The new Vice-Chancellor of Symbiosis International University has joined office and coinciding with it came the announcement of plans to start a School of Liberal Arts from June 2011
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| Right course: Vice-Chancellor Dr Bhushan Patwardhan says liberal arts is the need of the day |
The new Vice-Chancellor of Symbiosis International University has joined office and coinciding with it came the announcement of plans to start a School of Liberal Arts from June 2011.
The school will offer courses lasting a few weeks and also four-year degree courses in liberal arts.
Vice-Chancellor Dr Bhushan Keshav Patwardhan pointed out the need for introducing such courses.
"These courses will consist of subjects such as social sciences, humanity, philosophy intellectual property rights, technical writing, poetry appreciation, among others.
Students will have the liberty to choose their subjects," said Patwardhan. He said that universities should offer courses that are student-friendly.
Fees not decidedThe courses will not be restricted to Symbiosis students alone but anyone who has completed HSC can enroll, he said.u00a0 "We have short courses lasting a few weeks and intense ones having semesters that could go on for three years," he said. Though the university is yet to decide on the fees, Dr Patwardhan said the short courses would be cheaper.
He said that along with professional courses, knowledge of liberal arts was important. Elaborating on the plans for the university, Dr Patwardhan said the focus in the next five years would be on collaborating with international institutes.
"We are trying to start dual degree programmes which doesn't mean we will concentrate only on foreign universities. First, we will collaborate with various institutes within the university, city, and state and then of course in foreign countries." He also said under-graduates would be encouraged to carry out research.
