Perspective Plan (Vision 2030)

Introduction
Poised at the threshold of 125 years of its existence, Hindu College, which started with thirteen students and six teachers in 1899, has now grown into one of the most coveted higher education institutions in the country with more than 4,000 students and 200 teachers, offering undergraduate courses in 19 disciplines and post-graduate programmes in 14 disciplines in humanities, science, and commerce. Today, Hindu College holds an exemplary position amongst the various educational institutions in our country. The college secures top rankings in India Today College Rankings and is placed 2nd in NIRF.

The institution is driven by a quest for excellence articulated in the vision, mission, goals and core values. The Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) leads the quality assurance and quality enhancement of educational processes at the institution. The IQAC presents the Institutional Perspective Plan (Vision 2030), the plan of the institution which began its journey more than a decade ago which has been further updated in line with NEP 2020. The major thrust areas include curriculum development, research industry-academia collaborations, student capability enhancement, infrastructural upliftment, sustainable green initiatives and quality assurance and enhancement for the holistic development of the institution.

Perspective Plan Committee

• Principal and chairman
• Vice-Principal and Vice-Chairman
• Co-ordinator, IQAC
• Nominated Heads of Department
• Nominated Faculty Members
• Librarian

Perspective Plan for Research aligned with the mandates of NEP 2020

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 envisages a robust research ecosystem and lays the framework for promoting research and innovation. Development of a full-fledged Research Centre in the college is a project that was envisioned a few years back, around 2019, wherein the construction of a four storeyed building began with the ultimate aim of promoting research and fortunately a huge support was received by donors like Relaxo which helped in the development of the civil structure while NBCC played a crucial role in the strengthening of the labs. This has been termed as the state-of-the-art Research Center scrolling 38000 sq feet area, having a high end 20 well equipped science research labs that will further the work in various multifaceted areas such as Material Science, Nanomaterials, Social Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Green Chemistry etc., Himalayan Studies, special adjunct faculty guest rooms and a 250 capacity auditorium for academic purposes. The labs in the research centre are housing diversity of sophisticated instruments such as FTIR, ED-XRF, GC, GC- MS, Tunable light source, Rotor-evaporators, UV-VIS Spectrophotometer, CO2/O2 incubation, stability chamber, environment chamber, spin coater etc.

The institute has the Green Chemistry Network Centre which is working for the popularization of Green Chemistry in India and for doing so is organizing series of International as well as National workshops, conferences, seminars and most importantly conducting high quality research in Green Chemistry, Catalysis and Nanotechnology- the areas which have seen nobel prize winners in the recent decades. The research has created a global impact and won accolades in the form of highly cited researchers and publications in top ranking journals including Chemical society Reviews, Green chemistry, Materials Horizons, Dalton Transactions, Coordination Chemistry Reviews etc.

State of Art Research Centre, Hindu College, University of Delhi

As per Vision 2030, following perspective plans have been proposed:-

1. Increased Academia-academia/industry Collaborations  with recognized global institutes and leading industries
2. More Start-up and entrepreneurship cells
3. Networking with global green chemistry networks across the world
4. Interdisciplinary research with the aim to accomplish the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development Goals
5. Set-up of Sophisticated analytical facilities that can cater to the demands of various industries and academic institutes
6. Increased research grants to be provided to the aspiring faculty and students
7. Increased Internships, Apprenticeship, projects and community outreach

Perspective Plan for Curriculum Development

As per vision 2030, following plans have been proposed for the curriculum development:-

1. Increased emphasis on experiential learning with the aid of latest innovative tools and techniques.
2. Introduction of value added courses/add-on courses that impart skills and knowledge to the students beyond the curriculum to be explored by all the departments.
3. Increased investment in resources for development of custom designed software packages for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).
4. Introduction of innovative programmes at the undergraduate as well as post-graduate level which would be catering to the current industrial and societal needs
5. Integration of skill development in all the programmes and courses so as to increase employability and nurture the entrepreneurship skills.
6. Special emphasis would be directed towards integrating various components of Sustainable Development Goals in the curriculum of the various programmes offered by the institute.
7. A well-structured outcome based curriculum would be followed in accordance with UGC guidelines.
8. Development of a learning management platform for the creation of an open educational resources.
9. Library Expansion which would provide easy access to digital knowledge resources through DU

Curriculum development in line with the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Perspective Plan for Student Capability Enhancement

Following plans have been proposed for the student capability enhancement:-

1. Increased emphasis on fostering an ecosystem that will help in the development of the entrepreneurship skills of the students.
2. Full support would be provided to the students for the establishment of start-ups in the campus for which an exclusive incubation centre with mentoring support from the enterpreneurs will be encouraged.
3. Increased opportunities would be provided for the students to train them for various competitive examinations.
4. Experiential learning will be given more emphasis in all the courses
5. The institute already has an innovation cell and skill centre to enhance the student creativity and innovation. Due efforts would be required to further enhance the outputs of these centres.
6. Interdisciplinary learning will be promoted.

