Bollywood will now form a part of Delhi University curricula. And so will stories like Arabian Nights and Panchtantra. Students will keep a tab on e-governance as well as access learning material from MIT and IITs. The foundation courses, according to Delhi University, will make learning exciting, give fresh perspectives to students and equip them with basic skills required in the practical world. A total of 11 foundation courses will be taught to freshers in the first two years of the new four-year undergraduate programme no matter which course they enroll in. There will be seven such courses in the first year and four in the second besides eight papers of Discipline Course I. Though the debate on the need for the foundation courses is still on with critics calling them a waste of time, DU officials say they are necessary to make students aware of contemporary issues in the country and pick up skills that will make them more employable. For instance, a paper on Information Technology will expose the students to e-governance, teach them to track various websites and introduce IT to Panchayats of nearby villages as part of hands-on projects.

The paper has films like 3 Idiots, A Wednesday, Chak De India, Do Dooni Char, Dor, English Vinglish, Iqbal, Khuda Ke Liye, Lagaan, Life of Pi, Peepli Live, Rang De Basanti, Rockstar, Swades, Taare Zameen Par, Udaan and Wake Up Sid as the resource material for the course. "These films depict life and its issues in different forms. We have introduced them in the curriculum so that the students feel an instant connect and learn to deal with different situations," a senior faculty member said. The paper will focus on enabling students to think and communicate rationally, understanding and dealing with emotions like happiness, love, anger and fear; and discovering paradoxes of everyday life. The course will also enable students to relate to each other in a better way. Listening, empathy, friendship, difficulties in relationships, giving and receiving feedback, collaboration will all be a part of the discourse. DU has been organising special orientation sessions for nearly 1,500 teachers since May 20. Each paper has been developed by a separate empowered committee. "Such courses have never been a part of undergraduate education. But they are necessary to shrink the gap between industry and academics," P.C. Jain, principal, Shri Ram College of Commerce said.