The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : `Design varsity courses for mid-career training'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 15, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

`Design varsity courses for mid-career training'

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, SEPT. 14. The Science and Technology Secretary, V.S. Ramamurthy, today called upon universities to design courses which would open up possibilities of mid-career training for the workforce.

Only such courses could provide mid-career orientation in the present times of rapid technological changes, he said, inaugurating the biotechnology block on the Guindy campus of Madras University here.

Dr. Ramamurthy, who also launched postgraduate diploma courses in `stem cell technology,' `rainwater harvesting' and `herbal product standardisation,' said the universities should create an environment in which it would be easy even for those nearing retirement to update their skills, as was prevalent abroad. "It is very easy to register for new courses in emerging areas" abroad.

Changing expectations

Commending Madras University for offering specialised PG diploma and certificate courses, he underscored the need for faculty members to continuously upgrade their knowledge and for the universities to update facilities. This was important, as the expectations of society and industry had changed; while society looked to the universities for `employable' training, industry expected from them the right type of candidates.

Meeting the expectations was the biggest challenge amid resource constraints, which to a large extent could be overcome by strengthening institution-industry collaboration. The department of S and T "will not be found wanting" in helping Madras University, Dr. Ramamurthy said.

The Vice-Chancellor, S.P. Thyagarajan, said 16 of the 68 university departments were being financially supported by the Department of S and T. Noting that the university was striving to make educational qualifications "more and more employable," he said six undergraduate and nine PG degree courses and 53 diplomas and certificate courses had been launched in the last two years.

Mandatory programme

The University proposed to make it mandatory for all PG students to pursue one PG diploma programme also from 2005-06. It had reconstituted 81 boards of study and provided 40 per cent representation to representatives of industry and research and development and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Academicians would fill up the remaining slots.

The university had allocated Rs.10.80 crores of the funds sanctioned by University Grants Commission for constructing buildings, including one at a cost of Rs.1 crore to house sophisticated instrumentation equipment.

K.S. Raghavan, Dean (Academic) of the university, said the three new PG diploma courses launched today were inter-disciplinary and inter-departmental. The faculty were drawn from other departments, the government and NGOs too.

P. Ramasamy, head of the Department of Biotechnology, said the curriculum of the courses offered by his department was updated and expanded.

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