I first heard of Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) at the time when my disillusionment with the honours course in history was at its peak. The structure of the course, BA Honours in Humanities in Social Sciences taught at CIC, wherein you’re required to spend every semester in a different college studying subjects which are in tune with one’s interests seemed very novel as a concept, alluring even and hence, worth taking the plunge.
My batchmates at CIC were a diverse bunch, confused souls who were foraging for avenues wherein they could hone their talents. I watched them do just that over the course of the next three years as we went college hopping, studying subjects which piqued our interests.
Over the course of these three years, I went from being a sceptic to someone who champions the interdisciplinary paradigm of education, for the said experience allows diverse perspectives to rub off on one’s psyche, something which can’t be obtained from the humdrum of lectures and assignments. Moreover, it has acted as a facilitator in making me more conscious of certain aspects of life in Delhi University which are larger than the concerns of the self.
For one, I’ve had the privilege of noticing the tangible gains which might accrue to a college owing to student politics which thrives in bringing issues of importance to the notice of the authorities. One such incident happened when the incumbent student wing in tenure at Hindu college vehemently opposed the fee being charged for the college’s girls hostel which was higher than what was being charged for the boys’ hostel.
At the same time, I’ve noticed how campaigning in student politics mirrors its spoiled self, employed in the state or national level elections wherein doling out freebies in exchange for votes is a routine ritual. My first-hand experience of the same happened in Sri Venkateshwara college when my lunch with some friends in the cafeteria was cut short when full-throated chants of “Vote for NSUI” was being blared into our ears. In the days that followed, I heard about movie tickets being given to students, and the freebie culture made sense to me.
Similar experiences can be recounted regarding the infrastructure on offer in different colleges of the university. While Hindu college again, fares decently well on this account, Ramjas college, on the other hand, insists on using some primeval tables and benches, all of which are conjoined at the base and very closely spaced, thus affording minimal leg space for comfort. So, a day of average attendance in class and you could have the classmate behind you breathing down your neck and his/her knees poking you in the back simply because they too are struggling to manoeuvre some leg space just as you are. Similar stories are to be recounted by all my batchmates based on their experiences. Some evoke laughter while some are worth pondering upon as issues that need to be tackled on a war footing.
We’ve met again, my batchmates and I, in the sixth and last semester of our graduation at CIC. It’s been a pleasant departure from our earlier impressionable selves looking for exposure and being reined in by unpaid internships with nascent start-ups, all to our detriment. The earlier sense of confusion seems to have dissipated and made way for a sense of purpose, and we’ve set forth on our respective paths with a sense of surety previously unknown to us. Perhaps it’s because our course offered us the unique opportunity to design our own degrees that now, we are sure of where exactly we want to reach. It’s a paradigm of education worth exploring, and we are happy to have made the plunge!