The greater connect

Updated on: Tuesday, August 18, 2009

With the changing face of economy and education
, there is a growing need for stronger industry-academia interface. Praveen Vishakantaiah,
president, Intel India, talks to Proyashi Barua on how it can be achieved.

Is there a gap between classroom teaching and industry requirements?

There is a perceivable difference between the two. In India, industry requirements move at a fairly fast pace. However, the pace of change in academics is relatively slower. While the syllabi get updated over periods spanning over five to 10 years, the industry evolves in a matter of few months, so does its resource requirements. Hence, faculty development and teaching modernisation have to be accelerated so that a young population can make the most of the industry opportunities.

What is the existing gap?

Some of the areas in which the gap exists include lack of quality faculty, lack of high quality ICT and connectivity infrastructure. The curriculum needs to be overhauled. There is a need to introduce application-oriented learning with meaningful exercises so that academic learning becomes relevant when students join industry. The focus on research areas should be on a par or ahead of the global innovation pace. Moreover, higher education in India does not focus on soft skills (verbal or written communication, working on interpersonal skills and team collaboration), which should be a priority.

How can the gap be bridged?

Higher education reform should be given utmost importance in terms of policy as well as implementation at the university level. We need to have a coordinated central, state and university level plan in place and the progress tracked by MHRD. Public-private partnerships in higher education can play the role of a catalyst. Specific opportunities abound in areas of faculty development, skill development and curriculum changes — where industry partners can provide knowledge, expertise and support to address gaps. Research and innovation should also be encouraged and incentivised.

How can India create a competitive edge?

Education modernisation is the key to any country’s socio-economic development in a competitive world. As the world is going through an economic slowdown and facing demographic challenges, India can leverage a unique opportunity. For, India can now create a competitive advantage in many areas by channelling the energy of its young workforce. But, this can be possible only if the young workforce is adequately trained to operate efficiently within the dynamics of a changing work environment. Human capital is the key to a long-lasting sustainable advantage for nations as well as organisations. India could lose a golden opportunity to use this valuable human capital and drive sustainable socio-economic development that is commensurate with the aspirations of its citizens.

What is Intel doing to address this problem?

Specifically for higher education, we have been focussing on advancing innovation in key areas of technology and, thereby, developing a pipeline of diverse world-class technical talent. We have been trying to achieve this through our faculty development and exchange programmes, academia research engagements, curriculum modernisation support programmes, student employability programmes (high-tech areas like parallel programming) and academia entrepreneurship building. We are also addressing some of the critical challenges that India is facing today like, for instance, the inadequate pool of technical PhDs. In fact, we have introduced a unique industry-sponsored PhD programme in India.

What is the need of the hour?

Academia should join hands with the industry to strengthen research, curriculum, entrepreneurship and employability agendas. For these changes to actually fructify and create ground-level impact, faculty development and incentives should be given top priority by the academia.

How can public-private partnerships make students industry-ready?

It can play a strong role when such partnerships are effectively implemented in areas like curriculum and faculty development. Employability programmes like student internships and soft-skill developments can also be implemented through public-private partnerships. Developing and strengthening an innovative mindset by encouraging more students to do PhDs and attracting them to teaching as a career are some of the initiatives that can be taken by joining hands with the industry.

Times of india

The greater connect

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