CII exhorts global educationists to partner with India

​MOCI calls for removal of barriers in education

Ireland offers to deepen collaborations

Benefits of collaboration in education lead to win-win for both sides and it is essential to build deeper collaborations through exchange programmes. This was stated by Mr Richard Burton, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Ireland and by Mr J S Deepak, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, at a conference on education in New Delhi on Saturday. The conference, which had the theme “Education & Skills – Connecting India to the World” was organized on the occasion of the first-ever Global Exhibition on Services (GES).  A joint initiative of the Ministry of Commerce, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC), GES was inaugurated by Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, on April 24.

Speaking at the conference, Mr Vijay Thadani, Chairman, CII National Committee on Higher Education and Co-Founder, NIIT Limited, said India was one of the youngest nations in the world and it will remain so for a while. Nearly 17 per cent Indians worked across the world. The demographic dividend required a huge effort in education and skills. CII, he said, was one of the bridges through which several reforms were taking place in the country and he offered global players present at the conference to partner with it to take forward their agenda.

Mr Richard Bruton, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Ireland addressing at the inaugural session of the CII Conference on Education – “Education & Skills – Connecting India to the World” held on 25 April, 2015 at New Delhi.

Mr Robin Murt, Chief Executive Officer, Technical and Further Education (TAFE) – South Australia, said there was an alignment between the objectives of TAFE and what the need was in India – providing stepping stones to students for a better future and delivering lifelong learning. He lauded the government’s determination to make National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) certificate mandatory for those applying for government jobs.

Earlier, Mr Burton said education had been at the heart of Ireland’s journey from an agrarian economy to one which is led by technology. Investments in higher education and research have made Ireland one of the fastest growing economies of the European Union today. Research funding is competitive and 30 per cent comes from industry. It also has entrepreneurship as a big focus. The government funds commercialization of research, it supports start-ups and builds the capability of entrepreneurs. For India too, education would be the key to making the transition from being a developing economy to one which is developed. He said technology was today playing a big role in every field but it was not doing what it needed to in education.

Mr Deepak said education was the most crucial sector among India’s services. The drivers for this sector were high skills of its people, its geography, its cost competitiveness and its high number of English speaking trainers, he said. These, coupled with growth of technology which had made distance education more effective, had the capability to make India an important global destination. He rued the fact that there were various kinds of barriers in global mobility of professionals, including from the field of education, and there was need to remove those barriers.

One of the focus areas of GES is education since India has one of the largest education systems in the world. With more than 50 per cent of its population below the age of 25 and 65 per cent below the age of 35, India has demographics on its side. There are roughly 250 million children in Indian schools. In higher education the gross enrolment ratio (GER) as per MHRD’s latest All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) is 21.1 per cent (calculated for 18-23 years of age).

On the skills side, the numbers at present are alarming. Out of a workforce of roughly 500 million, only 6 per cent has any kind of formal skills. The government target is to provide skills to 500 million people by 2022.

NIT Warangal signs MoU with Elico Ltd at CII Knowledgexpo

CII higher education summit at Knowledgexpo saw words on industry – academia collaboration translating into action with the inking of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between National Institute of Technology, Warangal and Hyderabad-based company Elico Ltd. The MoU was signed during a session on research partnerships between industry and institutes which saw captains from both industry and institutes brainstorm on this subject with vigour and passion.

Elico Ltd is the first analytical instrumentation manufacturing company in India based at Hyderabad. The Chairman and Managing Director of the company, Mr Ramesh Datla, who is also the Chairman of CII National Committee on Intellectual Property and who signed the MoU with the Director of NIT Warangal, Dr Srinivas Rao, said he looked forward to working once again with the academia to take forward some of the research work which his company was keen to take up.

As part of the MoU, joint research projects, both on short term and long term basis, which are of interest to Elico and NIT Warangal will be identified and implemented on mutually agreed basis.

Some key provisions of the MoU are:

• To conduct joint research projects.
• To impart industry-related training to make the academic model more employment oriented.
• To promote continuous development and upgradation of skills for both the teaching staff and students in order to successfully meet the growing needs of industry.
• To provide research opportunities and industrial exposure to Ph.D. students.
• To identify suitable projects and provide support for mutual benefit.
• To recruit students at all levels through ‘On Campus Selection Process’.
• To jointly approach funding agencies for carrying out R&D projects of mutual interest.

CII launches the first edition of Trends in Internationalization of Indian Higher Education report

CII launched the first edition of Trends in Internationalization of Indian Higher Education report during the 4th AICTE-CII Global University-Industry Congress held on the sidelines of the knowledgexpo at the India Expo Center in Greater Noida. Brought out in partnership with the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), the report provides insights and trends such as number of Indian students studying abroad and source countries, the gender ratio, levels of education and popular choices made in terms of disciplines.

