I remember a passage from a book, or perhaps a magazine I read long ago, about a U.S. college student talking about his fellow French interns. The gist of his account was that all of the French interns he encountered seemed to know each other from before, or knew someone in common in the colleges they studied back in France. The U.S. student found this unusual for he felt U.S. …
IITs
MERIT colleges, national track India, & privilege blindness
In this rather extended essay (~4,500 words), I suggest the term MERIT (Metro-based / Residential, English-speaking, All-India intake, Tough to get into) Colleges as a moniker to replace the IIT / IIM tag we use for elite Indian colleges.
I then use MERIT as a framework to explore facets of privilege in India – national consciousness, rise of subjective merit, and finally blindness to our own privilege.
I tried to …
Does alma matter?
I saw this tweet recently from Anmol Maini, a keen observer of the Indian startup scene.
It is yes, funny.
Is it right? Hmm….I must confess the joke has a point, but I am not sure it is …
We Got Into IIT / IIM, But Our Kids Won’t.
Every once in a while, in parties, at coffee klatsches with friends, and in business meetings, I hear this line. It is typically said by those whose kids are in middle grade, all in premier schools, usually of the IB ilk. It is usually to the tune of “I got into IIT / IIM but my son / daughter is unlikely to”. Sometimes, it is followed up with a question, …
What I found interesting in Higher Ed last week
My blogposts
Apple University is Apple’s internal training centre, visualized in that distinct style that only Apple can. A look at how it works, and what it can teach B-Schools. Here.
What I found interesting in Higher Ed
Bertelsmann, Europe’s biggest media co (rev ~ €16b / $17b) is buying a controlling stake in Alliant International University, to enter the University space. Purchase figures were not available. It is …
What I found interesting in higher education last week #11
What I found interesting in the world of higher education last week, with some added thoughts and views. I work for the Times of India Group. All views are personal.
News
The Times of India looks at caste discrimination in premier Indian campuses after the recent suicide of a Dalit student at IIT Bombay.
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Mint covers Nalanda University’s launch (or relaunch). And even before Nalanda can come on steam …
What I found interesting in higher education last week #10
What I found interesting in the world of higher education last week, with some added thoughts and views. I work for the Times of India Group. All views are personal.
A Rebuttal to Prof Steven Pinker
Prof Steven Pinker writes a fascinating rebuttal of William Deresiewicz’s searing Don’t Send Your Kid to the Ivy League, apparently the most read article in the history of The New Republic. This …
What I found interesting in higher education last week #9
What I found interesting in the world of higher education last week, with some added thoughts and views. I work for the Times of India Group. All views are personal.
Unbundling, weak signals and the rise of Ashoka University
Unbundling in Higher Education, i.e., the impending breakup of key services provided by the university, is a theme that has been covered extensively. The two single best posts on this subject …
What I found interesting in higher education last week #8
What I found interesting in the world of higher education last week, with some added thoughts and views. I work for the Times of India Group. All views are personal.
What do I think about MOOCs? What do I think of their impact? How do I think they will evolve?
Enough has been said and written about MOOCs. So for this post to be useful reading, …
What I found interesting in higher education last week #7
A Report on the Future of MIT Education
Last week, a specially-constituted task force released its final report on the future of MIT Education. Only the 4th such report in its 153-year history, the report comes at a crucial juncture, when “higher education is at an inflection point”.
The taskforce does not suggest any radical overhaul. The tone of the report is to suggest and encourage ‘bold’ experimentation within …
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