The seven working groups presented strategic initiatives addressing critical challenges facing the Royal University of Bhutan (RUB). The majority of the pitching ideas centered on common themes, namely strengthening institutional performance, visibility, credibility, and impact. The intended outcome of the pitching session for this cohort is to advance RUB as a global beacon of enlightened education, research, and innovation, with a focus on improving capacity, efficiency, sustainability, and overall institutional effectiveness.
At the room level, many ideas complemented one another, with several proposals addressing interconnected aspects of institutional development. Theoretical perspectives were frequently reinforced by practical experiences and evidence-based analysis. In several cases, viewpoints differed in a constructive manner, particularly between participants focused on internal capacity building and those emphasising external engagement. These contrasts encouraged deeper discussion, clearer understanding, and meaningful critical reflection among participants.
All ideas were diverse yet well aligned with the objective of strengthening RUB from within whilst engaging beyond. Most of the proposed ideas were practical and implementation-ready, offering direct benefits for addressing student well-being, faculty development, financial sustainability, research impact, quality assurance, and access to higher education. The following are the initiatives presented by each group:
Group 65
Strengthening Counselling Services for Student Mental Health and Well-being: Professional recruitment of BBCC-certified counsellors, development of a secure anonymous online counselling platform, and active monitoring systems to reactivate Happiness and Well-being Centres and address growing mental health concerns including reported suicide cases.
Group 67
Opportunities Beyond Government Scholarships: Expanding Domestic Admission Capacity: Strategies to increase domestic admission capacity from the current 22.7% to accommodate 65% of BHSEC pass-outs through programme diversification, flexible learning pathways, community colleges, and industry partnerships to reduce overseas education dependency and mitigate brain drain.
Group 68
The Royal University of Bhutan Consultancy Group: Institutionalising Expertise for Financial Sustainability: Establishment of a centralised, university-owned consultancy organisation (RCG) operating on clear revenue-sharing principles to transform untapped multidisciplinary academic expertise into institutional revenue whilst addressing national development needs currently outsourced internationally.
Group 69
Strengthening Faculty Training for Professional Development: A mixed online training programme integrating synchronous and asynchronous learning through interactive webinars, self-paced certification, and virtual academic conferences to overcome geographic constraints and enhance pedagogical, digital, and research capabilities across RUB’s scattered campuses.
Group 70
Positioning Academic Research for National Transformation: Development of ‘Research Spotlight’ platform, Policy Co-Creation Lab, and Rapid Evidence Response Unit to reposition fragmented RUB research as a visible, accessible national asset that informs evidence-based policymaking and addresses priorities including Gross National Happiness and the Gelephu Mindfulness City.
Group 71
Royal University of Bhutan’s Sustainable Income and Enterprise Model: A carefully designed complementary income model comprising a Transnational Executive MBA in partnership with international universities, establishment of RUB Alumni Association (RUBAA), and short-term professional programmes in governance, sustainability, and GNH-based leadership to support rather than replace government funding.
Group 72Establishment of University Quality Assurance and Enhancement Body (UQA&EB) under VC: A strategic, diagnostic, and enhancement-oriented body under the Vice Chancellor to function as a central convergence point for quality assurance across all university functions, addressing current fragmentation and moving RUB beyond narrow compliance focus towards continuous quality excellence and performance improvement.