The Hindu Business Line : New initiative to groom graduates for industry needs

The Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and the AP State Council for Higher Education Chairman, Mr K.C. Reddy, at the launch of Jawahar Knowledge Centres programme in Hyderabad on Wednesday. - H. Satish

Hyderabad , Dec. 1

THANKS to the new industry-Government-university alliance in Andhra Pradesh, companies can now stop worrying about poor quality of output from colleges eating into their time and investment. Thanks also to the liaison, they need no longer concentrate on moulding freshers to suit their requirement, as the alliance aims to make engineering students industry-ready.

The strategic alliance, Jawahar Knowledge Center (JKC), will pick five students each from a select club of 33 engineering colleges in the State and impart focussed training in line with industry requirements.

The biggies of information technology (IT), consulting and banking services have joined the alliance. Microsoft, GE, Oracle, Dell, ADP, Wirpro, Satyam, Nokia India, Deloitte, HCL Insys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Visual Soft were among the 38 companies that have joined the initiative.

The departments of all the JKCs are Student Knowledge Forum and Female Student Campus Placement Mission. Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) will be headquarters to all JKCs. The industry will offer technical support, assign mini and major projects to students and take care of campus placements.

Mr Kedarnath, President, Hyderabad Software Exporters' Association (HYSEA), said, "This is a win-win situation for the industry and educational institutions." He, however, cautioned against expecting overnight success."This is just a beginning. This needs to be tested along the way," he said.

There was huge opportunity out here, he said, "but the question is, whether we, as a nation, could capitalise on it". Mr Kedarnath said that "employability" and not the number of engineering colleges in the State was the indicator of the initiative's prowess and reach.

Prof. K.C. Reddy, Chairman, AP State Council for Higher Education, estimated the opportunity in the IT and ITES sectors to scale up to Rs 1,35,000 crore by 2009 from the current figure of Rs 50,000 crore. But the country required quality HR to retain its competitive edge in this segment.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who launched the JKC, regretted that despite producing 70,000-80,000 engineering graduates, annually, the State could hardly see a placement rate. "Pratibha (excellence) is the mantra. We can attract good investments only when we offer quality human resources," he said.

More Stories on : Human Resources | Andhra Pradesh

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page