‘Restrictions on students to hurt cultural diversity’
NEWDELHI: Thomas F Gibbons, dean of the School of Professional Studies at Northwestern University in the US says change in immigration rules and the noise of restriction on student mobility will be counterproductive for US. “What worries me is a loss of cultural diversity,” he said. Gibbons, who was recently in India, also spoke about Northwestern’s tie-up with Bridge School of Management, trends in adult higher education, online education and employment rules in the US. Edited Excerpts: My perspective is coming from my long experience in the professional school space. Higher education today is going through a tremendous change. There is a new way of how it is being delivered, how it is structured and the credentials. Online education is a big part of that and has extended the reach of that.
We have partnered with Bridge School to develop a programme in biz analytics. It is very much a mainstream programme of one year.
We are looking at a programme on visualisation as a specialisation in analytics. The aim is to help people, firms, and organisation take hard data-based decisions. Absolutely. Their partnership with Northwestern University is a clear indication of commitment to quality. What it is also doing is connecting candidates with employers. We at Bridge School are building partnership with employers, employers’ groups. I think the enrolment of international students is down in a lot of universities. Students are asking what’s going on? Restriction on seven countries has created a situation where students are saying maybe we should look at Britain, Australia and Canada. I think it will leapfrog. We have seen it in the US, I am seeing now in India. It’s not about just a degree but a learning experience. It is the accumulation of new knowledge as you go on.