New Delhi: The recent decision by top Chinese universities to allow PhD students to graduate with a product instead of a traditional thesis, as reported by South China Morning Post, represents more than a mere policy twist, it underscores a sweeping global realignment in the role of higher education. What matters now is not the number of pages written, but the solutions built.
For India, this isn’t a radical new direction, it’s a confirmation of what policymakers, educators and entrepreneurial youth have been quietly nurturing for years.
Why this matters, globally and for India
The conventional academic model, heavy on thesis-based research and publications, belongs to an era where knowledge accumulation and documentation were primary. As the pace of technological change accelerates, the world needs deployable solutions, not just documented theories. Products, prototypes, patents, market-ready innovations, these are what drive economies, shape industries, and address societal challenges.
When a country as formidable as China transitions its PhD evaluation toward “product over prose,” it signals that universities must now double as innovation factories, and scholars must deliver real-world impact.
India, with its vast youthful population, rising startup energy, and a growing research base, is arguably better positioned than most to lead this shift, if we act decisively.
What India has already built, the foundations are there: A thriving startup & innovation ecosystem
Under flagship initiatives such as Startup India and Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), India has emerged as the third-largest startup ecosystem globally with around 1.57 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups as of end-2024.
AIM alone has supported over 3,500 startups through Atal Incubation Centres (AICs), collectively generating tens of thousands of direct jobs.
Academia embracing entrepreneurship and applied research
In recent years, many Indian universities, especially central and technical institutions, have institutionalised innovation: establishing Innovation & Entrepreneurship Cells, Technology Business Incubators, and Centres of Excellence. These provide seeds of incubation, mentorship, and resources to convert academic ideas into real ventures.
Moreover, academic output is gradually shifting: a growing number of patents, commercialisation efforts, and deep–tech startups are coming out of Indian campuses.
Policies enabling translational research and IP generation government support, via National Innovation & Startup Policy, funding missions like NM-ICPS (National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems), semiconductor/AI/MedTech missions, and credit-oriented startup schemes, is slowly but steadily building an environment where research, industry, and innovation intersect.
The missing link, from productive ideas to productive PhDs
Despite these advances, a large disconnect remains. As some analysts note, while patent filings are rising, the commercialisation of these patents, turning them into real-world products, often stalls.
Multiple factors contribute to this: insufficient funding, weak industry-university linkages, lack of incubation at scale, rigid academic evaluation norms, and gaps in IP management and market-oriented validation mechanisms.
In sum: India generates a fair number of innovations, but too rarely sees them through to adoption, spread, and impact.
A Strategic Opportunity: Institutionalise product-based academic evaluation
The time is ripe for India to move decisively. Here’s a blueprint for what needs to be done:
- Allow product-based theses at postgraduate and doctoral levels: Academic regulators (like UGC, AICTE, and technical councils) should provide guidelines enabling students to submit prototypes, patents, or working technologies as alternatives to traditional written theses. This will align academic reward systems with national innovation goals.
- Incentivise translational research and commercialisation: Universities should reward faculty and students for patents filed, technologies licensed, startups created, and real-world adoption — not just for publications. Institutions should set up or expand Technology Transfer Offices, incubators, and seed-fund pools to support such initiatives.
- Strengthen academia–industry–government collaboration: Public research labs, universities, industries, and government schemes should collaborate closely: co-funding projects, running challenge-driven grants, matching incubation resources with national missions (for healthcare, clean energy, defence, agriculture etc.). Part of this shift could come under a focused national mission — akin to a “Translational R&D & Innovation Programme.”
- Improve IP enablement and commercialisation pathways: Speed up patent processing, ensure accessible and affordable IP filing for academic inventors, provide legal & commercialisation support, and build linkages with investors, industry, and markets.
- Embed innovation culture early, across curriculum and institutions: Encourage research-based labs, capstone projects, interdisciplinary courses, “tech to market” workshops, and startup labs across universities, not just elite ones, to ensure widespread grassroots innovation.
Why India should lead, not follow
India’s strengths, large talent base, demographic dividend, upward-trending startup ecosystem, government backing, and institutional infrastructure, give it unique potential. With global competition escalating, countries will race to convert research into deployable products.
If India waits, it risks falling behind. If it acts, by institutionalising product-based academic success , it can emerge as a global innovation and manufacturing powerhouse.
Ultimately, the switch isn’t about discarding research or publications. It’s about expanding what counts as academic success, from documented knowledge to implemented solutions.
In the years to come, the difference between leading and lagging economies may well rest on how many of their PhD graduates hold patents, prototypes or startups, rather than how many pages they wrote.
For India, the moment is now. Academic prestige must evolve. The baton must shift from thesis to technology , from paper to product.