Should undergraduate and academic research matter when choosing Commerce UG programmes?

Students in India usually choose undergraduate colleges based on reputation, which may be traced back to the ability of colleges to place students in the industry. However, it is also true that the reputation of colleges and the influx of good students are the two parts of a cycle that forms a self-sustaining system. Most employers go to reputed institutes because they are assured of the ability of the students, even though they usually have to train that individual on the job after she has been recruited. The part of a graduate student’s skill set for which their undergraduate college can claim responsibility is usually quite small, even if it is a reputed college. Our traditional pedagogy and the general profile of our faculty is largely responsible for this unfortunate feature of our education set-up. As such students need to be careful while choosing their undergraduate degree institutions.

Visiting faculty of practioners is a must

A feature of undergraduate commerce education in India is that the teaching faculty tends to be separate from practitioners and researchers in the field. This is a problem particularly acute in commerce and finance fields because practitioners and consultants here are reluctant to get diverted from their very lucrative careers to train students. As a result, there is a disconnect between the skills imparted in the programme and those valued by the industry at any point of time. The very dynamic nature of the financial world where new concepts are emerging every other day and assuming importance, further exacerbates this problem. There are a few programmes that address this issue by having tie-ups with financial consultants such as Ernst & Young and KPMG, so that practitioners come directly into the classrooms to train students. It is important to keep an eye out for such programs.

Faculty with research creditional is a plus

The second point of interest for students looking to enter any undergraduate program should be the research credentials of the faculty and the amount of importance attached by the institute to faculty research. Faculty who are actively engaged in research directly affect the quality of students through two important channels. Firstly, researchers are professionally required to be at the frontiers of knowledge in their fields, as such they are the first to find out about any new techniques and innovations. By the time these techniques find their way into textbooks and become part of the curriculum they are often already on the path to becoming obsolete. Research also sharpens the understanding of the basics, making it easier to impart a solid base for students. The second, and perhaps even more important contribution of faculty research is the culture of inquisitiveness and curiosity which is the hallmark of good researchers. The field of commerce today is by no means a mechanical profession. Strategic decisions need to be made with ingenuity and inventiveness. The best training for this can be a classroom environment that encourages critical thinking. Although it is not necessary that only a researcher will be able to achieve this, it is certain that a professional researcher will find this more natural. So it is important for students to go through faculty profiles checking and comparing their research contributions before deciding on their undergraduate college.

Student participation in undergraduate research projects

The third aspect that is closely related to faculty research is the opportunity to participate in undergraduate research projects and assignments. This is a somewhat unconventional pedagogic instrument which is fast becoming a major part of all good programs. Undergraduate research takes a student through the practical experience of identifying key problems, finding solutions and then presenting and arguing their merits. Students can assist and get guidance from faculty members who are themselves working on the same subject or project. This exposes students to the framework which is the working model for all corporate as well as academic work. The learning experience through this method is much better than anything that can be achieved through classical classroom teaching. As such, any project work or publications on a student’s resume are certain to impress prospective employers. Programs that encourage such research and facilitates them ought to receive special attention from prospective students.

The undergraduate degree in Commerce does have a lot to contribute to a student’s abilities if implemented with innovation and inventiveness. There is also a significant degree of freedom given by the UGC in the design of the Bachelor in Commerce degree to Indian universities. Some programmes such as BCom (Hons) degree housed at the School of Banking and Finance at O P Jindal Global University has taken this opportunity to come up with a well-researched market-oriented curriculum that helps build up the skill sets that the financial industry looks for.

About Author:

Dr Amlan Das Gupta is an Assistant Professor and Assistant Dean – Research at Jindal School of Banking and Finance, O.P. Jindal Global University. He is a Development Economist who has been engaged in teaching and research since 2015. He holds a master degree in Quantitative Economics from Indian Statistical Institute Delhi and completed his PhD. in Economics from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada in 2014.

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha