From Policy to Practice: Interdisciplinary and Industry Barriers in NEP 2020

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 envisions a transformative approach to higher education in India, emphasizing interdisciplinarity, outcome-based learning, and stronger industry-academia collaboration. In engineering education, however, multiple barriers impede its effective implementation. This paper critically examines the challenges associated with interdisciplinary integration and professional competency development. Departmental silos restrict collaborative teaching and research, limiting students’ exposure to interdisciplinary perspectives and real-world problem-solving. Weak linkages between industry and academia further undermine opportunities for experiential learning, internships, and skill-aligned curriculum design. Assessment practices and accreditation frameworks, traditionally oriented toward theoretical knowledge, remain misaligned with the competency-based, outcome-focused paradigm promoted by NEP 2020. Conventional evaluation methods often fail to capture students’ professional competencies, critical thinking, and practical application skills. Integrating industry-relevant competencies into curriculum and assessment processes requires structural reform, robust faculty development, and institutional commitment. By highlighting these barriers, the study emphasizes the need for policy-driven initiatives to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, strengthen industry partnerships, and realign assessment and accreditation mechanisms with professional and outcome-based learning goals. Addressing these challenges is crucial for developing a skilled, adaptable, and industry-ready engineering workforce, thereby enabling NEP 2020’s vision of flexible, holistic, and future-oriented technical education.