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A new partnership for technical education

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) this past week to forge a new partnership for promotion of quality technical education.

"In this fast changing world, graduates must have three key attributes: high ability to learn as the job content keeps changing; trainability must be high; and he / she must be prepared to unlearn and learn new skills fast," said AICTE Chairman Damodar Acharya after inking the MoU.

He said the country's economic growth could be hampered by lack of skilled manpower and that CII and AICTE together could create a workforce of competent manpower in specific fields.

Industry and institutions should together address the "acute shortage" of teaching faculty, added Prof. Acharya.

A portal would be developed jointly by CII and AICTE to provide information on various industry projects, bio-data of students and address the critical issues of the industry, he informed.

CII Director-General Lieutenant-General (Retd.) S.S. Mehta said India needed to focus on skill development and job-related curriculum. "India has ten years to catch up with the world and the MoU is the beginning of a reform."

To get a first-hand experience in the functioning of the Government, two students of the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, are currently on a two-month internship with the Planning Commission of India.

Vivek Bhogal and Akash Singla are assisting experts on the 11th Five Year Plan. Vivek is attached to the Committee on Infrastructure while Akash is working with the communications and information division.

"We are taking care of not only the planning process but also dealing with the implementation and monitoring of various initiatives," says Vivek.

Both of them are enjoying this practical experience which is "very different" from the case studies they examine in classrooms.

"The practical world is very different, especially the Government sector. Here we have to make decisions on policies for the whole society. Hundreds of crores are involved in the process. The motive is not just to earn profits but to ensure the welfare of every strata of the society," adds Akash.

Last year also, two students of IIML had interned with the Planning Commission in New Delhi.

Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in Delhi has opened admissions for post-graduate courses in media.

The University offers two post-graduate programmes: a one-year weekend programme called Post-Graduate Diploma in Electronic Media (PGDEM) and the newly launched Master of Mass Media (MMM). Both the programmes will be offered at the Centre of Media Studies on the main campus.

The first year of the MMM programme will be common for all students, while specialisation will be offered in the second year.

More details can be obtained from www.ipu.ac.in. The last date to apply for both the programmes is June 15.

Ansal Institute of Technology, Gurgaon, has invited applications for admission to its various undergraduate and post-graduate programmes.

Students who have cleared their Class XII exams are eligible for the following undergraduate courses: B.S. in Business Administration; B.S. in Computer Engineering; B.S. in Computer Science; B.S. in Bio-systems Engineering; B.S. in Electrical Engineering; B.S. in Bio-technology; B.S. in Industrial Engineering; and Bachelor's in Hotel Management.

The Institute offers the following post-graduate programmes: MBA; PG Diploma in Construction Management; PG Diploma in Retail Management; M.S. in Computer Science; M.S. in Information Systems and M.S. in Software Engineering.

The admission procedure comprises an entrance exam testing the aptitude and comprehension of students. Students can get more details from www.aitgurgaon.org.

-- Parul Sharma

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