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GROS S NA TIONAL WISD OM (GNW) :THROUGH ENGAGEMEN TS OF UNIVER SITIESWITH THE SOCIETY
The Society is the first floor, and the University system is
the second floor built above the first floor. But thebuilders forgot to build the staircase linking the twofloors.
- Ravindranath Tagore
Dr. K. Chidananda GowdaFormer Vice-Chancellor, Kuvempu University
Shankaraghatta, Shimoga District.Karnataka, INDIA
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BHUTAN: GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS
AIM To measure the progress in the welfare ofHuman beings
Parameters used by Bhutan are:
b Care for natureb Economic progress rooted in the principles
of ecology, and gender and social equityb Good governance as reflected in freedom
from corruptionb Promotion of cultural and spiritual values
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GROSS NATIONAL WISDOM (GNW)
WISDOM: The ability to use intelligence for goodpurposes
GNW can be measured using the following indices:
b Relationship of knowledge to lifeb Fitness, Quality, and Excellenceb
Equity and Literacyb Technology and Value additionb Co-existence and Harmonyb Self-empowerment
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UNIVERSITY and SOCIETY
UNIVERSITY
Lessons are learnt first
followed by:
Tests
Practical Experiences
SOCIETY
Testing times & Experiences first
followed by:
Learning Lessons
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RELATIONSHIP OF KNOWLEDGE TO LIFE
Know thyself in order to attain wisdom-Socratis
Unless men increase in wisdom as much in knowledge,increase of knowledge will be increase of sorrow
- Bertrand Russel
Knowledge is power
Knowledge combined with folly, leads to tension in Society
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?- T.S. Eliot
Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers.
Knowledge has no meaning unless it could be applied tolife - Gandhiji
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FITNESS
Survival of the Fittest - Charles Darwin
The species which survives during evolution is not thestrongest nor the biggest, but the one which is the fittest in thechanging environment.
Because of competition on account of Globalization, the mostappropriate technology survives the fittest person for the job isselected, and only the best product is desired by theconsumers.
Nations have passed away and left no traces, and history gives
the naked cause of it, one single simple reason in all the cases- they fall because their people are not fit.
It is the duty of the Academia to properly advise the societyabout the changes taking place globally.
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QUALITY
w Quality is the fitness for the purpose
w Quality of the products matters most when there iscompetition, national and international
w In quality awareness, Indias rank is 12th among 14
developing nations.
w A public sector company in India exported several croresworth of machinery to Iran. But as the quality was belowthe acceptable standard, the entire consignment wasrejected by Iran. The sales-deed was cancelled. India hadto pay a fine of Rs.7.5 crores as per the agreement made.
w Academia should propagate the culture of Quality.
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EXCELLENCE
That which is done using knowledge, dedication and identity
with the work, that only becomes excellent.- Upanishat
We are what we repeatedly do; Excellence, then is not an act,but a habit.
- Aristotle
Thomas Grays Elegy written in a country Churchyard: Thepoet had detested the 1st, 2nd, 3rd ... Versions. He was onlysatisfied with the poems 75th version.
Trifles make up perfection; but perfection is not a trifle
- Michelangelo
The academia should lead by example and spread the culture ofExcellence
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EQUITY DIMENSION
Survival of the fittest - Jungle law
- animal mindset
Survival of the weakest - Civilised law
- human mindset
Kautilyas mathsya (fish) metaphor:
As there is a tendency of a big fish to eat small fish, the kingdom
or State should use its power and authority in favour of the weak.
Mahatma Gandhi favoured the survival of the weakest:
Whenever you are in doubt, recall the face of the poorest andweakest man, and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is
going to be of any use to him
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EQUITY WITH FITNESS
To become Fit, requires:
- New Technologies
- Modern Facilities
- Specialized Human Resource
Requirement: Large amount of Financial Resources
To establish Equity, requires:
- Monetary, infrastructural, and Legal help by the State
- Knowledge and Skill help by the Academia
Requirement: Joint effort by the State and Academia
Solution?
- Support by the State
- Innovative financial management
- Integrated approach to Education & Training
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EQUITY AND LITERACY
GINI COEFFICIENT:
This is a yardstick used by Economists to measure
Educational inequality.Gini Coefficient : 0 means total equality
1 means total inequality
EDUCATIONAL GINI COEFFICIENT
COUNTRY 1970 1990
India 0.76 0.69
Korea 0.51 0.22
Indications: This is the reason why Korea has fared better than India.
AVERAGE YEARS OF SCHOOLING IN INDIA
Richest 40% of population: About 10 yearsPoorest 40% of population: Almost 0%
- Filmer & Pritchett (Based on 1999 Research)
REQUIREMENT:
The State and the Academia should put in joint efforts to bring down the
Educational Gini Coefficient.
