UGC launches portal to create pool of industry experts

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has unveiled an online platform, designed to establish a repository of industry experts and professionals who can be recruited by higher education institutions as professors of practice (PoPs). The initiative aims to facilitate the hiring of skilled individuals from various industries to enrich the academic environment.

The PoP portal will bridge the gap between academia and industry by facilitating the hiring of experienced professionals in different domains, said UGC Chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar while launching the portal recently.

The commission introduced the professor of practice scheme in August last year for higher education institutions as a part of the National Education Policy 2020 implementation.

The objective behind introducing this new faculty category is to bring in distinguished experts from various fields such as engineering, science, technology, entrepreneurship, commerce, social sciences, media, and literature, among others, into academia.