While selecting a university, choose the one that emphasises hands-on-experience, provides good internship opportunities, industry experience, and has collaborations with foreign universities. Make sure the university you select is well equipped to impart and enhance the skills most in-demand in the industry today.
Even before the XII results are declared, parents and students find themselves dealing with the conundrum to select a perfect university.
The advent of private universities all over the country has made available an array of options for students. It could be a daunting task to select a university that best suits your needs from the numerous choices available.
It’s however worth taking the effort to do your research and make a well-informed decision for your choice is bound to have long term consequences on your career and life.
Here are some factors that you must take into account while selecting a university. If the website, brochure, and other marketing material of the university don’t explicitly mention them, do talk to your student counsellor and find out for yourself.
1. Emphasis on Practical Hands-on Experience
Gone are the days when getting good marks alone could fetch you a job. Companies these days place great value on hands-on-experience and prefer candidates adept at the practical, real-life experience in problem-solving. Hands-on-experience or learning-by-doing reinforces the theoretical concepts learned in the classroom through live-projects, workshops, internships etc. The best MBA programmes, best programmes in Economics, famous fashion designing courses, and other sought after professional courses all effectively blend theory with hands-on-experience. So, select a university that will provide you with the infrastructure and faculty assistance to achieve that.
2. Internship Opportunities and Extensive Industry Connections
Collaborations between universities and industry facilitate student internship opportunities, live projects, seminars, expert sessions by industry stalwarts etc. These collaborations help you gain practical skills and work experience that you can put on your resume even before you graduate.
Additionally, these tie-ups allow you to work with the latest cutting edge technology and equipment which may not always be available in the university labs. The internship opportunities and live projects with companies often lead to full-time placement offers by these companies. Isn’t placement with good companies what most students aim for?
3. Emphasis on Soft Skills
Very often soft skills are confused with effective communication skills. Communication skills are merely one component of the broader soft skill set. Soft skills include emotional intelligence, teamwork, creativity adaptability, and other skills related to your behaviour. In a swiftly changing competitive job market, companies are always on a lookout for keen learners who bring creativity, critical thinking, and teamwork to the table along with sound domain knowledge. You must always select a university that lays equal emphasis on developing soft skills along with hard skills.
4. Student-Teacher Ratio
When you attend pre-admission counselling sessions, make sure you enquire about the standard student-teacher ratio in the university classroom. A smaller class size results in better communication between the teacher and learner, increased participation in the class and more individual attention. You don’t want to get lost in the crowd. You need space and personalised attention to refine your true potential.
5. Collaboration With Foreign Universities
One of the many charms of university life is to mingle with people from different socio-cultural backgrounds. It makes you tolerant of different perspectives, the difference of opinions, and varied cultures. Collaborations with foreign universities facilitate a dynamic exchange of students and faculty across foreign universities. These programmes are an excellent opportunity for students to study in prestigious universities abroad, participate, and learn about a new culture and gain a global perspective. Companies greatly value this exposure for they prefer well-rounded individuals comfortable in working in heterogeneous teams.
6. Infrastructure
You spend a great deal of time on campus till the end of your degree. So, you better like your surroundings. Take a stroll around the campus, check out the on-campus facilities and amenities, classrooms, laboratories, cafeterias, playgrounds, etc. Infrastructure may not be the ultimate deciding factor in selecting your university but its role in the overall university experience can’t be ignored. We tend to perform better in comfortable, airy, bright places as opposed to dingy, unpleasant environment.
In the time of the COVID pandemic, you should check the robustness of the online teaching-learning platforms that the university may have and the plan the university has laid out to impart online lessons effectively in the times of COVID.
7. Faculty
Academic excellence is synonymous with good faculty.
No gadget or software can replace the role of a good teacher in instilling a love for learning. Good faculty don’t just prepare you for a career but some of them also act as mentors for life. Though it would be difficult to judge faculty members without actually taking their classes. But taking a look at their academic credentials, interacting with them, and feedback from some to the current and ex-students can help you gauge the quality of teaching staff.
8. Placement Assistance
Academic excellence is synonymous with good faculty. The role of an active and dedicated placement cell can’t be highlighted enough in a university. Look for universities that don’t just have an office with a nameplate ‘Placement Cell’ hung outside it. Rather dig deeper and take a look at the initiatives the placement cell undertakes in preparing students for placements, internships, and inviting companies on campus.
