As 2025 draws to a close, we’re sharing a year-end perspective from Dr. Rudra Pratap, Founding Vice Chancellor, Plaksha University, reflecting on how global shifts in geopolitics, AI, and mobility are reshaping opportunities for Indian youth and what this means for India’s universities going into 2026.
Please find the quote below for your consideration as part of any year-end or forward-looking stories on education, talent, or technology.
“The world is entering a phase where geopolitics is creating all kinds of uncertainties including opportunities for our youth. Countries that once benefitted from Indian talent are now narrowing the pathways through which young people can study and work. This reminds us that India cannot anchor its future on the policies of others and that we must build the conditions for global competence and innovation here, on our own soil.
In an era shaped by AI, this becomes even more critical. Nations will compete not just on talent, but on their capacity to create knowledge and guide new technologies with wisdom. India cannot remain a consumer of imported ideas. We must help shape the intellectual agenda of the AI age.
Our universities will play a decisive role in this pursuit. India’s next leap will come from institutions that generate ideas, build technologies, and engage in groundbreaking research. If we invest in bold, interdisciplinary, globally connected ecosystems and create learning environments that cultivate curiosity and enable innovation, then our young people will not leave because opportunity is scarce. If they do, they will leave to carry ideas and innovations born in India to the rest of the world.”
