Vassar College hosted discussions in Mumbai and Delhi to highlight the importance of liberal arts in light of the new education policy

Elizabeth Bradley, President of Vassar College of Liberal Arts Mumbai, moderating the Panel discussion with Professor Anush Kapadia, Nina Hirji Kheraj, Professor Santosh Kumar Kudtarkar, Ramesh Mangaleswaran and Dr Ravindra Kulkarni

09th January 2020: Vassar College, a premier and globally renowned institution for liberal arts, organised panel discussions in New Delhi and Mumbai on the future and importance of liberal arts education in shaping students’ careers. In attendance were eminent personalities like Professor G Raghuram, Dr Sunder Ramaswamy, Professor PV Madhusudhan Rao, Professor Sudhir Shah, Dr Pramath Raj Sinha and Ashok Trivedi in New Delhi on January 7, 2020. In Mumbai the next day, in attendance were Professor Anush Kapadia, Nina Hirji Kheraj, Professor Santosh Kumar Kudtarkar, Ramesh Mangaleswaran and Dr Ravindra Kulkarni.

Learning is no more a one-track theme. It is an amalgamation of various skills to tell a successful life story. In our rapidly changing global economy, with millennials averaging five to seven career changes in a lifetime, liberal arts education may add more value to a person than ever before.

Liberal Arts approaches learning where students discover different styles, topics, and paradigms, exploring Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Mathematics and more. Many of us are unaware that Science and Mathematics are a part of Liberal Arts, along with Philosophy, Art, History, Religion, Communication, Gender Studies, Literature, Human Geography, Law and Politics. These skills are also useful as we enter the Fourth Industrial Revolution where holistic skills will be preferred.

Elizabeth Bradley, President of Vassar College of Liberal Arts,  shared insights on

• The future of Liberal Arts
• Need for holistic skill development
• Evolution of Liberal Arts
• Scope of Liberal Arts for young learners

In a changing world, the most important skill is to be able to adapt, take in new information and make sense of the situation. Learning how to learn is consistent with the liberal arts approach, through which students learn across different styles, topics and paradigms. A liberal arts education is needed to impart key communication skills (writing, speaking, negotiating), expose students to multiple disciplines (arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural and information sciences), and empower students to innovate, be creative and entrepreneurial, and to chart their own paths in becoming engaged citizens and community role models. India’s recent education policy also highlights the importance of liberal arts education across schools and colleges. The conversations during both evenings highlighted the need to create awareness about liberal arts and its importance in building careers.

Elizabeth Bradley, President, Vassar College said: “I was very excited to conduct these discussions in India, especially when the government is focused on offering quality education to the youth. Vassar has been the driving force in providing a premium liberal arts education that imparts key communication skills, exposes students to various disciplines.”

Vassar College is a co-educational, independent, residential liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, NY, founded in 1861. Consistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the United States, Vassar is renowned for pioneering achievements in education, for its long history of curricular innovation, and for the beauty of its campus.