The United States, in line with India's new National Education Policy, has started an educational programme that would allow Indian students to pursue a one-year professional master's degree with industrial specialisation in American universities. The courses are confined to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines and will begin from the fall semester of 2024. Once the courses are complete, students can stay on in the US for up to three years, as per existing and applicable visa rules, to gain work experience in industry and repay student loans. Twenty American and over 15 Indian universities are already in discussion with each other about how to take advantage of the initiative, with the US State Department acting as a facilitator.
The programme has been designed by Akhilesh Lakhtakia, a Jefferson Science Fellow at the State Department's South and Central Asia (SCA) bureau. India introduced a new education policy after almost two decades through National Education Policy 2020. It aims to make education: 1. available to all Indians, 2. simultaneously global in scope and focused on Indian culture and knowledge systems, and 3. a partnership between the student and educators. The National Education Policy envisages an education system rooted in Indian ethos and driving the transformation of India (Bharat) into a sustainable and equitable knowledge society.