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Technology & VALUE ADDITON
I. An Item in Ripleys Believe it or not
1. A plain bar of Iron = $5
2. Made as a pair of horse shoes = $50
3. Made into sewing needles = $5,000
4. Made into springs of Swiss watches = $500,000
III. Example of Cotton:
n Selling raw cotton? Unwise (No Value added)Selling reels of cotton threads? Slightly better
Selling cotton clothes? Definitely better
Selling cotton ready-made garments? Best ( Highest Value added)
Meaning: n The raw material is not what is important n What is important is how the raw material is made a
Product using Knowledge, thereby adding Value
II. Example of water:
1. City Corporation sells water to Coca-cola = Rs.2.50 / litre
2. Coca-cola sells to Kinley which purifies & sells = Rs.12 / litre
3. Coca-cola Co. makes Coca-cola and sells = Rs.40 / litre
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CO-EXISTENCE AND HARMONY
- Unique culture with others: has the freedom to co-exist- Different societies should have: Free breething space
- Bio-diversity based on Uniqueness: To be celebrated
- Uniqueness feature of nature: To be appreciated
- Many to One: by harmonious integration.
Along with Survival of the Fittest
and Support to the Weakest,
equally important is:
Preservation of the Uniquest;
Requirements are:
Co-existence and Harmony.
Preservation of the Uniquest has the followingimplications:
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DIVERSITY OF INDIAN SOCIETY
Geographical diversity
- Snowy mountains
- green hills- Evergreen forests
- rivers, streams, lakes, tanks
- beaches
- deserts
Diversity of seasons
- Spring, winter, summer, monsoon
Social diversity
- Historical, geographical, cultural, linguistic, religious,
social, political, economic
Religious diversity
- Hindu, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity, Sikhism
Linguistic diversity
-18 officially recognized languages
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ONE IT TO MANY ITs
India has been sending crusaders fully armed with the knowledge of ITto conquer foreign countries.
In Silicon Valley:
Every third person you meet is an Indian.
More than 70% Software Companies are owned by Indian Engineers.
IT has shown the way to Indias Tomorrow ;
But the future of India is not in IT as in Information Technology.It is in IT as in Indian Talent - R.A. Mashelkar
SWOT OF MANY ITs
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SWOT OF MANY ITs
STRENGTH
ITM : Indian Talented Mindpower
IT-SC : IT - Super Computer
ITPR : Indian Trees and Plant Resources
ITK : Indigenous Technical Knowledge
ITYM : Indian Techniques of Yoga & Meditation
ITS : Indian Technology of Space
ITHR : Indian Treasure - Human Resource
ITMI : Indian Technological & Management Institutes
ITE : Indians Trained in English
WEAKNESS
ITM : Indian Tainted Mindset
ITH : Indian Toiling (work) Habit
ITQ : Indian Thrust towards quality
ITE : Indian Team Effort
ITI : Indian Third-rate
Infrastructure
ITS : Indian Trust of Self
ITCM: IT For Common Man
OPPORTUNITY
ITI : Indian Tourism Industry
ITES : IT enabled Services
ITBT : IT for Biotechnology
ITAB : Indian Talent in Arts for Business
ITC : Indian Trials-Clinical
THREAT
ITEA : Indian Trailing Ethical Awareness
ITW : Indian Thirst for water
ITSA : Indian Toilet & Sanitation Awareness
ITL : Internal Tensions & Losses
ITC : Indian Tree Cover
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SELF-EMPOWERMENT
Human beings possess 4 dimensions of power, and for Holistic developmentall the 4 must be empowered:
Physical, Mental, Intellectual, & spiritual
Quality Higher Education must empower a person in all the 4 dimensions.
With this Backdrop, Swami Vivekananda said:
We want that education by which character is formed, strength of mind isincreased, the intellect is expanded, and by which one can stand on ones
own feet.
Swami Vivekananda also said:
Every soul is potentially divine. The aim is to manifest this divinity withinby controlling nature, internal and external.
The Universities, whenever and wherever possible should vividly present
before the society various dimensions of self-empowerment:- Attitudes of Mind
- Creativity
- Pillars of Learning
- Learners in the 21st Century
- Technology and Learning
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Attitudes of Mind
According to Dr. William James of Harvard University, the greatestdiscovery of his generation is that human beings can alter their lives byaltering their attitudes of mind. Surprisingly, almost
100% of money in education goes to teach facts and figures whichaccounts for only
20% of success in work.
Most of our attitude is established during our formative years.
A survey was conducted in Harvard University about getting of
jobs and reasons for the same. It has been shown that when a
person gets a job, and becomes successful in it,
80% of the time it is because of his attitude, and only
20% of the time because of how smart he is and how many factsand figures he remembers.
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CREATIVITY
LOSS OF CREATIVITY:
The result of another test:
An Indian students Creativity in the 1st grade : 100 Units
The same students Creativity in the 12th grade : 10 Units
INDIAN AND OTHER CHILDREN:
A Survey of Children of 113 Countries has revealed:
At the age of 6 : Indian children are most talented.
