Knowledge Management in Academia – IIT Delhi a case study
Mayank Kumar and Anuraag Gupta
Mini Project in Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Delhi
Submitted Dec, 2009.
Abstract
Problem statement: The objective of this study is to develop a knowledge management model for institutes of higher education. Academia generates a lot of knowledge during teaching and research which needs to be managed.
Approach: Our proposed Knowledge Management model is student centric and caters to these needs of institutes of higher education. It explores the constituents of transferable knowledge in academia and psychological mindset of the students and faculty. We have conducted a student survey and focused group discussion with faculties to access the knowledge requirements of the academia. Special incentive models have been built into the system for its acceptance and sustainability. Further, untapped knowledge repositories and pathways have been identified and incorporated. We developed a Knowledge management infrastructure based on the proposed model and implemented it on a pilot basis using web 2.0 technologies for increased level of collaboration and ease of use.
Results: The findings shown here are based on an online survey of 84 students done at IIT Delhi. The survey consisted of questions relating to current state and scope of KM in IIT-Delhi. 85% students lamented that project knowledge is currently shared in isolated groups. Around 89% of the students agreed to write wiki articles for effective knowledge transfer. 92% agreed that if both students and faculty contribute to course and lab knowledge, it would be beneficial and generate more interest. 73% said that gaining access to wider community with matching interest would motivate them for KM, apart from popularity and recognition for study (45%) and academic benefits (43%). 5% were motivated only by monetary benefits.
Conclusion/Recommendations: In this study, we proposed a student-centric KM implementation. The model is generic and could easily be extended to other institutes of higher education. This community-driven model is built around incentive models and results derived from the student survey. It has been implemented at IIT-Delhi as a three-fold solution comprising of a central project database, Technopedia and Interest groups which retains transferable and tacit knowledge in the institutional memory.
Links
1. Mayank Kumar and Anuraag Gupta, “Knowledge Management in Academia – An engineering institute’s case study”, KMICe 2010 submitted to American Journal of Economics and Business Administration (AJEBA) 2011. [PDF]
2. KM – End Term Presentation (PPT, 1MB)
3. Media Coverage – http://epaper.livehindustan.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HT/2010/10/20/Article//001/20_10_2010_001_026.jpg