Why Singles Are Important

 Marriage is considered a given, in most human societies. People have elaborate ceremonies around it, and event managers and pre-wedding-shoot shooters galore make enormous profits from these. Poor singles are often ignored by those who celebrate Doubles. 

But in my view, Singles are as important, if not more important. They are often thrown into leadership positions or start new movements, or cults. Sometimes after abandoning the spouse, but still..

They are free spirits, not burdened by what society demands of them. They have an independent opinion, and frequently express it too. They drink a lot of tea at tea stalls, improving the economy.

They usually have parents who are not happy about their being single, and have to ward off attempts to get them hitched. Dating sites and matrimonial spaces in newspapers do what they can to help the parents, or the few Singles who want to enter holy matrimony.

Institution Building Workshop at IIT Delhi

I was speaking at the workshop attended by promoters and directors of engineering, architecture and management colleges when I realised how fortunate we are at IMT to have an ecosystem that promotes excellence, academic freedom and all the values that academicians and students cherish. Many colleges and institutes are still struggling with basics like goal definition or goal-setting, and then implementing ideas that will take them towards it.

Fundamental questions are about quantity and quality of admissions, and many have no control over it due to being forced by an overpowering regulatory system in their respective states. If you cannot choose your students, how do you ensure the output quality for industry or other sectors who will employ them?

Unless the basics of a brand are in place, how will you attract the best faculty to teach bright minds and engage in research, publications, case writing and other intellectual activities which distinguish an academic institute?

The classic struggle between the long term view versus short term view in institution building still dogs the people who have set up many institutions. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? That was an interesting debate, given an oversupply and near-perfect competitive market for engineering and management courses in particular.

Some other presentations were on the Planning Commmission's view on Higher Ed. which included comparisons with China, presented by a member of the commission, and some views on Faculty Retention and Development, Learning Processes, and other issues that keep academic debates alive. Building and sustaining an educational brand is as interesting a brand-building subject as any other kind of brand. It involves managing reality and perceptions of all stakeholders including alumni, students, promoters, industry and other sections of society. A live laboratory, if you will.