This refers to the news report “Liberate Indian Science from Red Tape: PM” (TNIE 4 Jan 2010; Mon). Our Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has rightly articulated the need for liberating Indian science by providing autonomy to the Indian scientific community. He has underscored the importance of fostering greater interdisciplinary interactions for finding solutions germane to the needs of developing countries in a world facing serious environmental issues. Here is an excerpt:
(Quote) He also called for dismantling compartmentalization of scientific endeavours to realise India's ambitions of promoting world‐class research. "We need to concentrate on strengthening the linkages between academic institutions, research institutions and industry. Today each operates within its own silo," he said. "Unless we close those gaps, our research and development sector may report high performance in terms of published papers but our challenges of the 21st century may still remain unsolved," he added. (Unquote)
While Dr. Singh’s concerns revolve round Science and Technology, here is a related report titled “Want to Engineer Real Change? Don't Ask a Scientist.” (The Washington Post dated 25 Jan 2009) by Professor Henry Petroski. Dr. Petroski is a professor of civil engineering and history at Duke University. He is at work on a book about science, engineering and global challenges. Here is an excerpt: (Quote) Obama should keep his promise to "restore science to its rightful place" -- and put engineering on at least an equal footing. (Unquote)
He highlights the distinction between science and engineering and here I quote from papers by Professor Clive Dym who has paraphrased the following thoughts and words of Albert Einstein and Rober F. Kennedy:
Scientists see things as they are and ask, Why?
Engineers see things as they could be and ask, Why not?
Indeed, Professor Dym has articulated the need for preparing engineers for a flat world – that is, prepare engineers to embrace the inclusive growth challenges of the world. He and his research associates represent a school of thought that promotes design thinking in the engineering curricula and upholds Herbert a Simons views as articulated in his landmark lectures on “The Sciences of the Artificial” (1969): “…Engineering Schools ought to focus on design as their central activity, rather than being schools of applied science…”
India has its own inclusive growth challenges and the Government of India is doing its level best to expand the capacity of its premier institutions to promote access to education. Yet the institutional mechanisms and the cultures need to change for promoting access without compromising excellence. Till that happens MHRD-GoI will be saddled with a legacy system that views engineering as “the schools of applied sciences” and values compartmentalization more than looking for opportunities beyond disciplinary boundaries. It is not strange, therefore, when one sees the new IIT Bhubaneswar (in Orissa) naming its engineering schools as “schools of sciences”.
A possible limiting factor could be the policy framework that supports design in technical education. Quoting Professor Dym (2005) “Design is what engineers do, and the intelligent and thoughtful design of the curriculum should be the community’s first allegiance.”
Fortunately, India also has its own unsung gurus who also believe in design thinking. Attempts were made by some of them in the past to bring changes in the technical education system of the country. They had proposed policy changes to infuse design thinking early in the education system. Accordingly the draft National Design Policy had been formulated (early part of this decade). It was being spearheaded by NID, CII and DIPP-GoI. Here is an excerpt from the draft policy:
- Draft recommendation emphasizes: “Encouraging the teaching of design oriented to the needs of Indian industry, especially small scale and cottage industries in tertiary educational institutions such as Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and Universities.”
Here is what has finally happened:
- Abridged policy document states (DIPP Website): “Encouraging the establishment of departments of design in all the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and all the National Institutes of Technology (NITs) as well as in prestigious private sector Colleges of Engineering and Architecture.”
This could be a possible limiting factor that prevents India from ramping up its capacity for quickly meeting the inclusive growth challenges. Note how IIMs have been dropped from this policy. Also, design teaching has been de-emphasized and design has been restricted to yet another silo (a department). This restraint needs to be removed and the changed policy has to be adopted wholeheartedly by the upcoming IITs, IIMs and Universities if India is serious about meeting its inclusive growth challenges.
Related blog posts (with models for improved public-private partnerships):
Realizing Prof. Yashpal’s Vision
