We all know that in our country, with few exceptions, university teachers are merely academic persons who live in a bookish world. On the other hand, most of the practitioners do not care about the latest theoretical developments. As a result none of these two groups is able to create a positive change in our higher education. That is why we need to focus on the new concept – ‘pracademic’ which is getting popular in the western world in recent times. A ‘pracademic’ is someone who is both an academic and an active practitioner in their subject area.
The idea of the ‘pracademic’ has become a special type of teaching style for Young Entrepreneurs. A ‘pracademic’ degree is taught by active practitioners who have updated theoretical knowledge to students who want to be entrepreneurs. However, the concept is equally applicable in other fields of study e.g. medical science, engineering, business administration, performing arts, mass communication and journalism etc.
It is mentionable that now-a-days, in the western society, many academics describe themselves as ‘pracademics’ on their web sites. We also need to transform our academics into ‘pracademics’.
Through this “Transitional Learning Model” we will surely be able to create a positive change in the higher education industry of our country. For that we need to redefine the philosophy of higher education, and redesign our syllabus, exam format, teaching methodology, and teachers’ development programs radically.
Can we dream to transform our academics, our bookish faculty members, into ‘pracademics’?