At the age of 16 : Indian child goes down to 26thplace
Meaning : Creativity is wiped out.
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LEARNING and UNESCO
Definition of Learning: Acquiring necessary knowledge and skill forbetter performance.
UNESCO:
The Delors Commission, appointed by UNESCO, for determining aneducational system for the 21st Century, suggests 4 pillars ofEducation:
1. Learning to Know
2. Learning to do
3. Learning to live together
4. Learning to be
Learning to know : Acquiring necessary KnowledgeLearning to do : Acquiring necessary skill
Learning to live together : Acquiring Wisdom for Co-existence &
Harmony
Learning to be : Acquiring calmness inside &
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21st Century learners: Desirable Attributes
1. Learnability: Learning to learn, on ones own
2. Zeal for life-long learning
3. Ability to get knowledge from other disciplines
4. Ability to work in a team
5. Exposure to commercial disciplines
6. Creative skills
7. Integrative skills
8. International Outlook
9. Ability to employ IT
10. Ability to work at interface between traditional disciplines
11. Commitment to sustainable development
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TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED LEARNING
Same Time Different Times
Same Place Classroom Learning Computer Based Learning
Different Places Distance Learning Asynchronous Learning
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LEARNING: Richard Feynman( Nobel Laureate in Physics)
After a stay of 6 months in Brazil, Feynman said:Youth in Brazil are learning to write Physics Examination .But they are not learning Physics.
Is this true for India?
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UNIVERSITYS PHYSICS
AND SOCIETYS EVERYDAY LIFE
U Quantum Physics suggests a holistic approach to outer and inner nature:
- an escape from the Spirit/Matter dualism that has dominated Westernthinking
U The insights of modern Physics can illuminate our understanding:
- of everyday life
- our relationship to self (ourselves)- our relationship to others
- our relationship to the World at large
U It is the duty of the Academia in general, and Scientific Academia inparticular, to enlighten the Society about:
- Modern Science
- Microworld, Societal world, and Macroworld
- Application of modern Science for new ways of thinking
- Usher in a Society with Holistic world-view
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MICROWORLD, SOCIETAL WORLD & MACROWORLD
( Physics tells us about the processes of creativityand transformation in the natural world.
( The physics of consciousness tells us about the
process of creativity and transformation withinourselves and our society.
( The dynamics of both our bodies and our mindsemerge from the same laws and forces that movethe sun and the moon or that bind atoms together.
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SOCIAL APPLICATIONS OF CLASSICAL PHYSICS
T Classical Physics gave Mechanistic World View.Newtons Three laws of Motion inspired thinkers in otherfields also:
- Freud : For founding Scientific Psychology
- John Lock & Others: Modeling their Political thinking- Adam Smith: Modeling of Economics
- Darwin: Modeling Evolution
- Karl Marx: Modeling Marxist Theory
T Isaac Newton believed that the foundations of his workcould be applied to problems in moral philosophy also.
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SOCIAL APPLICATIONS OF QUANTUM PHYSICS
This should inspire thinkers in new directions:
- provide different world -view ( Non-mechanistic)
- provide a new model for Indian culturalintegration
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NATIONAL INTEGRATION IN INDIA
LIBERAL INDIVIDUALISM: CLASSICAL ATOMS
- Atoms of Classical Physics are hard, impenetrable, like Billiard balls
- When these atoms meet, they clash, and go in separate ways
(They are like Bertrand Russels Billiard balls)
- They can not get inside each other
COLLECTIVE THEORIES OF ROUSSEAU OR MARX:WAVELIKE ATOMS
- They oppose individualism
- They recommend a wavelike model of society where waves canoverlap, combine, & get inside each other
- They lose separate identity
- This raised cultural & political difficulties
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WHOLENESS WITH INDIVIDUALISM:
WAVICLE ATOMS
B Quantum things (systems) are both particle- like and wave-like atthe same time
B With their particle-like aspect they stay separate
B With their wave-like aspect they become interwoven.
B They get aspects of both
B We interact with each other individually and also live in a holisticworld.
B It gives us a new vision of relationship within society and withinIndia
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A PLURALISTIC INDIA
QUANTUM PHYSICS : Truth is many-faced, many-valued, Both/And
- when quantum systems evolve, they do so by throwingout many feelers towards the future , each contributing
to the eventual outcome.
- Quantum evolution gives a scientific model for Indianpluralism with many paths and many possibilities, allpaths are valid and all are necessary.
CLASSICAL PHYSICS: Only one valid perspective inabsolute space and time
- Western tradition is like this: one Truth, one God, one way
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CONCLUSION
If we are to rediscover the moral and spiritual rootsof our society, we must do so in a way which
mirrors, which extends and develops rather thancontradicts, the knowledge that science is giving usabout the nature of the physical and living worlds ofwhich we are a part.
- Danah Zohar
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32THANK YOU