UGC Launches ‘Annual Capacity Building Plan’ For Growth And Upskilling Of Employees

The UGC’s new Annual Capacity Building Plan stems from the Capacity Need Assessment exercise on UGC’s officials that started in March last year.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has launched its Annual Capacity Building Plan (ACBP). The new plan is aimed at facilitating the growth and upskilling of UGC employees. UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar launched the ACBP in the presence of Dr. R Balasubramanium, Member HR, Capacity Building Commission. UGC’s new ACBP results from the robust Capacity Need Assessment exercise on UGC’s officials, which began in March last year. The new plan underlines and advocates essential upsteppings for the overall development of UGC officials and the overall capacity of the UGC. 

Speaking to ABP Live, UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar shared key insights on the Annual Capacity Building Plan, as follows: 

Q1. What is it about? 

The Capacity Building Commission (CBC) was established by GoI through the Gazette of India on April 1, 2021.

Q2. What is UGC doing with CBC?

UGC is  the 1st autonomous organization to have initiated planning for the capacity building of their employees in collaboration with CBC. The Annual Capacity Building Plan (ACBP) is a comprehensive plan outlining interventions essential for enhancing individual officials' competencies and the overall capacity of UGC and this plan is derived from a robust Capacity Need Assessment exercise that was done with UGC officials and staff over a period of 6 months starting from March, 2023.

Q3. What has UGC done so far in capacity building of its staff and officers?

More than 600 UGC employees were onboarded on iGot Karmayogi platform by 15th Sept, 2023. In the first Quarter (October to December, 2023) 630 UGC employees have successfully completed more than 4500 courses with each employee completing an average of 7 courses.

Q4. What else has UGC done to train its employees?

During 2023, UGC has also organized various offline/face-to-face training programs on Reservation in Services, Introduction to Emerging Technologies using AI, Overview of Data- Driven Decision Making (DDDM) using Higher Education data and relevant use cases, PFMS  Awareness of General Financial Rules, Contract Management and Purchase of Services,  RTI etc. for its employees and plans to continue the same to strengthen the capacity of its employees and support the government’s initiative of Mission Karmayogi for Skill enhancement of government employees.

Q5. Why is UGC doing all this?

The idea is to build, develop and enhance the abilities, talents, competencies, efficiency and qualifications of UGC employees to increase their capacity to serve the higher educational system in India.

Q6. Are there any focus areas in which UGC employees will be trained?

In four areas – behavioral competencies, Functional competencies, domain competencies and technology competencies. Behavioral competencies help the UGC staff the ability to take up bigger roles than what they normally perform. Functional competencies help the UGC staff perform better in administration, procurement and financial management. Enhancing domain competencies help them perform better in specialized fields such as policy making or project management. Training in newer technology competencies help them to realize shorter turn around time and improve efficiency, better digital record keeping and utilize technology platforms to reach out to the stakeholders.

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