Jindal Institute of Behavioural Sciences and Centre for Ethics, Spirituality and Sustainability hosts 15th International Conference on Alternative Perspectives and Global Concerns
The Jindal Institute of Behavioural Sciences and the Centre for Ethics, Spirituality and Sustainability at JGU organised the 15th International Conference on Alternative Perspectives and Global Concerns with a focal theme on ‘Spirituality, Mysticism and Politics in the Age of Globality’ on 23rd and 24th January, 2018 at the JGU campus in Sonipat, Haryana.
The conference aimed at exploring the variegated articulations of mystical consciousness as a condition for political authority and leadership, in the past and in the present. Alternatives perspectives on today’s political developments have to be accompanied by alternative perspectives on the traditions from which they originated and came into existence.
Experts like Swami Agnivesh, Winner of Alternative Peace Prize; Mariela Cruz, Ambassador of Costa Rica to India; Swami Om Poorna Swatantra, Founder Jaivic/ Organic Lifestyle; Professor (Dr.) Mohammad Maesali, President, Alternative Perspective and Global Concern; Sudhanshu Trivedi, National Spokesperson, BJP; D.R. Kaarthikeyan, Former Director, Central Bureau of Investigation; (Dr.) Rostam J. Neuwirth, Professor of Law/ Program Coordinator, University of Macau/ Faculty of Law; Ann Van Sevanant, Professor of Philosophy, University of Brussels and many more attended the conference in addition to several other dignitaries and experts.
JGU celebrates India's 69th Republic Day
JGU celebrated India’s 69th Republic Day on January 26 with an event on the university campus. The event began with patriotic songs, followed by a guard of honour. Following the flag hoisting accompanied by the national anthem, Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor, JGU delivered the Welcome Address. Professor R. Sudarshan, Dean, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy spoke on the “Significance of the Republic Day Celebrations”. Following this, H.E. Dr. Toni Atanasovski, Ambassador of Macedonia to India delivered the Address by the Guest of Honour, and Mr. Rajan Kumar Gupta, Chairperson, Real Estate Regulatory Authority, Panchkula, Haryana delivered the Address by the Chief Guest.
Children then released balloons. Professor (Dr.) Y.S.R. Murthy, Registrar delivered the Concluding Remarks and closed the ceremony.
Short Bio of the Guest of Honour
H.E. Dr. Toni Atanasovski is the Ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia to India since 1 April 2014. Prior to it, he was the Economic Promoter – Charge D’Affaires, Diplomatic Office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Between July 2008 and July 2013, he served as the Economic Promoter in the Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia in New Delhi. He holds a Masters degree in “Economic Diplomacy” from the first private university “FON”- European and International policy and diplomacy, Skopje, Macedonia, a Specialization in Medical Dental implant logy and health economics. Medical Clinic Branemark, Sweden and a Bachelor’s degree, Doctor GP from the Medical University ‘St.Kiril and Metodi’ at Skopje, Macedonia.
Short Bio of the Chief Guest
Mr. Rajan Kumar Gupta, an IAS officer from the 1983 batch Haryana cadre, is currently serving as the Chairperson of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), Panchkula. During his illustrious career of over 34 years in the Indian Administrative Service, Mr. Gupta had held many important and sensitive assignments including as the Additional Chief Secretary in charge of Health and Family Welfare, Irrigation, Water Resources, Power, Finance and Planning Departments in the Government of Haryana. As Principal Secretary in charge of Education, he played a key role in the enactment of Haryana Private Universities Act, which contributed in a big way to the expansion of higher education in Haryana. Mr. Rajan Gupta holds a PG Diploma in Management and Bachelor’s degrees in Law and Zoology.
JGU marks Flag Day
The JGU Flag embodies the spirit of pride in our national unity and rich cultural heritage. The flagpole is over 200 feet and is a symbol of JGU Chancellor, Mr. Naveen Jindal’s quest for the right of every citizen to fly the national flag with respect, dignity and honour, thus making it a fundamental right.
Following a decade-long legal battle initiated by Chancellor Jindal on behalf of the people of India, the Supreme Court delivered the historic judgment in 2004. A further amendment to the Flag Code in 2009, initiated by Chancellor Jindal, allows the National Flag to be flown during the night as well when mounted on 100 ft and above high flagpole and adequately illuminated.
