UGC Guidelines on Professors of Practice

October 3, 2022

The UGC has cleared the post of “professors of practice” in colleges and universities.

Key facts

Any expert having 15 years or more experience in a particular field is eligible to become the professor of practice.
These experts need not have formal academic qualification to become professors of practice.
However, they must have been an “exemplary” professional in a specific field.
Under the new guidelines, colleges and universities can decide the sector from which they require professors of practice.
A professor of practice can be anyone with a background in diverse areas of expertise like technology, science, armed forces, social science, literature, legal affairs, fine arts, media etc.
Teaching professionals, either serving or retired, are not eligible to become a professor of practice.
The new post is exclusive of the total sanctioned posts of a university or college and will not affect the number of sanctioned posts and recruitment of regular teaching faculties.
Previously, the UGC required a minimum qualification of PhD and the clearing of the National Eligibility Test (NET) to be appointed as a professor.
The appointment of professors of practice will be based on nominations by the universities and colleges.
The applications for the post of professor of practice will be considered by a committee having two senior professors from the institute and an “eminent external member”.
The final call on the nominations will be made by the academic council and the executive council of the institute based on the recommendations of the committee.
The posts of professors of practice must not surpass 10 per cent of the sanctioned faculty number in an institute.
The post can either be full-time or part-time and it can last for a minimum of 4 years.
According to the guidelines, the professor of practice can serve for up to three years and the post can be extended by one year. The total number of service year should not surpass 4 years regardless of the circumstances.
The initiative aims to address staff shortages in higher education institutes and ensure that the universities and colleges provide industry-demanded skills for the students.
It also aims to achieve integration of academia with practical expertise and experience.