Fostering curiosity is the purpose of education: Amit Dasgupta
Amit Dasgupta, India Country Director, University of New South Wales, Sydney speaks to Nishtha Balagopal about the importance of getting students ready to face the future and the ability of the faculty to inspire students.
How do you think India and Australia could partner to foster better quality of education and research in India?
India and Australia have a strategic partnership, which essentially means that each country collaborates in addressing the challenges they face. Some of these could be shared challenges. India faces a serious challenge in the education sector that Australia with its capabilities in the higher education sector could help address. Indeed, India's higher education challenge is so acute that unless it is addressed with immediacy, her growth and developmental aspirations could suffer irreparable damage. I believe such collaboration could be the tipping point in taking India-Australia relations to the next level.
What are the popular courses at the University?
At the undergraduate level, the most popular faculties are Engineering, Business, Built Environment, Law, Art and Design and Medicine.At the postgraduate level, Engineering, Science and IT are two of our most popular courses. UNSW through its Masters of Engineering Science offers 24 specialisations that include Photovoltaics, Water resource and waste water management, Renewable Energy in addition to the more traditional specialisations like Civil, Mechanical and Electrical. Each programme is meant to address future challenges. Our IT courses offer specialisations in BDA, AI and eCommerce systems providing students the opportunity to work with a team under the guidance of academics that lead cutting edge research in Quantum Nanosystems as well as Cyber Security challenges.
Do you offer online courses, which Indians can apply for?
The PLuS Alliance combines the strengths of three leading research universities on three continents – Arizona State University, King's College London and the UNSW Sydney - to solve global challenges around health, social justice, sustainability, technology and innovation.The online MBA offered by Australian Graduate school of Management (AGSM) @ UNSW Business School has been rated the fourth best in the world in The Financial Times (UK) Online MBA Rankings 2017. It is the only online MBA delivered by an Australian university to feature in the annual list, and reflects the strength of AGSM's digital strategy and investment in educational technologies to create a rigorous online learning environment.All UNSW Canberra Masters coursework programs are open to international students, since they are all available online. Some Masters coursework programs such as the various Master of Cyber Security degrees – have a substantial 'intensive mode' component (whereby students come on campus for a week for a single intensive course).
Are you partnering with Indian Universities for exchange programs?
We have a number of robust arrangements in place with several leading Indian institutions such as Jindal Global for Law, the University of Delhi, National Institute of Design, LV Prasad Eye Institute, and several others.
Does the University have a research wing?
Rsearch is a primary focus of the university, which is a member of the Group of Eight (Go8) research-intensive universities in Australia.
Most of our research is concentrated in the following areas of strength:
Biomedical SciencesWater, Climate, Environment and SustainabilityNext Generation Materials and TechnologiesSocial Policy, Government and Health PolicyICT, Robotics and DevicesLaw, Business and EconomicsFundamental and Enabling SciencesContemporary Humanities and Creative ArtsDefence and Security
Courses for mid-career professionals
These courses are designed for mid-career professionals who may not be, or need not be, technically proficient in cyber security, or space engineering (for example), but who in their work will need to manage such specialists, and be able to understand what those folks are talking about (why the issues they are examining in technical detail are important, etc).Some of our key online courses from UNSW Canberra are:Master of Cyber SecurityMaster of Strategy and SecurityMaster of Capability ManagementMaster of Space OperationsAGSM MBA