JGU’s flagpole area has become an important part of the social and cultural life of the campus, and variously serves as a gathering area and stage for cultural and university events.
For more information, visit the website and social media pages of the Flag Foundation of India:
IIHEd hosts international research symposium
The International Institute for Higher Education Research and Capacity Building (IIHEd), O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) hosted an International Research Symposium on the theme- “Other Ways of Knowing and Doing: Globalizing Social Science Knowledge in Higher Education” (Dec 11-12, 2017) at the campus in Sonipat, Haryana. The two-day international research symposium was inaugurated by founding Vice-Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University and Director of IIHEd, Prof. (Dr.) Raj Kumar and Prof. (Dr.) Y.S.R. Murthy, Registrar and Senior Fellow of IIHEd.
The international research symposium was convened by Dr. Mousumi Mukherjee, Assistant Director of IIHEd and founding executive director of the Centre for Comparative and Global Education (CCGE) along with Ms. Nandita Koshal, Senior Research Fellow, IIHEd in collaboration with the Oceania Comparative and International Education Society (OCIES), Indian Ocean Comparative Education Society (IOCES), World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES), and the UNESCO-Chair in Community-based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education. It included several plenaries with speakers from around the world, interspersed with workshops and series of paper and performance presentations by both national and international scholars. As a prelude to the symposium, a pre-symposium publication workshop by Dr Zane Ma Rhea from Monash University, Australia was also organised.
The international research symposium included thought provoking and meaningful discussions on themes of indigenous knowledge production; decolonizing epistemologies and methodologies; alternative pedagogies; new technology and indigenous knowledge for social change and; indigenous epistemologies and global thinkers, with special focus on global south. The discussion saw the participation of Prof Dhruv Raina from JNU, Dr Zane Ma Rhea from Monash University, Australia, Dr Jae Park and Dr. Tamara Savelyeva from the Education University of Hong Kong, Dr Rajesh Tandon, Founder-President, PRIA & Co-Chair, UNESCO Chair in Community Based Research & Social Responsibility in Higher Education, Dr. Ratna Ghosh from McGill University, Canada, Dr. Antonia Darder from Loyola Marymount University, USA, Dr. Sakunthala Y. Ekanayake, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka among others.
Opening the discussion, Prof Raina shared that with globalization of social sciences and knowledge production processes, there has been a rise in interdisciplinarity which has resulted in new models and frameworks of conversations and disciplines. Dr Ma Rhea stressed on the need to bring ‘wisdom’ back into higher education in ways which the modern professionals can be taught to be wise. Dr. Park shared his thoughts on de-imperialization’, and spoke about eastern paradigms of knowledge production: Indian methods, Korean methods, Asian methods. Dr. Tandon delivered his address focused on the theme of ‘knowledge democracy’ and opined that ‘knowledge democracy acknowledges multiples sites of knowledge production. Universities are least popular ones in today’s context. If we want to improve the purpose of higher education and lives of people, then all forms of knowledge production should be respected’.
The conference was concluded with a special valedictory session on ‘learning from the indigenous intellectuals from the global south’ where Dr. Ratna Ghosh, William C. McDonald Professor of Education, McGill University and Dr. S. Irfan Habib, Professor, National University of Education Planning and Administration (NUEPA) reflected on how the philosophies of educationist like Dr. Zakir Husain, Dr. Maulana Azad, Mahatma Gandhi and Paulo Friere shaped the education systems of India and Brazil and, how relevant their philosophies are in today’s world, especially since we have now moved into a “different world”.
In consonance with the theme of the research symposium, “Other Ways of Knowing and Doing”, a performance session was also part of the programme schedule, where both the national and international guests were introduced to an interpretation of Shakespearean characters and their emotions through classical Indian Rasa Theory presented by JGU faculty and students. The performance directed by Prof. Rashmi Raman was titled, “Shakespearean Navarasa”. A special performance based on Rumi’s poetry was presented by a JGU international student from Afghanistan, Arzu Mir Ali and a performance ethnography on Indian Cultural Heritage was presented by Fulbright scholar, Dr. Naveena Jafa.
