CHENNAI: The stage is set for the second edition of iTalent, annual event of the Confederation of Indian Industry, southern region, which provides a platform to information technology students to showcase innovative projects and a forum to IT companies to identify talents.

Coming in the backdrop of the IT industry's emphasis on the need to create a large pool of skilled students, iTalent-2005, getting under way here on Friday, will give an opportunity to faculty members to benchmark themselves.

Participants

A total of 85 final year students, split into 30 teams, many from lesser known colleges, will vie for honours, starting with the first prize of Rs.75, 000.

They are making it to the two-day final from among the 424 students from 65 colleges, who responded to the entry call in April last year, according to Ravi Shah, chairman, iTalent-2005.

The selection process would take into account the communication and inter-personal skills of students, he told The Hindu here on Tuesday.

This approach was in tune with the focus of the IT industry on the right candidates to take it through the dynamic environment, where cost is given, but customer expectations of improved productivity and faster delivery schedules are on the rise.

"The challenge is in getting the necessary skills," said Mr. Shah, who is vice-president of Tata Consultancy Services.

Eleven companies, including TCS, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Sify, Verizon, Wipro and Birla Soft, have confirmed participation in the event, which will be inaugurated by IT secretary C. Chandramouli.

iTalent 2004 saw nine leading companies issue 103 letters of intent to the contestants for placement opportunities.

Noting that good project ideas emerged at iTalent-2004, Mr. Shah said the organisers decided to invite the faculty members too to help them get a perspective of the requirements of the industry.

Fifteen out of the 30 teams were from lesser-known colleges.

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