Students yet to pick up MU’S off-beat courses
IN 2019, VARSITY STARTED COURSES ON NEW-AGE TOPICS INCLUDING HIP HOP STUDIES, DATA SCIENCE, URBAN PLANNING
MUMBAI: Recently, the academic council (AC) of the University of Mumbai introduced 14 new courses, most focusing on research and industry trends with the inclusion of sports management and Artificial Intelligence (AI) with Data Science as part of undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes. While the courses go far beyond the regular sectors by tapping into the latest industry trends, many colleges feel that students might not opt for them right away.
“Many courses recently approved by the AC can’t be degree programmes because they are application-based and for a student to pick such a course for a bachelors degree, they need some background or understanding of the course in advance,” said Hemlata Bagla, principal of K C College, Churchgate. After repeated reminders, MU did not release data on the number of affiliated colleges implementing the existing self-financed courses. The last few programmes introduced by the university in the past decade include a BSC in Hospitality Studies and a BA in Culinary Arts, Bcom in Accounting Finance (BAF) and Banking Insurance (BBI) or BA in Mass Media Communication and Journalism (BAMMCJ).
As of now, only a handful of Mu-affiliated colleges have opted for the courses. Many pointed out that since there already are hospitality institutes with ready set up of a kitchen and culinary stalwarts offering degrees within the city, not many colleges would opt to offer BA in Culinary Arts.
“These courses were introduced at a time when the industry was calling for fresh graduates with more than just accounts skills but with management skills as well. The media industry was booming too and BMM gave wings to many hopefuls who were dreaming of a future in the media and public relations industry. At present, most new courses seem to be forced with very little thought put into them. Plus, very niche programmes automatically means colleges struggle to find appropriate faculty for the same,” said a former AC member of the university. He added that instead of adding new programmes in research fields, the AC should focus on introducing more courses in finance, management and accounts for undergraduate students.