The symposium brochure with details of presenters and abstracts is available at: https://issuu.com/mousumimukherjee5/docs/finalbrochure_irs_2017-9-12_dec_201
JSGP hosts workshop on India’s Development Cooperation Policy
The Jindal School of Government and Public Policy hosted a Dissemination Workshop on “India’s Development Cooperation Policy” on 13 January 2018 at Maple Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.
The participants included:
- Professor R Sudarshan, Dean, JSGP.
- Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar, Former Indian diplomat, M.P. and Minister.
- Dr. Mohan Kumar, Vice Dean and Professor of Diplomatic Practice, Jindal School of International Affairs; Vice Chairman, Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries, New Delhi.
- Mr. Sandeep Dikshit, former M.P.
- Dr. Clarence J Dias, President, International Center for Law in Development, New York.
- Dr. Milindo Chakrabarti, Visiting Fellow, Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries, New Delhi, Professor, School of Business Studies & School of Law, Sharada University, and Adjunct Professor, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy.
- Dr. Sandeshika Sharma, former Professor, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy and Editor, Jindal Journal of Public Policy.
- Mr. Bharat Bhushan, Independent Journalist, Former Editor, Mail Today.
- Mr. Arvind Kumar, Project Advisor, The Energy & Resources Institute, New Delhi
- Mr. Anup Pujari, Retd. IAS officer, Visiting Professor Harvard Kennedy School.
- Mr. Sanjay K. Rajhans, Deputy Head of Public Policy, Asst. Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, National Research University, Moscow, Russia
- Mr. Pratik Phadkule, Research Associate JSGP
- Aditya Vasishtha, JSGP, M.A. Public Policy, 2016.
- Kanika Kharbanda, JSGP, M.A. Public Policy, 2016.
- Aparna Raman, JSGP, M.A. Public Policy, 2016.
The workshop was chaired by Professor R. Sudarshan. The participation of invitees to this workshop was beyond expectations. Despite the winter break, three of the ten student authors made presentations. The students presenting the final output of the project were very well-prepared. They held their ground well in the face of some candid and forthright comments. The drafting and writing skills of the students who wrote the paper “India’s Development Cooperation Policy – Towards a White Paper” (published in the current issue of the Jindal Journal of Public Policy) received repeated praise.
The Jindal School of Government and Public Policy hosted a Dissemination Workshop on “India’s Development Cooperation Policy” on 13 January 2018 at Maple Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.
The participants included:
- Professor R Sudarshan, Dean, JSGP.
- Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar, Former Indian diplomat, M.P. and Minister.
- Dr. Mohan Kumar, Vice Dean and Professor of Diplomatic Practice, Jindal School of International Affairs; Vice Chairman, Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries, New Delhi.
- Mr. Sandeep Dikshit, former M.P.
- Dr. Clarence J Dias, President, International Center for Law in Development, New York.
- Dr. Milindo Chakrabarti, Visiting Fellow, Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries, New Delhi, Professor, School of Business Studies & School of Law, Sharada University, and Adjunct Professor, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy.
- Dr. Sandeshika Sharma, former Professor, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy and Editor, Jindal Journal of Public Policy.
- Mr. Bharat Bhushan, Independent Journalist, Former Editor, Mail Today.
- Mr. Arvind Kumar, Project Advisor, The Energy & Resources Institute, New Delhi
- Mr. Anup Pujari, Retd. IAS officer, Visiting Professor Harvard Kennedy School.
- Mr. Sanjay K. Rajhans, Deputy Head of Public Policy, Asst. Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, National Research University, Moscow, Russia
- Mr. Pratik Phadkule, Research Associate JSGP
- Aditya Vasishtha, JSGP, M.A. Public Policy, 2016.
- Kanika Kharbanda, JSGP, M.A. Public Policy, 2016.
- Aparna Raman, JSGP, M.A. Public Policy, 2016.
The workshop was chaired by Professor R. Sudarshan. The participation of invitees to this workshop was beyond expectations. Despite the winter break, three of the ten student authors made presentations. The students presenting the final output of the project were very well-prepared. They held their ground well in the face of some candid and forthright comments. The drafting and writing skills of the students who wrote the paper “India’s Development Cooperation Policy – Towards a White Paper” (published in the current issue of the Jindal Journal of Public Policy) received repeated praise.
