The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : CII keen on improving industry-institution ties

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 28, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

CII keen on improving industry-institution ties

By A.D. Rangarajan

Pradipta K. Mahapatra, president and CEO of RPG (IT & Telecom) and chairman of the education sub-committee of the Confederation of Indian Industry.

TIRUPATI, JUNE 27. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is keen on improving the much-hyped industry-institution interaction for the mutual benefit of both the sectors.

Pradipta K.Mahapatra, chairman of the CII's sub-committee on education, who is also the chief executive officer of RPG (IT & Telecom), is confident of ushering in a more vibrant linkage between the academic and corporate sectors that will help address the common problems.

Speaking to The Hindu on the sidelines of a meet organised by TIME Management College and BSE Training Institute, Mumbai, here on Saturday, Mr. Mahapatra claimed that the panel, formed just a year ago, had done much to improve working relations between the two sectors. "The two will experience a more vibrant linkage in the near future,'' he added.

The panel is gearing up to catalyse the process of `role change' to make the two sides learn their respective dark areas. "A professor made to work on a corporate project will apply the theory to get results and a CEO asked to give a guest lecture in B-schools will explain real-life situations as case studies. By this, the gap between theory and practice can be minimised, apart from making available a talent pool to the industry and a corporate brain to the institute.''

Mr.Mahapatra gave an account of the recently launched "ManageMantra'' programme aimed at providing the right management candidates to the corporate world by holding a series of stress interviews right in front of the recruiters. The last event was conducted in Chennai, while the CII is planning to hold it in Bangalore this year. The "iTalent Search'' is a similar programme meant for fresh IT graduates, which will be held simultaneously in Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore next year.

To a query on the industry's `reluctance' to accept graduates for summer internship, Mr.Mahapatra admitted that the corporates `are not too willing.' With the series of proactive steps being initiated by CII, it would soon be a thing of the past, he hoped.

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