The Hindu Business Line : Nasscom signs pact with UGC

IN a bid to meet the burgeoning demand for skilled IT manpower, software association Nasscom on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with University Grants Commission (UGC), to strengthen professional education through curricula, faculty, infrastructure and pedagogy improvements.

"Given the growing demand for skilled professionals and the rapid changes in technology, there is an increasing need to keep the academia abreast of the skill-set requirement of the industry. To meet this requirement, Nasscom and UGC will jointly undertake a `Faculty Development Programme' ," the Nasscom President, Mr Kiran Karnik, said.

In the pilot phase, 20 faculty members from 10 institutions will undergo a two-month training; the numbers will be scaled up later.

Under the MoU, the two sides would work together to increase student and faculty interface with the IT industry by way of mentorship programmes, workshops, seminars and projects. Some of the established IT companies already have programmes in place for industry-academia interface. Nasscom and UGC would develop case studies on these programmes, which can be emulated by other companies to further strengthen the industry-academia collaboration, Mr Karnik added.

Mr Arun Nigavekar, Chairman of UGC, pointed out, "Having apt technical and management skills is assuming ever-greater importance for our future economic development, especially in the IT sector. UGC and Nasscom will aim to upgrade the physical and intellectual infrastructure of the education sector, to ensure an adequate supply of quality manpower to the industry."

Nasscom and UGC would also partner to set up `Techno-Business Skills Development' Centres to encourage development of technical and business skills, entrepreneurship and setting up of knowledge-based enterprises by fostering better linkages between academic institutions, IT industry and R&D institutions. Under this programme, students would work on live projects of IT companies and get trained in their processes, so that they can be considered for employment at a later stage.

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