Integrated Programmes: Providing better prospects to student community

“Integrated Courses” is more or less accepted by the Indian education system now, with top institutions admitting students in these courses. Many premiere institutions like IITs and IIMs and some of the central universities have taken the lead and have begun offering flexible dual degree and integrated courses across streams. Education experts and policy makers have been talking about it for long time with Prof. Yashpal recommending it few years back.

The integrated programmes have a curriculum that comprises of content jointly designed by two or more higher education disciplines regulated by a specific set of guidelines. These programs are innovative in nature with new curriculum and better insight on subjects. Now, integrated courses are being offered in almost all the disciplines from humanities to engineering, ranging from multi-disciplinary to super-specialisation and duration of course starting form four and going up to seven years which starts from senior secondary level and goes up to PhD level.

There are several reasons responsible for the need and growth of integrated programmes and the most important one being the conventional courses becoming obsolete. The existing system has flaws like in the conventional system students are passive learners, no exposure to critical thinking, no active learning and difficulty in applying their knowledge to society. The industry has also been complaining that the graduates coming out of the existing education system are non- employable, thus the integrated programmes is an answer to that as they are designed in order to prepare industry ready individuals. It has also been designed to meet the aspirations of young students to become professionals, change agents and societal leaders.

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has come up with its guidelines for institutions starting integrated course and has made it clear that the courses should make students industry ready. As per the guidelines the objective of starting these courses should be first, to create technologists and engineers from all branches ready with management skills. Second, to ensure that the graduating students are ‘industry ready’ with managerial skills and third, to inspire students to start and run own ventures in their basic field of study with good business skills and knowledge.

Experts are also of the view that those students who have research as the goal of their career they should go for the integrated courses as it will save their time on education without losing out on content.

There is also an element to it as students often get confused between dual degrees and integrated programmes as both the terms are often used interchangeably. A joint or dual degree program is an outcome to an integrated course of study. An integrated study programme comprises of a curriculum that is jointly designed by two or more higher education institutions. The institution should inform the students about various provisions of integrated programmes and they should also come up with awareness programme to popularise the new system of education and it should not be seen as something replacing the existing system completely as it has its own pros and cons.