Participants pointed out that greater attention needs to be paid to the political economy, border/national security, and foreign relations contexts in which development cooperation takes place. The need for a single development cooperation policy was questioned. Direction and ‘model’ approach (development compact) articulation needs to be balanced against flexibility and room for negotiation and variation.
Absence of a coherent foreign policy will inevitably result in lack of coherence and consistency in development cooperation practice. The call was for tempering naivety with nuance and for greater analysis of past, present and projected development cooperation activity-impacts on neighbourhood and proximate neighbourhood relations. Regarding development financing modalities (grants, loans and letters of credit), participants noted called for a clear recognition that a line of credit is essentially a loan, albeit more concessionary.
Non-conditionality in development cooperation was regarded by many commentators to be a non-starter. They pointed out the nature of conditions which are prescribed should be examined and critiqued. Partnership terminology, to replace donor-recipient relationship, may well be politically correct rhetoric, but the notion of equal partners in development cooperation is far from an existential reality. Similarly, rhetoric of ‘mutual benefit’ should not preclude honest assessment of quid pro quo.
The student authors were also urged not to shy away from raising controversial issues and even taking controversial stances.
Former Australia High Court judge Michael Kirby appointed honorary adjunct professor
Eminent international jurist and former Australia High Court judge Michael Kirby has been appointed an honorary adjunct professor of Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) of O P Jindal Global University (JGU).
Kirby, who is also an educator, has been credited with frequent citations of Indian judgements during his tenure as judge.
He will be among the other existing adjunct professors already at JGLS, including two judges of the Supreme Court of Hawaii, Justice Dalveer Bhandari, Judge of International Court of Justice at The Hague, jurist and parliamentarian Abhishek Manu Singhvi and senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, a press note released by the university said.
Read the full story: http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/ex-australia-hc-judge-appointed-adjunct-professor-at-jgls-118011801338_1.html
Jindal Global Business School hosts Public Lecture on current US trade policy and implications for India
On 16 January 2018, Jindal Global Business School (JGBS) hosted a Public Lecture on “Trump Presidency’s Impact on US Trade Policy: Implications for India” on the JGU campus.
The Lecture was timely, topical, and relevant given the growing concerns of Indian businesses that are working with American businesses or have the US market as a substantial part of their operations.
The Lecture was conducted by Professor Jagdish Sheth, Professor of Marketing at Goizueta Business School, University of Emory, USA. Professor Sheth, a renowned scholar and internationally recognized thought leader, has published more than 300 research papers and more than 30 books on various disciplines and topics. His insights on global competition, strategic thinking, geopolitics, and emerging markets are widely followed, making him the most relevant speaker on this topic.
Introducing the eminent speaker and starting off proceedings, Dr. Tapan K. Panda, Dean, JGBS said, “This is a great moment for me personally and professionally, having come to know Professor Sheth many years ago during my own student days while referring to his research work. His credentials in helping countries and companies have been proven over his many years of teaching and consulting. His many awards, publications, public recognition, and membership of eminent associations are just some of the evidence of his caliber.”
Professor Sheth began his talk with a description of how geopolitics has radically changed in the past three to four decades. This period has seen the rise of China, decline of the British Empire, and creation of the EU, which was followed by Brexit and its implications. He spoke at length about the evolution of tiger economies like Singapore and China and how they leveraged inherent strengths for sustainable advantage.
To look at implications of the Trump Presidency, Professor Sheth clarified the demographic and social trends behind his election as the President and how his support influences his trade policy decisions. He also explained how, despite all the impressions President Trump creates of being simplistic and reactionary in his thinking, he is actually smart. How he has used established principles of Marketing 101 to get elected, including reaching out to neglected sections of society and selling the always loved story of the downtrodden defeating the powerful.
