Recently, the US state department has developed a one-year professional master’s program that is aligned with India’s NEP. This opens doors for Indian students to pursue specialized degrees and shapes the future of education. As per this move, the bond between the countries will strengthen, and it will foster collaborative growth and advancement.
Akhilesh Lakhtakia, a Jefferson Science Fellow at the State Department’s South and Central Asia (SCA) bureau, has introduced the program. This came into effect after the State Department asked him to come up with a program that is beneficial for students, the government, and universities in both countries.
However, the courses are currently confined to science, technology, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. As per the latest information, this course will start in the fall semester of 2024. Under these STEM disciplines, artificial intelligence applications, 5G and 7G communication systems, wireless technology, photonics, and many more are currently offered to students.
As the State Department is working as a facilitator, more than 20 American and 25 Indian universities will take advantage of this initiative. Moreover, after the successful completion of this course, students will be allowed to stay in the US for up to three years. The main objective of this move is to let students gain industry experience and repay student loans.
The beginning of the course will be a win-win situation for both the Commerce Department and the State Department. The state department will benefit from the people-to-people bond, while the commerce department will be able to generate more revenue.