From Director's Desk

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I welcome you to the website of the International Institute for Higher Education Research & Capacity Building (IIHEd) at O.P. Jindal Global (Institution of Eminence Deemed To Be University). IIHEd is an independent research institute within JGU focused on pursuing research and capacity building initiatives on different aspects of higher education in India and beyond. The vision of IIHEd is to contribute towards institution building for nation-building. The establishment of IIHEd reflects the growth and development of JGU as a leading research-oriented global university in India that is contributing to promoting excellence in higher education in all its dimensions. 
 
The last two decades have witnessed extraordinary changes in university systems around the world. India needs to take into account these developments and how they are affecting and impacting the nature of higher education across the globe. The higher education system in India, including university governance, needs to consider some critical reforms and policy initiatives. We believe the future Indian universities will depend on our ability to create and nurture transformational institutions that will inspire young minds with the spirit of inquiry and instill in them the flames of imagination. They could only fulfil this broader promise in all its essence if they have the foundational basis on five equally important principles: academic freedom, intellectual engagement, social responsibility, institutional accountability, and participatory governance.
 
To advance and promote these principles, IIHEd conducts research and offers advice on all aspects of higher education with a strong focus on curriculum development; pedagogical innovations; faculty engagement; faculty recruitment, retention and development; research and knowledge creation systems; promotion of scholarship and building research capacities; developing international collaborations; benchmarking and assessments of institutions; and on providing institutional support on law, policy and regulations relating to higher education.
 
Some important milestones for IIHEd, since it was established in February 2015, were the two major international conferences it organized at the JGU campus in March 2013 and March 2017, both of which the then President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, inaugurated. In fact, it was President Mukherjee’s passionate commitment to the cause of higher education reform that has inspired us to establish IIHEd. Besides, in partnership with the Times Higher Education, IIHEd had hosted The Times Higher Education BRICS & Emerging Economies Academic Summit in December 2015.
 
Over the past decade, our university has created a record in terms of its commitment to research and teaching excellence. We were featured in BRICS QS rankings, as the youngest university in India in international rankings and one of the top ten private Universities in India promoting public service through our teaching and research excellence. O.P. Jindal Global (Institution of Eminence Deemed To Be University) has been awarded the highest ‘Diamond Rating’ by QS I-Gauge at the launch of India’s first nationwide higher education rating system in the presence of Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Former President of India and Dr. Virander S. Chauhan, Chairman, The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
  
In 2019, our University was ranked among the top 450 universities in Asia in the QS Asian Universities rankings, which puts us in the top 3% in the region that consists of more than 13,000 universities. JGU was also ranked as the youngest Indian University in the QS BRICS rankings.

In 2020, JGU has been ranked as number one private university in India by QS World University Rankings 2021. JGU is ranked in the top 651-700 universities bracket across the globe, placing it among the top 2.5% of all universities in the world. It continues to be the youngest Indian university to be ranked in 2021 QS rankings.
 
Recently, our University has also been recognized by the Indian government as an Institution of Eminence (IoE). This is evidence of our growing reputation for high-quality teaching and research. As a research institute committed to promoting excellence in higher education, IIHEd faculty and fellows have steered reform initiatives that have ushered national and global recognition.