“What the country needs is to create an environment where an education ecosystem can flourish,” said Dr Raghuram G Rajan, Advisor-Governing Council and Academic Council, Krea University, and former Governor, Reserve Bank of India. He was interacting with the students and faculty at the School of Interwoven Arts and Sciences (SIAS) and IFMR Graduate School of Business at Krea University.
Dr Rajan said that the students today have great challenges ahead of them, generated by a fast-paced and complex world. The challenges of the 21st century are substantially different in scale, scope and space, he said.
High-quality education
Dr Rajan said that the mission of Krea University is to create a new generation of thinking Indians who will contribute to global development. According to him, there is no shortage of talent in India; what is needed is to create an ecosystem that provides high-quality education to all, irrespective of their social and economic status. Dr Rajan urged the students to be courageous and develop a spirit of curiosity..
Creating businesses
He said, “We can be the educational hub for Asia and Africa, if India can build world-class universities. There are thousands of students who would like to study closer to home.”
“What we need is an atmosphere where young graduating students are motivated to create new businesses rather than just relying on corporate jobs,” said Rajan.
Dr Rajan answered a slew of questions from the students on topics ranging from the economy, inflation, interest rates, taxation and fiscal deficit, to jobs, education, entrepreneurship, international trade, banking and finance and politics. He also drew from his own life experience and shared his thoughts on how to cope with failure and stress.