Doubling down on liberal arts & research

ASHOKA UNIVERSITY HAS SET A CONFIDENTVISION FORTHE NEXT DECADE, AND BEYOND

- VIKRAM CHAUDHARY

ASHOKA UNIVERSITY, a young but influential institution, is celebrating a decade since its inception.

While it pioneered the modern liberal arts education model in India, the university has also evolved into a research hub.To discuss this journey and the vision for the next decade, we sat down with Prof Somak Raychaudhury, the vice-chancellor of Ashoka University.

Liberal arts edge

Prof Raychaudhury was quick to point out that the liberal arts model, which allows students to liberally sample various subjects, is far from new, tracing its origins back a century to institutions like Harvard and Chicago. Ashoka, however, remains a pioneer in the Indian context.

“Unlike most other liberal arts universities set up in the last decade, at Ashoka, the incoming cohort doesn’t decide on their major till the third semester,” Prof Raychaudhury said. “We don’t recruit students to economics or physics; for a year and a half, they sample all subjects — from foundation courses and critical thinking to principles of science, economics, politics, and Indian civilisation” This period of exploration allows students to make an informed career choice, a core principle that will define the university’s future.

The tenure-track model