The report launch was followed by a panel discussion to discuss the trends and scope of ‘Global Partnerships in the Indian Context’.Drawing inspiration from the ‘Make in India’ mantra, session moderator, Prof. Furqan Qamar,Secretary General, Association of Indian Universities & Former Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Himachal Pradesh, raised certain pertinent questions, which need to be addressed by the Indian authorities and academia to form effective partnerships with their global counterparts. Concentrated efforts must be made to build the confidence of the global community in capability of Indian human resources so that we can benefit from each other and India can emerge as a global academic hub, said Prof. Qamar.

Addressing the question whether India has what it takes to become a sought-after destination for the global student community, Prof. U. B. Desai, Director, IIT Hyderabad, pointed out that partnerships with global institutions need to be mutually beneficial. The idea of internationalization should not be confined to simply a student or faculty exchange program – there must be a definite focus on co-creation and co-design, he added.

Further setting the context of various aspects that need to be addressed to realize the vision of generating globally competent manpower and making India an internationally acclaimed academic destination, Prof. Biju Paul Abraham, President, Shastri Indo Canadian Institute & Professor of Public Policy Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, pointed out three critical arenas. Firstly, institutes need to create champions within the system to develop and sustain partnerships; collaboration must hold benefits for both sides to ensure longevity and one needs to be persistent by continuously revisit and reform the pedagogy to nurture evolved and mature associations.

Bringing a global perspective to the exchange of thoughts, Prof. M.S. Krishnan, Associate Dean, Global Initiatives, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, said that while students form the core of most global partnerships, we must concentrate on capability building to create a great experience for both global and local faculties too. In an attempt to create qualitative, cost-effective and scalable solutions, there is a need to focus on the bottom of the pyramid, which is bustling with huge opportunities.

Prof. (Dr.) Gurinder Singh, Additional Vice Chancellor, Amity Group, further added that Indian universities need to revisit our pedagogy to make it attractive enough to draw international students. Integration of industry and academia is also a must to create and offer a great learning experience, he noted.

Sharing his thoughts on the recent trend of Indian institutions cashing in on their global partnerships to carve a differentiating edge, Dr. R. C. Natarajan, Director, T. A. Pai Management Institute, Manipal, said that instead of forming short-term MoUs, Indian Universities must lay emphasis of long-term Research & Development (R&D) partnerships. He further pointed out that both students and faculty must understand the fact that global partnerships should be formed to compliment Indian institutes and universities and not to substitute them.

The panel discussion was also attended by Prof. Rajat Gupta, Director, NIT Srinagar, who said that we need to revisit our regulatory environment and address compelling issues like the student-teacher ratio, access and affordability to create a globalized yet inclusive academic model.

The session concluded with an interactive Q&A session, which witnessed active participation of the audience comprising industry and academia.

Kapil Sibal Releases Report on Administrative Reforms in Higher Education at CII Global University-Industry Congress

A White Paper on “Administrative Reforms in Higher Education” prepared by the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) National Committee on Higher Education, outlining recommendations to revitalize the higher education sector in India with greater participation of the private sector in a more liberal and encouraging investment climate, was released at the “Global University-Industry Congress & 5^th Global Higher Education Summit” on Thursday.

The 12^th Five Year Plan projects that enrollment in all degree and diploma courses at higher education level has to increase from the current 20 million to 30 million, with particularly high rates of growth in PhD, post-graduate and under-graduate technical education.

About 94 per cent of the students enrolled in government-funded or government-controlled private institutions come under the state higher education system. Thus, any efforts for development in this sector must recognize the importance of state higher education institutions and aim to improve their status and focus on the issues related to Centre-state relationship and coordination.

What stand in the way of growth are the barriers to entry and expansion as clearances by multiple agencies with  varying  norms, standards, speed and efficiency are required at every stage. The White Paper includes some specific recommendations in this regard and emphasizes that top-most priority should be given to the establishment of a single window agency with transparent and coherent norms. It suggests that this agency should consult with all the related agencies and there should be no further questions or obstacles in further implementation of projects.

The White Paper also highlights and gives recommendations on how higher education can be promoted under the ambit of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It has been estimated that out of about Rs 4 lakh crore required for higher education, the public sector outlay in the 12^th Five Year Plan is not likely to be more than Rs 1 lakh crore. The major portion of the new outlay required is thus to be mobilized from non-government resources which are (i) student fees (ii) donations and community contributions (iii) CSR (iv) private investment in higher education – Indian and foreign, and (v) loans provided by banks and other agencies. It is necessary to create a climate of mobilization of funds by higher education institutions to meet the requirements.  A number of suggestions have been made in regard to each of these areas and the main lines of action needed are highlighted in the White Paper.

The Paper emphasizes the need for sharing and optimal use of existing resources. It also suggests raising of additional financial resources through service tax and promoting investment in higher education through tax incentives.

The Paper calls for administrative reforms in rules and regulations of various bodies, professional councils, UGC, AICTE etc and creating a synergy between them. Further, it propagates review of the university rules and regulations and the Acts from the point of view of providing necessary flexibility and relevance for dealing with multifarious agencies. It also welcomes the new initiative of the Ministry of Human Resource Development on RUSA which provides a unique opportunity for fostering innovation eco system in higher education.