EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS NEED TO SHIFT THEIR FOCUS FROM JUST
CREATING ENGINEERS TO DELIVERING WORKING PROFESSIONALS TO THE INDUSTRY
We are in an age where just creating the facility to educate
engineers is not enough. Today the challenge facing hundreds of engineering
institutions is to find placement for budding engineers. Industry associations
have been raising the issue of employability of graduate engineers. Hence the
need of the hour is to create an eco-system in the institutions to produce
industry ready engineers. This has been a point of discussion at various forums
over many years.
Here are
a few ideas or action plans which institutions can put into practice.
·
Institutions must identify
their areas of strengths
·
Identify faculty members
interested in chosen areas within each institution
·
Create an eco-system where
institutes can send faculty members to other institutions of higher learning
such as IITs and NITs for giving them much needed exposure in those areas
·
Depute them for short term
visits to industries for exposure in those areas
·
The curriculum must be
continuously reviewed and updated with the active participation of indus try
representatives
·
Resources are scarce and
they must be carefully employed for creating infrastructure that enhances the
strengths of the institution
·
Organise industry supported
courses (12 credits) and special lectures by industry experts to support students
interested in those areas.
·
To enhance collaboration
between institutes and industries, the institutes must come forward in offering
solutions to the problems faced there. Such issues must be converted into
project titles and various solutions must be generated from the student
community
·
Institutions should have
integrated product development labs with all facilities so that students can
work anytime
·
Student projects can be
given for assessment to industry experts
· Colleges need to offer
value added courses such as project management, value engineering,
entrepreneurship, financial management with the help of experts from
appropriate professional societies
·
Software and hardware
outcomes of the projects need to be prototyped
·
Colleges must facilitate
the conversion of prototypes into products
·
Students could be helped
with internship and placement in collaborating industries
·
Students could be helped to
establish startups through Entrepreneurship Development Cells
·
Colleges must turn
themselves into -Ideation Nurseries- that focus on IPR generation, procurement
of International patents and commercialization of the products
·
Colleges must carry out a
quick evaluation of students capabilities in the first year itself and tailor programs
to help bridge skill deficits, if any
·
The interaction between the
alumni of the institute, the faculty and the students should be seamless.
Alumni should be encouraged to mentor students to bring them in line with
industry expectations