Perspective Plan for Faculty Development and Staff

Following perspective plans in vision 2030 have been proposed for overall faculty and staff development:-

1. While making appointments/recruitments, the prime emphasis would be placed on research component apart from the academic merits.
2. Enhanced support will be provided to faculty members interested in seeking additional qualifications as well as the research and consultancy.
3. Faculty and staff training, orientation and refresher programmes shall be encouraged.
4. The institute shall take due interest and impart information to its faculty members about various ongoing national and international fellowships.
5. Institute shall provide increased benefits to those faculty who have done outstanding work in the area of research.

E-Waste Skill Centre at Hindu College

Collaborations

The institute had directed diligent efforts towards strengthening collaborative relationships with various academic as well as industrial institutes. Presently following research collaborative initiatives have been undertaken:-

1. Ongoing Research Projects with leading Industries such as Ultra International Ltd, Reckitt Benckiser, Shri Ram Institute (SRI), TRI etc.
2. DST funded projects have been awarded to the college which are running smoothly, with high funding.
3. College is running several value added courses in collaboration with IIT Delhi which have theoretical as well as research components. The undergraduates are being trained and working on research projects on Green Energy (particularly, recovery of valuables from spent/waste lithium batteries using green techniques) and Hydrogels (Synthesis and insights into structure through spectroscopy).
4. TRI (Translational Research & Innovations Pvt. Ltd): Hindu College has entered into close research collaboration with TRI which is a high potential start-up company, with authorized share capital of around Rs 1,000,000 focusing on Research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering (NSE). The areas of technology co-development include Rare Earth Elements extraction from Coal dump sites, characterization of biodegradable polymers and natural colors. These projects have already been initiated and running successfully.

As per vision 2030, the institute has plans to develop and strengthen collaborative linkages with institutes of international and national caliber for student capacity enhancement, internships, placements, faculty enhancement and research.

Further, the institute intends to explore further opportunities for international student and faculty exchange.

Extension Services

Institute has the following extension services perspective plans:-

1. Environmental initiatives (in line with Green Policy)
2. Sustainability initiatives
3. Educational Scholarships
4. Support for physically challenged
5. Community outreach programmes
6. Skill Development programmes

Quality Assurance and Quality Enhancement (IQAC)
VISION

To make quality the defining element of higher education in India through a combination of self and external quality evaluation, promotion and sustenance initiatives.

MISSION

• To stimulate the academic environment for promotion of quality of teaching-learning and research in higher education institutions;
• To encourage self-evaluation, accountability, autonomy and innovations in higher education;
• To collaborate with other stakeholders of higher education for quality evaluation, promotion and sustenance.
• Commitment to quality has been a maxim of Hindu College since its very inception. The College has recently constituted the IQAC which commenced operations from July 2015 and which has now become the designated nodal agency for ensuring and providing quality guarantees in academics and administration of college. The IQAC has a diverse composition of alumni, parents, non-teaching staff, external experts and students.

Objectives of IQAC

The cell is envisaged to function as the hub for:

• Developing and disseminating standards of excellence in pedagogy and institution building.
• Providing a systematized and durable mechanism for conscious and continuing self-evaluation, introspection, and improvement in the overall performance of the College.
• Conceptualize, plan and implement quality initiatives and regularly evaluate the same.
• Providing a forum for students and alumni to participate in strengthening the academic standards of the institution. The cell shall receive and evaluate feedback from students, parents, alumni, and other stake holders as well as the society at large on an ongoing basis and strive to make quality consciousness an institutional paradigm.

Infrastructural Development

The College has made rapid strides in developing and upgrading its infrastructure in the last few years. The College has added a new Centre for Interdisciplinary Research, a state-of-the-art auditorium, a new academic block covering about 58,000 sq. ft. which includes science labs, lecture theatres, and seminar rooms, and a new amphitheatre named Utsav, built in the Romanic style, to its list of world-class facilities.

As per Vision 2030, the institute has plans to establish a state-of art world class library, new faculty blocks, more skill centres and continually work for the infrastructural upliftment aligned with modern requirements.