IT Task Force Initiative

["Raju Agarwal" <krantikari@hotmail.com>]

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Industry-institute link key: IT task force

Sudha Nagaraj
NEW DELHI
DON'T be surprised if your computer whizkid zooms home one day after a
classroom lecture by Wipro's Azim Premji, Infosys' NR Narayanamurthy or
for
that matter the Hotmail hero, Sabeer Bhatia.

With only a fraction of the IT graduates gaining acceptance by the IT
industry, the Task Force on HRD in IT has called for an interface
between
educational institutions and the IT industry.

In its report, submitted to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee
recently,
the Task Force has suggested that top experts and scientists of IT
companies
could be linked through video-conferencing facility to class-rooms.

Mooting a proposal to float a Co-operative System in education, the task

force has stressed the need for interspersing of academic terms with one
or
more work terms in order to improve the quality of both education and
employability of graduates in the IT sector.

The Task Force headed by the HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi has
conceded
that such collaborations have not been very successful in the past,
mainly
due to differences in perception.

It is also a fact that IT professionals are short of time and cannot be
expected to devote too much time on interactions. However, it is felt
that
some of them could spare some time and share their knowledge as adjunct
or
visiting faculty.

Institutions could use them for certain strategic activities like
development of courseware relevant to industry needs, assisting them in
problem solving through on-going joint collaborative research
initiatives
and using them as faculty for specific industry oriented modules.

To encourage and promote the trend, the Centre is even toying with the
idea
of instituting national level awards in recognition of such initiatives,
top
sources in the ministry of information technology told the Economic
Times.

The government has awakened to the fact that in the high technology area

which is susceptible to rapid change, the present may not be a true
reflection of the future.

That Indian software industry contributes only a tiny fraction of the
around
US $450bn world software market at present. In fact, it is felt that the

targets set are not really ambitious and that is possible to record
greater
rates of growth, if the industry is able to move up the value chain
through
high-skill manpower.

Therefore the report underscores the need for continuous monitoring of
the
job markets, development of alternative plans as well as public
awareness
through research and studies in the IT manpower area.

A "Joint Forum of Education and Training Providers and the IT industry"
--
exchanging notes on research findings and debating the issues at annual
meets -- will help to take corrective action.

Their findings and reports would ultimately form part of an expanded
National Technical Manpower Information System, sources said.

© The Economic Times Online. All rights reserved.



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