IIT Roorkee Documentary Explores India’s Changing Education Landscape
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Bringing doctoral research to a wider audience through documentary filmmaking, the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee), under the leadership of Director Prof. Kamal Kishore Pant, has presented “Experiential Education: Learning from Transformative Schools in India”. Created by Ms. Parisa Applegarth, Research Scholar, Department of Management Studies, IIT Roorkee, as part of her PhD research under the supervision of Prof. Andallib Tariq and Prof. Vinay Sharma, the approximately 25-minute documentary premiered at IIT Roorkee. It has also been selected for national broadcast on Doordarshan, tentatively scheduled for 14 November 2026, coinciding with Children’s Day.
Drawing on fieldwork across schools, gurukuls and higher education institutions in India, the film explores experiential learning through hands-on engagement, inquiry, mentorship and values. It examines the holistic principles of India’s traditional Gurukul system and their relevance to contemporary education, highlighting how learning rooted in experience and active participation can contribute to the evolving educational landscape.
Prof. Andallib Tariq, IIT Roorkee, said, “The documentary is an effort to take experiential education beyond theoretical discussions and bring its practice and possibilities into focus. Through extensive fieldwork across diverse educational settings in India, the research explores how learning rooted in experience, inquiry, mentorship and values can inform contemporary educational practices.”
Highlighting the research journey and the motivation behind the documentary, Ms. Parisa Applegarth, Research Scholar and creator of the film, said, “In these schools, I saw children building, questioning, caring for their surroundings and taking charge of their own learning. I wanted to share what I witnessed in a form that reaches beyond academic papers, so that more teachers and parents can see what is possible.”
A key highlight of the premiere was a panel discussion on “The Future of Experiential Education in India”, featuring Dr. Bhanu Duggal, Vice-Chancellor, Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Uttarakhand Medical Education University, Dehradun; Prof. Anand Srivastava, Vice-Chancellor, Netaji Subhas University of Technology (NSUT), Delhi; and Mr. Maulik Bhagat, Managing Director, Nascent Info Technologies and Board Member of NAMTECH and Anant National University. The discussion focused on the relevance of experiential learning in professional and higher education, its integration under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and the role of discovery-based approaches, practical engagement and holistic development in shaping contemporary pedagogy. The event witnessed participation from around 175 attendees, including heads of departments, faculty members, national and international research scholars, students and representatives from academia and industry.
Prof. Vinay Sharma, Professor and Head, Department of Management Studies, IIT Roorkee, said, “Anubhav se Anubhuti, and Anubhuti se Jeevikoparjan to Jeevan – this is the essence of experiential learning. In the present era, experiential learning is not merely a requirement but should become a way of life. The ancient wisdom embedded in the Indian Knowledge System, particularly the Gurukul tradition of education, offers a meaningful pathway towards this approach. This doctoral research explores that pathway and highlights the relevance of experiential learning in shaping a more holistic approach to education.”
The documentary is part of IIT Roorkee’s experiential learning initiative at the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department, supported by NTPC Ltd. It reflects the Institute’s commitment to taking interdisciplinary research beyond academic boundaries and engaging wider audiences in the national discourse on educational transformation, with its forthcoming Doordarshan broadcast expected to further amplify the relevance of experiential learning in mainstream education.
