents through live demonstrations of their work. This gives the student a golden opportunity to build his/her career with confidence. Talent needs a platform for exhibition. Self-marketing one’s skills is important. But many of us in India fail to do so.

How does the National Education Policy (NEP) help students fulfil their goals?
The policy gives students the flexibility to choose subjects of their interest and excel in them. This policy will help India face the challenges of the future and enable us to meet global academic standards. This policy has tremendous benefits for students and is a requirement in today’s scenario. Today, age-old gurukul system concepts have merged with modern day culture to facilitate a robust learning environment for students. Emphasis on technology in education and dynamic implementation of new policies are the need of the hour. The NEP will help every student become multi-talented and ensure a decent career in different fields. The policy is certainly a multi-disciplinary, holistic and flexible one. Garden City University was the first institution to implement the NEP and we found it to be hugely advantageous.

How will Garden City University make its mark as a university of global repute?
As a stand alone university, now a premier institution in India – Garden City University has always had a strategic vision to achieve an overall excellence in academics and non-scholastic achievements. We are focusing on the Strategic Vision Plan 2030, which will be a perfect launching pad for a futuristic university with a global repute. The technology-based system of education has overtaken the holistic approach more so during the pandemic. We are focusing on innovative ideas and concepts that will benefit the students in the near future, by being flexible and open to changes. T