Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 7: In a landmark initiative aimed at promoting flexibility, innovation and multidisciplinary learning in higher education, Prof K S Chandrasekar, Vice Chancellor, Cluster University of Jammu, today announced the launch of the pioneering Design Your Degree (DYD) Programme from the forthcoming Academic Session 2026-27.
The programme shall initially commence at Government College for Women, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu, in the first phase with an intake capacity of 25 students.
The “Design Your Degree” model seeks to provide students the flexibility to curate their own academic pathways by combining disciplines, skill courses, internships, research components and experiential learning opportunities in alignment with their interests and career aspirations.
The initiative reflects the transformative vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and aims to foster creativity, critical thinking, employability and academic autonomy among learners.
Under the programme, students shall be exposed to multidisciplinary foundational courses during the initial semesters before formally choosing their major, minor and skill pathways, thereby enabling informed academic decisions and holistic development.
The Vice Chancellor stated that the initiative marks a progressive transition from conventional rigid curricula towards a learner-centric and globally aligned education system.
Dr Twinkle Suri, Dean Academic Affairs, remarked that the DYD framework has been envisioned to empower students with academic flexibility while ensuring strong disciplinary grounding, skill integration and research orientation.
Dr Kulvinder Kour, Principal, GCW Gandhi Nagar, stated that the introduction of the DYD Programme would provide students greater academic flexibility, skill enhancement and improved career opportunities in tune with NEP 2020.
A special interactive session was also conducted with Dr Alpana Vohra, Coordinator, Design Your Degree Programme, GCW Parade, who elaborated upon the modalities, academic structure, flexibility and implementation framework of the programme.
Dr Ranvijay Singh, Controller Examinations, Dr Ramesh Gupta Principal GGM Science College and Capt Verinder Singh (Retd) Assistant Registrar Academics attended the launch event.
To ensure smooth implementation, special faculty development and orientation programmes shall be organized for teachers associated with the initiative. Dedicated counselling and mentoring sessions shall also be conducted to guide students regarding course combinations, career pathways and academic planning under the DYD structure.
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