On global trade, Professor Sheth opined that “bilateral trade will dominate multilateral trade. Other countries are likely to follow the US’s approach towards foreign trade, making bilateral trade even more important. In India’s case, bilateral trade agreements like the Israel–India and Japan–India ones are a result of this. Moreover, this is natural because large countries anyway historically traded among themselves, with only raw material imports from smaller countries representing non-developed country international trade.” To illustrate, Professor Sheth shared the example of captive manufacturing represented by Foxconn. According to him, this case strongly shows how the evolving model has nothing to do with international trade, since an international firm manufacturing in China does not boost Chinese enterprise in any way.
On the implications of President Trump’s approach to international trade, Professor Sheth speculated that “China is too smart and has too much at stake to aggressively take on the US in its trade policy. Russia, the other international power, is too involved with the Middle East due to its reliance on oil revenues. This leaves Asia ex-China as the battleground for trade wars and India is squarely in the middle of what will come.”
Implications for the US due to these changes will be tangible, according to Professor Sheth. He feels low margin manufacturing work will get sold to Asia as has happened, for example, with IBM selling the Thinkpad brand to Lenovo. Enterprises in India should stand ready to capitalize on this opportunity like Chinese firms have. India’s global competitiveness otherwise suffers from drawbacks. According to Professor Sheth, Germany is perhaps the one truly export competitive, successful economy in the world. Comparatively, India suffers from many disadvantages that it needs to overcome in order to become competitive like Germany.
The Lecture clarified the history and the future of US trade policy changes for the participating audience and gave them a unique opportunity to clarify their questions with an eminent global thought leader.
Quality Audits conducted to strengthen institutional accountability
Three years ago, as a quality assurance measure, JGU introduced the Annual Programme Review Report system. An annual report is prepared at the end of the academic year by the Programme Director of each School in JGU, for each degree programme the School offers. The report is prepared in consultation with those who taught the courses contained in the programme in the two semesters in that year.
The report contains both quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data includes information on admissions, attrition, progression and pass rate of students, career and placement information if available, and achievements of students and faculty members. The qualitative data presents reflective information on curriculum design, matters relating to teaching, learning, and assessment of students’ performance, what worked, and what needs further development, what changes need to be made, if any, to ensure the academic standards of the programme, and an agenda for action for the academic year to follow. The report is submitted to the Faculty Board of the School via the Dean for discussion, and then a summary of recommendations arising therefrom are forwarded to the Academic Council.
The reporting system conforms to international best practice for programme development and delivery.
A similar quality assurance and accountability measure was lacking in respect of administrative and academic support services when the Internal Quality Assurance Committee decided in early 2017, that all support departments should also submit an annual report relating to their area of work, and that the University should institute a Quality Audit system for all departments.
The first two departments so audited in December2017-January 2018 consisted of the Facilities Management Office and the Infrastructure Department.
The main purpose of the Quality Audit is to provide independent, objective, and unbiased view of the systems and procedures of the department and to make suggestions to add value and improve its operations. This exercise is intended to promote self-reflection and continuous quality enhancement of JGU’s practices and procedures, and thereby internalizing a system for transparency and accountability.
The Quality Audits of the two departments noted above was the first step in a system of audits to be implemented across the whole University. The audits were planned by the Quality Assurance and Accreditation Office in consultation with Dr. Sanjeev P. Sahni, Advisor to the Vice Chancellor and Principal Director, Jindal Institute of Behavioural Studies. The Audit Team consisted of the following, and the Audit Panel was chaired by Prof. Brajesh Kumar:
- Mr. Aman Shah (QAAO)
- Prof. Brajesh Kumar (Chair)
- Mr. Jeevan Sehgal (HR)
- Ms. Jyoti Bansal (QAAO)
- Mr. Tarun Juyal (QAAO)
The audits were helpful in identifying the strengths of the two departments and areas in which they need to improve. A report on these audits will be submitted to the next meeting of the Internal Quality Assurance Committee.
JGU students begin Spring exchange semester at Queen Mary University of London
The five students are part of Queen Mary’s new Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (ICM) Programme.
Queen Mary was awarded funding for the ICM Programme in June 2017, which facilitates exchanges beyond Europe for undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students, as well as staff.
The first five undergraduate students, who will be studying within Queen Mary’s School of Law, are from JGU and the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bangalore.
Read the full story: http://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2018/pr/queen-mary-welcomes-its-first-erasmus-exchange-students-from-india.html
