'Private universities outperforming public ones in internationalisation'

Adamas University, situated on the outskirts of Kolkata, is fast emerging as a centre of excellence with its focus on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary education, research and industry collaboration. Vice-chancellor Suranjan Das, during a conversation with Pritha Roy Choudhury, shared his vision of promoting internationalisation, building a strong industry-university partnership, scaling up research and consultancy activities and finally, nurturing socially-conscious and job-ready citizens. Edited excerpts from the conversation:

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Q. You were always associated with public universities. Why did you decide to move to a private university?

A. Well, one always likes to have a change. I have spent 45 years of my professional life in public universities, and as with any institution, there are both good and bad sides to a public system. After completing my second term at Jadavpur University in May 2023, I received an offer from Adamas University, whose impressive academic growth and the vision and mission of its chancellor Samit Ray had already caught my attention. I thought it might be a good idea to explore a greenfield institution and as I have always liked to take challenges.

I had also realised a particular pitfall in a public institution. This essentially relates to the delay in taking a decision. In a public university, there are institutionalised procedures which mandate every important issue to go through various committees with participation from all stakeholders. This certainly ensures democratic governance, but it also causes a long decision-making process. Sometimes, by the time a decision is made, the context has already changed. In this age of globalisation and intense competition, the ability to act swiftly is crucial, even if the decision taken is not always perfect. But in a private university, if I want to take a decision or initiate a new scheme, I need to convince the chancellor. Once I get the go-ahead, which is always quick, I have the liberty to move ahead quickly. Also, compared to other private universities, it has a much better campus.