At the 2026 ETEducation Chancellors' Conclave in Goa, higher education leaders put research, faculty development, industry collaboration and skills-based learning at the centre of India's reform agenda.
The panel framed its debate around India@2047
The conclave’s mega panel was titled “The Next NEP: What Should India's Higher Education Agenda Be for India@2047?” The question linked the next stage of education policy to a longer-term national horizon. It asked leaders to consider what should sit on the country’s higher education agenda, rather than focusing on a single institution or programme. That framing brought policy direction into the same discussion as the system’s stated reform priorities.¹²
Duyti Mascharak, Assistant Manager – Content & Community, The Economic Times Business Verticals, moderated the panel. The moderator’s role placed the agenda question before leaders from universities, an education group and a workforce company. The discussion’s framing therefore connected higher education policy with skills and industry collaboration, alongside research and faculty development. The panel title also made the debate about a next policy agenda, not only the implementation of an existing one.¹²
Research requires commitments that outlast short cycles
Dr Virander Singh Chauhan, Chancellor of GITAM University, argued that globally competitive research ecosystems require long-term commitments and often take 10–15 years to develop. His point gives research reform a longer time horizon than a single project or short planning cycle. Building an ecosystem, in this account, means sustaining a commitment over the years needed for it to develop. The claim puts continuity at the centre of the research question.¹
The discussion’s framing therefore connected higher education policy with skills and industry collaboration, alongside research and faculty development.
Education & University InsightsSri Lanka High Commission Builds Education and Youth Bridges with India
Twenty Sri Lankan education administrators trained at NIEPA in New Delhi, while young leaders from six South Asian nations met at the Sri Lanka High…
Read More →That time horizon distinguishes research capacity from a quick policy change: the stated development period is measured in years. The conclave’s agenda paired research with faculty development, industry collaboration and skills-based learning, putting research within a broader set of reform priorities. Chauhan’s argument gives one reason the priorities cannot be treated as interchangeable. A research ecosystem needs time to develop, while the wider agenda also calls attention to how people learn, teach and connect with industry.¹
The discussion brought university and industry leaders together
Dr Harivansh Chaturvedi is Pro Chancellor of IILM University, and Prof (Dr) Anilkumar S Gupta is Executive Director of D Y Patil Group. Their roles placed university and education-group leadership in the discussion alongside the research question. The range of titles shows that the agenda was considered across different kinds of education institutions. Their designations identify the institutional positions represented without assigning them views that are not stated.¹²
Pradip Jyoti Agrawal is Pro-Chancellor of The Neotia University. Ashwin Bharath is Co-Founder & Chairman of Revature, and Anirban B Roy is Partner and Chief Commercial Officer for Marsh Workforce and Rewards. Those roles add university, workforce and commercial perspectives to a discussion whose priorities include industry collaboration and skills-based learning. The listed positions connect the education agenda to both university leadership and organisations focused on workforce and rewards.¹
Enrolment targets sit alongside a large education network
India has over nine hundred universities and forty thousand colleges, enrolling more than thirty-six million students. Those figures describe the scale of the system addressed by the reform agenda: it includes both universities and colleges, with enrolment measured across millions of students. The figures also show why a higher education agenda has to encompass institutions beyond a single campus. Skills, faculty development, research and industry links are priorities for a broad network, not just one type of provider.¹²
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 aims for a 50% Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) by 2035. This target sets an enrolment measure and a deadline within the wider policy agenda. It gives the discussion a defined outcome to consider alongside its focus on research, faculty development and skills. The target concerns participation across higher education, while the conclave’s priorities also address what happens within the system and how learning connects with industry.¹²
Education & University InsightsGoa Conclave Calls for New University Models, AI and Research
The first day of the ETEducation Chancellors’ Conclave 2026 ended in Goa with calls to rethink university teaching, employability, research and AI.
Read More →The transition rate from Grade 12 to higher education is described as likely to be in the 75–85% range. This estimate concerns the step from school into higher education, giving a separate view of access from the policy’s overall GER target. The two measures point to different parts of the enrolment question: one tracks a transition between stages, while the other is the stated national objective. The estimate is presented as a range, rather than a single confirmed rate.¹²
Those roles add university, workforce and commercial perspectives to a discussion whose priorities include industry collaboration and skills-based learning.
Research careers need a longer view
If you are weighing a research or faculty role, treat it as a decade-plus commitment, not a short posting. The stated timeline for building a globally competitive research ecosystem is 10–15 years, so a role that promises quick results likely misjudges the field. When negotiating pay or project scope, ask how the institution sustains funding and staffing across that full span, not just for the next cycle.¹
The system's scale changes your leverage. With over 900 universities and 40,000 colleges enrolling more than 36 million students, demand for skills-based teaching and industry-linked roles is broad. The Grade 12 to higher education transition rate of 75–85% means more students will enter this network, so skills you build now in teaching, curriculum design, or industry collaboration carry weight across many institutions, not one employer.¹²
Sources
Written by Career Ahead AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify key facts. Report errors to support@careeraheadonline.com
