Bridging The Gap Between Institution and Industry

The second edition of BW Businessworld Engineering Excellence Conclave in New Delhi witnessed the last panel discussion on “Future Skills: Are Our Engineers Ready To Adopt  The Global Challenges”? The discussion was moderated by Padma Jaiswal, Secretary, Department of IT, Government of Puducherry. 

The session started with Dr. Raj Singh, Vice-Chancellor, Ansal University talking on the future road for engineers. He said, “There has been a shift from science to engineering. We have stopped teaching engineering, but we haven’t reached the stage to teach technology yet. There is a need to have an understanding of science, engineering, and technology.” 

Talking about the unemployment in the engineering sector, Dr. Jamshed Bharucha, Vice Chancellor, SRM, AP Amravati said, “Most of the engineers are not working in their field. What is missing from the curriculum is skill development that would help in learning new things. We are still following a failed way of learning i.e. passive learning, where the communication is one way but in SRM, we promote active learning by involving students during the process of learning as this will facilitate the problem-solving skills.” 

Executive Director of Tulas Group of Institutions, Silky Jain emphasized on the issues faced by the institution. She mentioned, “How the institute is struggling with the restricted curriculum that is hindering innovation and self-learning.” 

Subhrangshu Neogi, Business Leader, Ex-COO, UPES University talked about teamwork and entrepreneurship in engineering students. “Instead of preparing them for life, they are preparing them for jobs and careers. Earlier the career path was linear but now it is non-linear, opening up various other options for them. While bridging the gap between the institution and education, there is a need for empathy to understand both the sides and provide the best facility to them”, said Neogi. 

In conclusion, Padma Jaiswal said, “Government should make the guidelines and policy clearer to facilitate research and development in the institutions.”