Challenges and opportunities to fulfil one billion dreams
Can we reinvent Nalanda or create a Harvard university?
Ancient India can boast of Nalanda and Takshshilla; United States can boast of Harvard, Stanford or Princeton university. Do we have such a privilege now? You ask anyone – a student, a parent or a teacher to name top universities in the world, and without skipping a beat, all will instantly name Harvard, Stanford or Cambridge.
The universal recognition of these universities among the top universities is no accident at all; it is a result of centuries of sustained efforts for excellence driven by visionaries and adapting to the fast changing world.
Harvard university in USA has produced 8 United States’ presidents and more than 188 living billionaires among several world-known personalities in entertainment, sports and business worlds.
Founded in 1636, how did Harvard rise to such a prominence while ancient Indian universities like Nalanda and Takshashila, which centuries earlier already had attributes of top institutions like Harvard, could not sustain such a prominence and continue to be among the top in today’s world?
Among all attributes of any top institution in the world, the rigour of scholarship from highly motivated and dedicated faculty singles out as the main pillar of such an institution.
Ancient Nalanda and Takshashilla university had all the required attributes of the best institution that attracted scholars from across Asia, however due to invasions and eventual neglect, these top universities lost the scholarship. Above all, a strong and sustained patronage for running of a world-class knowledge institutions hampered their stature.
For Goa, a State that is now aspiring to reimagine itself as a hub for knowledge creation, can we not create such a patronage to develop a conducive environment and create world-class institutions in Goa?
Energised, motivated, capable faculty: Lighthouse of a great institution
“Any institution is as good as its faculty”. All world-class institutions are built not just on great infrastructure but they are built by vibrant research culture driven by deeply committed faculty and researchers. In Goa, while higher education is progressing, it still grapples with faculty and researchers that have exposures of the world-class institutions.
Only a small fraction of the higher education faculty in Goa have international doctoral (PhD) or Post-Doctoral experience. On the other hand, faculty from all premier institutions not just have vast international experience but they continue to collaborate on various research projects with international collaborators. Such collaborations bring creativity, competitiveness as well as motivation that take such institutions to the top of the rankings.
One of the proven ways, which is adopted by the world-class institutions is to facilitate faculty exchanges and summer research residencies at top global universities and laboratories across the world. This not only enhances research capabilities but also build long term international networks among individuals and institutions. By institutionalising such opportunities, Goa can create a dynamic academic and research environment where faculty inspire students through first hand knowledge of cutting-edge global research.
This is critical because research and innovation form the backbone of every top-tier institution and are the driving forces behind a nation's intellectual and economic advancement. The role of a faculty is to not just transmit the information but to inspire every student to achieve the unthinkable which can be realized only through a passion for hardcore research which creates a contagious learning environment.
Such teachers inspire students not just to learn, but to question, explore, and innovate. Without such a vibrant research culture, universities become passive knowledge sharing places and merely replicate old knowledge. However, with it, the institutions become centres of discovery, excellence, and national progress. Only such relentless pursuit of new knowledge can transforms a good institution into a great one.
Shunting culture of rote learning
With few exceptions, Indian education system is heavily dominated by exam-centric learning and evaluation that is based on rote memorisation. Such a system discourages creativity, original thinking and leads to students that are ill prepared for solving real world problems.
In order to make move away from this system and make a significant progress will require a fundamental shift, a shift from academic content-heavy syllabi to formative assessment and learning, and inquiry based learning. While learning is all about students, only dedicated and able teachers can create such a conducive environment independent of the guidelines or regulations from the regulatory bodies. Such paradigm shift and especially adoption of such a system on very short time scale brings lots of uneasiness and challenges. However, this must be adopted if we are resolved to develop a world-class facility in the State.
Mantra for a fulfilling life: Moving from literacy to creativity
As a lifelong student, only creativity carves a path towards a fulfilling life. This is true even at the levels of a nation. If we look throughout the history, all progressed nations are those nations that have valued creativity at their core, and this creativity has been at the heart of their educational systems. Such a system has not only unlocked economic growth but it has also lead to the fulfilled and societal wellbeing.
When we look at any developed nations e.g. United States, Finland, South Korea, while literacy and numeracy are essential, in the long-term, it is the creativity that has driven their progress. For example, Finland’s education system has been globally recognised as among the best education system, and that has likely lead to producing a society that is among the most happy country in the world recognised by the World Happiness Index.
It is not a coincidence that Finalnd has among the best education systems that practices collaborative learning and creative problem-solving leading to both intellectual growth and emotional well-being. Similar is the case with United States which became the powerhouse due to fostering academic environment that encourages creativity, imagination and new inventions.
