I feel really blessed that i have always received advice, which has been ahead of time, from my dad. I mostly agreed with all his advises, apart from some. Even those i believe now and feel that they hold true today as well as in times to come. Especially the on, Multidisciplinary Studies.

I enrolled in Mechanical Engineering after my 12th grade, which i always wanted to do. Simultaneously, My dad, pushed me to enroll in BCA, through distance education as well. He said, it will help you in your career. I did enroll but, it felt like an additional burden, as i dint have much of interest in the technicalities of computer applications. Well, somehow i went through and by the time i completed 3rd Year of Engineering, i already had a BCA degree, i was a graduate.

He din’t stop there. Next, he made me enroll for MBA programme, again through distance education. I had the same feeling as i did while enrolling for my BCA. “It will help you in you career”, said he. The same words, he said three years back. I enrolled for MBA (International Business) and by the time I completed my engineering, My first year of MBA was done too. Eventually I completed my MBA the next year.

Those five years, of a bit more pressure and hard work, is paying off now.

The thought behind his actions – Enriching Career Prospects

Careers today need much more than just an expertise in one dimension. Be it, the corporate or the startups, an individual is expected to have multidisciplinary skills. This applies to all, employees, managers, or founders / owners. Various disciplines are now overlapping and evolving as more & more applications of concepts are worked upon. Hence, it is very important that one acquires these multidisciplinary skills during his / her higher education.

One may argue, that skills can be achieved without going for a distance education degree. Yes, true it can be done, but that would’t give you and added advantage before you get an opportunity to showcase your skills. For which, your profile needs to stand out on the first glance. Adding two graduation degrees, in two different disciplines, does that job perfectly. This does you wider career options as well , because you have multidisciplinary degrees.

How to go about Multidisciplinary studies for your Career ?

You need to carefully understand the multidisciplinary study options before initiating  and you have be really clear about it. You regular course (full time) should be your primary choice of career, where as the secondary course (distance education) should be your second choice / interest. The secondary course should be such that it compliments your primary course. For example, studying Physiotherapy & Mechanics or studying Physiotherapy & Computer Applications would be fruitful, where as studying Physiotherapy & Chemistry might not be that fruitful.

In Multidisciplinary Studies, try to have two different universities that you study at. Also, for the distance education course, i would recommend a Government University (State or Central) which has received Grade A or higher from NAAC (National Assessment & Accreditation Council).

So remember multidisciplinary is where two or more than two disciplines compliment each other. Mechanical & Electronics have become Mechatronics, which is one of the best examples of two fields overlapping each other. My BCA, MBA and Mechanical Engineering, compliment each other well, in my profession of being a Head – Public Relations & Professional Development.

You need to ensure, that if you are listing two degree, then you need to have the required skills and knowledge as well. Just passing the exams and having a degree to list, has never helped nor it will ever do so.

Multidisciplinary Studies are valid  as per government norms

As per the UGC (University Grants Commission, Government of India) a student can undergo One Regular Course & One Distance Education Course simultaneously.  In this case both the degree would be valid. Hence this kind of Multidisciplinary Studies are valid as per government norms. The University from which you are pursuing Distance Education Course, must have an approval from DEB (Distance Education Bureau). The list for 2016-17 can be found here.

Benefits of Multidisciplinary Studies

I have always supported Multidisciplinary studies, since i understood the advantages of it. If done right, multidisciplinary studies can enrich your career option to a large extent. It also gives you an edge over your classmates or individuals, you are competing with in your career. A person who have pursue multidisciplinary studies can new work profiles or positions, which might not have existed in an organization, before them. Multidisciplinary studies also helps develop an innovative thinking process, as one has knowledge of more than one domain.

Some workable combinations for Multidisciplinary Studies that i know of

Engineering (all domains except Computer / IT related) + Computer Applications

Engineering + Business Administration / Management

Medical / Paramedical  + Computer Applications

Medical / Paramedical + Business Administration / Management

Applied Sciences / Sciences + Business Administration / Management

Architecture + Business Administration / Management

Architecture + Computer Applications

These are just a few simple examples, where the later is a distance education course.

 

Your queries and feedback is welcome via comments here or writing email: contact@yashchawla.in

All the best.

Cheers,

YC