Are Indian universities preparing students for the world of academia?

Indian students aspiring for academic careers often enter graduate programmes excited about “finally doing real research”, only to realise that it demands far more than they expected. Unlike undergraduate coursework, where projects come with predefined topics and structured guidelines, advanced research requires students to frame their own questions, design experiments, analyse unfamiliar datasets, think critically, navigate ethical protocols and communicate their findings with clarity.

Difficult transition

This transition is especially difficult in a system where scientific temper, a value rooted in critical inquiry, evidence-based thinking and curiosity-led learning, is not cultivated early or consistently. Many students encounter real research expectations much later than their international peers, making the transition to rigorous academic work challenging. This raises a critical question: Are Indian students entering the global academic landscape without adequate preparation?

A 2023 survey found that undergraduate exposure to research remains significantly lower than postgraduate training. Another study among medical undergraduates revealed that only one in four had the opportunity to participate in practical research. The first meaningful experience with research began only during Master’s programmes, slowing skill development and denting confidence.

One reason is the theory-heavy nature of many UG programmes. Students learn scientific concepts but rarely engage in hands-on experimentation, data interpretation, or problem-solving. Practical work deepens understanding and builds abilities such as applying knowledge to real problems and transferring skills across disciplines. Surveys also show that students value practical research exposure and want more opportunities.

Wide variation

Pockets of excellence are limited. India has more than 43,000 institutes offering UG and PG degrees, but only a fraction are research-intensive or offer structured research opportunities for undergraduates. As a result, early research preparedness varies widely across the country. Even where training programmes exist, students report the need for more comprehensive and up-to-date workshops. Thus, India has a vast pool of talented students, but systemic gaps in early research exposure affect their academic progression and global competitiveness.

India has long grappled with brain drain, with limited opportunities, outdated infrastructure, and insufficient research funding contributing to this outflow. Countries like China show this trend can be reversed. Through initiatives such as Thousand Talents Plan (TTP), scientists were provided with generous financial incentives, world-class research facilities, elite school options and a highly supportive environment, significantly boosting the country’s technological and research capabilities. India can also create conducive research environments that offer strong funding, modern infrastructure and long-term career incentives to retain and attract talent.

International PG programmes typically assume that undergraduates possess a baseline of research readiness, including experimental design, troubleshooting, academic writing, and familiarity with ethics. This puts many Indian students at a disadvantage, not because of a lack of capability but because the education structure historically placed less emphasis on early research training.

However, the landscape is changing. In recent years, institutions and policymakers have shown a clear shift towards strengthening research readiness from early on. Universities are adopting multidisciplinary and project-based curricula and offer undergraduate research internships that allow students to work under experienced scientists and engage with real-world problems. Research-intensive institutions are expanding short-term fellowships to give students hands-on experience.

Policy changes

At the policy level, the government has launched various reforms, such as the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) and National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), to prioritise high-quality research and academia-industry collaboration. The One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) initiative aims to widen access to scientific literature, ensuring students from diverse institutions can learn and explore ideas on par with global peers. There is growing emphasis on AI and digital literacy, recognising that modern research requires familiarity with advanced tools and technologies. These developments show a growing recognition that research readiness and scientific temper should be foundational elements, not skills acquired later.

With the world’s largest youth population and a rapidly expanding higher education system, sustained investment and long-term policy focus are essential. Equally critical is ensuring the effectiveness of these investments. For example, while ONOS brings a vast collection of subscription journals under one umbrella, the real impact will depend on how easily researchers can discover, navigate, and use the content. Priority should be given to embedding hands-on project opportunities in undergraduate curricula, upgrading laboratories and equipment, expanding updated training models and ensuring equitable access to global research resources. Equally important is cultivating scientific temper, research ethics and interdisciplinary problem solving capability from the earliest stages of higher education.

Once India commits to these reforms, students will enter postgraduate programmes with greater confidence. More importantly, the nation will equip the next generation of researchers not only to participate in global science but to lead it.

The writer is the CEO of Cactus Communications

Published – March 07, 2026 12:06 pm IST