This is easily visible looking at the success of Silicon Valley which is being replicated all over the world. These models show that creative education does more than build economies—it builds fulfilled individuals and happy societies.
For Goa, embracing this vision means rethinking its education system to move beyond rote learning and exam-driven teaching. By embedding creativity, project- based learning, arts integration, and emotional intelligence into the curriculum, and by training teachers to nurture curiosity, Goa can build not only a more innovative workforce but a more content, resilient, and happy society.
What comes first: best infrastructure or dedicated human resource?
When it comes to building world-class institutions, in general, every discussion starts with having the best infrastructure. However, history has shown us that it is not the grand infrastructure but the energised and dedicated human resource that need to be developed first.
A classic example is the invention of the flying machine (powered aircraft) which is a powerful illustration of this truth. In the early 1900, Samuel Pierpont Langley who was at Harvard University, was funded to build a flying machine that will take humanity into the age of space travel. Yet, despite he having access to all the experts, funding, and resources, he miserably failed. At the same time, two young bicycle mechanics from Ohio—Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright, after their workhours, worked relentlessly on building a flying machine that would change the course of human history.
Working on this dream project on self-funding and donations, without any great infrastructure, but just on truly unwavering belief, problem-solving skills and dedication to change the humanity’s course, they built the first powered aircraft in 1903. They embodied the spirit of innovation driven by passion and perseverance, not privilege.
As a system, we must identify and empower dedicated students, educators, researchers, and visionary leaders. Infrastructure can and must follow, but it is the brilliance and commitment of individuals that ignite greatness. Without the right minds, even the most lavish facilities remain empty shells; with them, even the humblest spaces can become launchpads for groundbreaking ideas.
Changes bring uneasiness, discomfort: are we ready?
There is a proverbial saying “if you take the same path as everybody else, you will also reach the same destination as everybody else”. Thus, to reach a new destination we must overcome the challenges of uneasiness and discomfort that comes along with new decisions, new resolve.
We must not hesitate to venture into the unknown. Only then we will set a new path; we will reach a new destination. While carving this road to the progress, we must set our eyes to the skies but keeping our feet firmly on the ground. Some rocket launches are bound to fail and fall in the oceans instead of going into the space, but institutional leadership must build a system that is resilient to jitters that produced by pathbreaking steps, and risky ventures.
Arjun-like focus to move forward
Our will, intention and long term vision demands bold strategies prioritizing short term and long-term multi-tiered strategies. In order for Goa to develop as a knowledge hub, the State must develop some flagship institutions of global standards with a strong ecosystem for research & innovation, entrepreneurship & skill development.
A legendary model that Goa can envision to build is to emulate an awe-inspiring Library of Alexandria in Egypt which was the most ambitious intellectual centre of the world that attracted scientists, scholars, poets, and philosophers from around the world. During the 3rd century BCE, this library was not just a collection of scrolls but it rewarded every scholar who brought-in any scholarly work to the centre. It proved to be a magnet for scholarly pursuit. India is now on the brink of taking a leap into a developed space, with rapid development of technologies and at the same time enhancing Indian ethos.
In this context, the time has come to reinvent the glory and reimagine future development, not as a race for industrial growth but as a mission to achieve energy sovereignty, environmental harmony, and societal well-being. India has already demonstrated this spectacularly in space exploration through space missions including Chandrayaan, Mangalyaan, and the forthcoming Gaganyaan.
When India was once debarred from procuring such technologies from developed nations, India has now mastered the technologies & capabilities with frugal innovation and unmatched resolve. These capabilities must now be directed toward solving Earth’s greatest challenges—using satellites for climate monitoring, precision agriculture, education, and governance—and powering India’s economy through a clean, decentralised, and self-reliant energy system.
As part of realising this vision, Goa has unique advantages. With its small size, educated population, robust connectivity, and deep ecological awareness, we can become India’s first state where the entire economy is driven by two sunrise sectors: space technology and renewable energy.
Goa has abundant sunlight and favourable grid conditions, and therefore Goa can emerge as a major producer and exporter of clean energy—especially solar and green hydrogen—supplying sustainable power to energy-hungry industrial states across the country. This is not a distant dream, but a real and achievable vision—if we act now.
Simultaneously, given India’s requirement for space technologies, not just for defence purposes but also for space exploration, we must heavily invest in these areas. The human resource requirement for these areas is extremely large, and given Goa’s geographical and cultural advantage, we must invest in these areas.
Imagine Goa as the hub for small satellite development, launch support services, and downstream space applications that support industries across India. If we lead with courage, clarity, and dedication, it is not a far-fetched dream to realise it. Remember, India is a land of one billion dreams; we must aspire to fulfil these dreams; and do it quickly.
