“The need for innovation in higher education is not a long-range luxury; it is a near-term urgency with long-term consequences,” said B.L. Mungekar, former member of the Planning Commission of India and former member of the Rajya Sabha.

In his convocation address at the second annual convocation day of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar School of Economics (BASE) University, Bengaluru, held on Monday, he said, “Innovation in higher education is necessary and urgent; the practical question is how to make it happen. Reform on this scale cannot be left to inspirational speeches, isolated model institutions, or sporadic pilot projects.” It requires a coordinated action framework in which policy, finance, institutional leadership, faculty incentives, industry engagement, and social expectations move in alignment, he added.