A student enrolled in a college or a university will soon be able to pursue cross-discipline programmes simultaneously, with the Government today proposing to set up a 'meta-university'.

The proposed institution, for example, will make it possible for an IIT Kanpur student to also enrol for a course in Ancient History from Jawaharlal Nehru University or a Mathematics student from Indian Institute of Science pursue a course in comparative literature from Jadavpur University.

"They would be tested for their competencies before enrolling into the particular programme in another university and will be awarded degrees," said chairman of National Innovation Council Sam Pitroda.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today announced setting up meta-university while releasing the first report of the Council.

"The idea is to enable students use open source learning material from across the globe including learning material prepared by IITs," Pitroda said while Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the university would go into operation from next year.

"It is a collaborative and multi-disciplinary learning platform," Mukherjee said describing the university.

The university will leverage on national knowledge network programme which already connects major institutes across the country through high-speed fibre based broadband connectivity.

The university also promises a unique opportunity to the country for innovation given the enormous unmet demand for high quality education in an environment of limited resources and availability of a dedicated national network, said the council report, released by the PM.