Industry-Academia Collaboration Towards Engineering Education Excellence

In the education industry, industrial exposure or collaboration is of paramountcy. In India, this collaboration of on-field experience and academia has been neglected for years and if the focus isn’t shifted towards this collaboration then India is going to have a lack of skilled workforce, professional and technical people.  

Second BW Businessworld Education Engineering Excellence Conclave saw a panel discussion on ‘Industry-Academia Collaboration towards Engineering Education Excellence’. The discussion was moderated by Prof. Venkat Ramana, Vice Chairman, Telangana State Council for Higher Education. The participants of the panel discussion included Pro.f (Dr.) Kuncheria P. Isaac, Vice Chancellor, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science (HITS); Prof. (Dr.) Devendra Pathak, Vice Chancellor, Om Sterling Global University; and Rajendra Kumar, Director, School of Architecture, Noida International University.  

On the topic of gaining knowledge versus working for placements, Isaac said, “I believe that we need to start teaching the importance of knowledge to students rather than training them simply for placements and getting jobs.” He also said that instead of teaching the students only one branch of engineering, we need to teach them all the disciples of engineering as foundational courses. 

While speaking on the relationship of industry and academia, Pathak said, “There is a serious problem with the relationship of industry and educational institutions and robust relationship between the two is required in order to give a major boost to the Indian economy”. Further, he informed the audience that in the past two decades there hasn’t been any collaboration between the two and it has become a problem for lakhs of engineers passing out every year.  

Recognizing the challenges of the architect teaching institutions, Kumar said, “Designing is the crucial factor that an architect needs to learn. Also, architects often prioritise the designing for the elites and neglect problems of the people at the bottom level”. He also said that India is facing a huge shortage of Ph.D. holders as professors and hence we should encourage professionals as professors.