At Jaipur National University, students undergo industry internships, capstone projects and live projects. Prof. Roshan Lal Raina, VC, Jaipur National University, explains to APAC Media how this plays a crucial role in making students career-ready by helping them to identify and bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world professional practices.Â
How does Jaipur National University ensure that its academic programs build strong, job-relevant skills for today’s evolving industry needs?
Keeping in view:
- The outcome of various credible surveys conducted globally year after year on recruiter requirements as to what the critical job-relevant skill sets and competencies are that are needed by them from the graduates passing out of the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs);
- and (ii) in alignment with NEP 2020 guidelines, Jaipur National University (JNU), regularly (annually, for sure but at times bi-annually) undertakes a 360degree curriculum feedback and review exercise involving all the key stakeholders, starting from the faculty members themselves and the Boards of Studies, Academic Councils with external members, comprising seasoned academics and industry professionals.
Continuous feedback from recruiters and alumni also helps us in program refinement, ensuring that our graduates of these programs are industry-ready and adaptable to future workforce demands.
Supplementing the outcome of this exercise, we also, in parallel, conduct benchmarking studies to reassure ourselves that we offer our students a curriculum that is quite contemporary and relevant to the times ahead.
Since JNU believes in nurturing its students into highly skilled, socially conscious, value-driven, and integrated human beings, the offerings of JNU’s various Centres of Excellence attempt to develop and build the critical skill sets and competencies in its students right from their entrance to the University till their graduation from the University by making them successfully complete a series of
(i)‘skill enhancement courses’ like ‘Effective Communication’, ‘Critical Thinking’, ‘Problem Solving’, ‘Conflict Resolution’, ‘Working in Teams’ ‘Personal Growth’;
(ii) value-adding courses like the courses on ‘Human Values’, ‘Environmental Sustainability’ ‘, Know Your Country’;
and (iii) new age technology courses, like the courses on ‘Digital Literacy, AI, ML, IoT, and so on.
Such courses are offered as an integral component of the curriculum of the programs offered by the University, and are run (designed, delivered, evaluated, and credited) the same way as are the domain-specific courses.
In the delivery of these courses, emphasis is placed on experiential learning through internships, industry projects, workshops, capstones, live projects, hands-on lab practicals, fieldwork, and case-based teaching to enrich real-world knowledge application.
The university’s collaborative relationship with academia and industry in the country as well as overseas helps us to arrange for expert sessions as an integral component of the course, certifications, joint research, and skill-development workshops, while promoting multidisciplinary learning and building soft (no, life) skills of our students.
In what ways is the university integrating emerging technologies such as AI, data science, and digital tools into teaching and learning?
Irrespective of the program a student is pursuing with us at JNU, he/she is necessarily given inputs on new edge technologies that include Digital Literacy, AI, Data Science, Machine Learning and so on by integrating such technology courses in the teaching-learning processes. The concepts are embedded across programs through dedicated courses, skill-based modules, and interdisciplinary electives, complemented by hands-on training.
Digital tools such as Learning Management Systems, virtual laboratories, simulation software, and online assessment platforms are widely used to enhance engagement, flexibility, and continuous learning. Faculty members are encouraged and trained to adopt blended and experiential teaching methods, including flipped classrooms, project-based learning, and data-driven assignments.
Industry collaborations, certification programs, hackathons, and workshops further expose students to real-world applications, ensuring graduates are technologically proficient and future-ready.
The objective is not to make them domain experts in all these areas but to enable them to understand and appreciate the applications of such technologies in their respective work environments, going forward.
How do industry partnerships, internships, and live projects contribute to making students career-ready?
In a variety of value-added ways. At JNU, students have to, in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the program, undergo industry internships, capstone projects and live projects as these play a crucial role in making students career-ready by helping them to identify and bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world professional practices.
All of this is facilitated at JNU through its strong and committed partnership with the industry, resulting in ensuring that our students’ learning remains relevant. Internships provide hands-on experience in real organisational settings, helping our students further hone their technical and professional competencies and soft skills.
Live projects allow students to work on real industry challenges, apply classroom/lab knowledge to practical situations, and build portfolios demonstrating their job-ready skills. Collectively, these experiences enhance employability, improve adaptability, and equip students with the confidence and competence required to succeed in competitive career environments.
What initiatives are in place at JNU to encourage innovation, research, and entrepreneurial thinking among students?
JNU being a multi-disciplinary and multi-faculty university, its Entrepreneurship Development, Innovation & Incubation Cell (EDIIC) promotes innovation, incubation, and entrepreneurial thinking through a structured ecosystem. It nurtures students’ creativity and problem-solving skills and supports them in idea validation, feasibility studies, business planning, mentoring, and commercialisation, leading to their development of entrepreneurial competencies and launching ventures.
Entrepreneurial capabilities are further strengthened through start-up boot camps, intellectual property rights awareness programs, workshops on proposal writing for funding, mentorship from industry experts/successful entrepreneurs and funding from interested venture capitalists.
By embedding research-based learning, interdisciplinary project-based assignments, seminars, workshops, and experiential learning within the curriculum, the university cultivates a culture of inquiry, innovation, and enterprise, enabling students to emerge as confident researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs – future job providers.
With EDIIC’s start-up support facilities, students are actively encouraged to engage in research projects, publish scholarly work, file patents, and participate in hackathons, innovation challenges, and national-level competitions.
How does the university upskill and train faculty members to deliver technology-driven and industry-aligned education?
JNU encourages and motivates its faculty to go for upskilling and professional development through a structured, continuous professional development framework. The objective is to help them deliver technology-driven and industry-aligned education. Faculty Development Programs (FDPs), workshops, and certification courses with a focus on emerging technologies, outcome-based education, and the use of innovative pedagogical tools are organised quite regularly by the University.
Faculty are encouraged to engage with industry through consultancy, collaborative research, industrial training, and professional internships, enabling them to plough back and integrate current industry practices and real-world case studies into their teaching-learning processes. Support for participation in conferences, FDPs by other credible HEIs, MOOCs, advanced training, and research fellowships further enhances their academic and technical expertise. Peer mentoring, exposure through knowledge-sharing fora, and effective use of learning management systems ensure faculty remain updated, adaptable, and capable of providing high-quality industry-relevant education.
What are the university’s key priorities in the coming years for strengthening skill development, technology adoption, and student employability?
JNU will continue to stay:
- current and contemporary on its curriculum;
- upgraded in technology absorption in its teaching-learning and evaluation processes;
- and connected with expanded and choicest of industries to provide an exciting, absorbing, and outcome-driven experiential learning experience to its students, resulting in not only their becoming just employable but good employers, going forward.
Jaipur National University is committed to continuously further strengthening its Centres of Excellence (COEs):
- Communication and Critical Thinking,
- (ii) New Age Technologies,
- and (iii) Entrepreneurship Development, Innovation and Incubation Cell (EDIIC).
Going forward, JNU will explore the possibility of establishing two more COEs, one in Skill Development and the other in the Indian Knowledge System.
The offerings of these COEs in the form of regular and progressive courses, workshops, seminars, expert sessions, and project works are bound to strengthen skill and competency development of our students aimed at their better and choicest career progression and employment opportunities.
In addition to its offline programs, JNU is also offering programs in online and distance learning modes. By integrating our offline offerings with online/distance learning, the university will attempt to enhance inclusivity and lifelong learning, resulting in learners adapting to evolving academic and industry requirements.
