Giving Shape to the University of the Future

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 envisions a transformative shift in India’s higher education landscape by fostering multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary institutions. The primary aim is to enable holistic, flexible, and inclusive education that supports critical thinking, creativity, and innovation. The policy suggests replacing isolated and specialized institutes with large, multidisciplinary universities that promote interdisciplinary thinking and research.

The Vision of NEP 2020

The NEP proposes restructuring the current system of standalone colleges and fragmented departments into large multidisciplinary institutions. This reconfiguration emphasizes communication, discussion, debate, research, and integrated disciplinary learning. The transformation requires institutions to move from being merely multidisciplinary to becoming cross-disciplinary, where boundaries between subjects are porous, allowing for holistic knowledge creation and real-world problem-solving.

From Multidisciplinary to Cross-Disciplinary

Multidisciplinarity refers to the presence of multiple disciplines within one institution or program, often functioning in parallel without integration. For example, a university might have departments in history, physics, and literature that operate independently. Cross-disciplinarity, in contrast, demands collaboration across disciplines, synthesizing their insights, methodologies, and frameworks to address complex challenges. It shifts the pedagogical approach from compartmentalized knowledge to integrated, outcome-driven learning.

For instance, an article written jointly by an educationist and an economist embodies this cross-disciplinary approach. Their collaboration merges educational theories with economic analysis to create more robust insights. This level of integration is critical in addressing multifaceted global problems such as climate change, public health, or urban development.

Implementing the Multidisciplinary Model

To achieve this vision, NEP advocates phasing out single-stream institutes and replacing them with multidisciplinary universities. This can be done in two ways:

• Departmental expansion: Introducing new academic departments in existing institutions to broaden their disciplinary base.
• Institutional clustering: Combining institutions within a district into a single university cluster to facilitate academic synergy and administrative efficiency.

For example, a commerce college could be merged with an arts or science college to form a broader university. This model promotes optimal resource usage, better faculty deployment, and richer student experiences. However, implementation poses challenges, especially where most institutions are undergraduate-focused (as 35% are in India), often offering only a few disciplines. Clustering would thus require thoughtful policy and logistical execution.

Challenges in Practice

Despite the vision, integrating disciplines faces institutional and cultural barriers. Traditional university structures have rigid departmental divisions. Faculty hiring, research publications, and funding models are often discipline-specific, creating resistance to cross-disciplinary initiatives. Additionally, students may face difficulties navigating academic requirements when enrolled in interdisciplinary programs.

The United States experience with the National Science Foundation’s Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program is instructive. It showcases how a structured approach to interdisciplinary training can enhance students’ breadth of skills, research depth, and ability to tackle complex problems. However, such initiatives also highlight the need for dedicated funding, supportive faculty structures, and flexible curricula.

Cross-Disciplinary Learning and Faculty Culture

A truly cross-disciplinary university culture depends not just on institutional design but also on faculty attitude. Faculty members must collaborate, share perspectives, and mentor students across subject boundaries. Universities should create an environment that encourages such interaction. This can be done by:

• Redesigning curriculum to include interdisciplinary projects.
• Structuring departments around thematic problems rather than rigid disciplines.
• Encouraging collaborative research and joint publications.
• Modifying faculty evaluation metrics to value cross-disciplinary contributions.

Furthermore, students should be empowered to explore multiple disciplines without the fear of academic penalty. Projects, internships, and assessments should reflect this flexibility. A student interested in both environmental science and public policy, for example, should be able to work on climate governance as part of their core curriculum.

The Way Ahead

Transforming India’s higher education system into a more integrated, multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary space is essential for its future competitiveness. However, such changes are complex and require significant political, academic, and administrative will. The process will be gradual, spanning years of policy implementation, cultural change, and academic restructuring.

As the world moves towards knowledge economies driven by innovation, creativity, and collaboration, India must ensure its higher education system aligns with global trends. Creating future-ready universities that reflect the spirit of NEP 2020 is not just a policy aspiration but a national imperative.