UGC’s professors of practice portal attracts over 4k applications

Over 4,300 industry experts and professionals have submitted applications to become professors of practice (PoPs), a recently introduced designation by UGC for college instructors. Additionally, over 140 higher education institutions have shown keen interest in involving these experts. This new category of educators has garnered significant attention within the higher education sector.

The portal was launched on May 16 this year to bridge a gap between academia and industry by facilitating the hiring of experienced professionals in different domains. The commission in August last year introduced the professor of practice scheme for higher education institutions as a part of the National Education Policy 2020.

The concept of professors of practice is catching up across the country, UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar said. “Many universities including colleges are now appointing PoPs. This is an opportune time for experts in different sectors to mentor and train our students in HEIs. PoP can also result in great industry academia collaborations. UGC is proactively promoting the PoP concept by writing to industry bodies,” he said.