In its bid to transform higher education, the Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) M Jagadesh Kumar said on Sunday that the commission is launching a new website, the 'UTSAH' portal, Professor of Practice Portal on 16 May. The UGC is also taking steps to make the website more user-friendly, informative, and dynamic.

“UGC has redesigned the website to make it more user-friendly, informative, and dynamic. All information is categorized as per the type of stakeholders, such as students, faculty, and Universities. It helps to ease in getting information," M Jagadesh Kumar said talking to ANI.

"The home page covers key initiatives, student corners, faculty corners, and information about different types of universities, dashboards, and e-Governance portals of UGC initiatives and schemes," he said

The website will allow the stakeholders to easily access notices and circulars, the UGC chairman said.

"Also, access regulations are according to the type of stakeholders, such as universities, colleges, students, and faculty. Finding university details is very easy on this website, and it has more filter facilities for the users to sort the HEIs as per their requirements," he said.

“Similarly, users can visit details of the UGC's various bureaus and contact information of the Bureau Head and other officials. UGC's Various Digital Initiatives are highlighted to access directly," he added.

The UGC Chairman announced the creation of a new portal called UTSAH (Undertaking Transformative Strategies and Actions in Higher Education) with the purpose of motivating, implementing, and monitoring progress in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) throughout the country. The main objective of this portal is to keep close track of the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 and its strategic initiatives in HEIs.

"After extensive consultations with stakeholders, including institutions, universities, colleges, IITs, NITs, and INIs, the UGC is launching the UTSAH Portal. The UTSAH Portal will serve as a comprehensive platform providing detailed information about UGC's initiatives for qualitative reforms in higher education" he added.

The UGC Chairman said that the UTSAH Portal will have the capability to monitor and measure the outputs and outcomes in critical areas, including learner-centric education, digital learning, industry-institute collaboration, academic research, internationalization, and the Indian Knowledge System.

By using the UTSAH Portal, HEIs will be able to provide significant insights into their progress and efforts in these key areas, which will ultimately contribute to the overall improvement of higher education in India.

"The Portal has been designed with a user-friendly interface to facilitate easy submission of initiatives, achievements, and best practices adopted by HEIs to implement qualitative reforms on their campuses. Providing comprehensive and reliable data will aid in informed policy-making, future planning, and the overall growth of the higher education sector in our country. The UGC anticipates the launch of the UTSAH Portal as a significant milestone in our journey towards accessible, equitable, inclusive, and quality education in India," he told ANI.