This document discusses the need to improve technical education in India to better prepare students for employment. It notes that the current system focuses too much on theoretical knowledge and lacks real-world problem solving skills. Both teachers and students are reluctant to acknowledge changes needed to make education more relevant to today's technology-focused world. It emphasizes developing strong soft skills, experiential learning opportunities, and finding ways to assess soft skills as being key to improving employability.

1. Preparing students for life
National conference on
Excellence in Technical Education
29th
June, 2012,IIT Delhi

2.  Too much theoretical content
 Compartmentalized approach
 Lacks preparing student for problem solving
skills
 Gap between what is taught and what is
required
 Gap between knowledge and skills
 Not industrially relevant

3. Teacher
 Relies on old text
books/notes taught by his
teacher
 Not comfortable with
technology
 Refuses to acknowledge
student
Student
 Uses mobile on and off the
class room
 Comfortable in handling
technology –WiFi, Mobile,
YouTube , iPad,
participates in blog
discussions , Hooked to
Facebook , Hi5 or LinkedIn
 Reluctant to acknowledge
teacher !!

4.  IT is a key deriver of an increasingly knowledge based global
economy .This economy is a sine-qua-non for leadership.
 IT best epitomizes what modern, resurgent and young India is
capable of accomplishing. Helped in accelerating the growth
momentum by enhancing efficiency, competitiveness and
technological edge across sectors
 Indian IT industry is USD 88 Billion industry(2010-11) with 80 %
revenue coming from exports & IT & ITeS sector employs over 2.5
million skilled people.
 Flux in global economy highlights need for constant reappraisal of
strategy and imperatives for new markets.
 Synergization of IT & Management : An Opportunity
Source: Draft National Policy on IT-2011 (NPIT-2011), Dept of IT,
Government of India

5.  Preservers of culturally revered forms of knowledge through
producers of skilled labor to a more recent perception as
the agent of social change and development !
 Higher education is responsible for training future
professionals to occupy strategic positions in the society
and the work force.
 Universities play a fundamental role in enhancing
knowledge, values and skills in the students.

6.  Aspiration to provide top quality education for all
students
 Discussion with industry evolves around
employability as a key theme:
“development of strong employability, entrepreneurial and
creative skills in our graduates”
 Emerging Research and Knowledge Transfer
Strategy identifies links between enterprise,
entrepreneurship and employability

7.  Cognitive skills - higher level intellectual or academic skills (e.g.
interpreting, analysing, researching)
 Key skills – personal skills and qualities which are generic to a range
of both academic and employment settings (e.g. enterprise,
criticality, teamwork, communication, planning and organising)
 Career Management skills – skills required to manage career
development (e.g. self analysis, networking, self reliance and
reflection)
 Enterprising Attitudes – personal qualities to spot opportunities
and have the skills to act on them.

8.  Degree is no guarantee of a job and should be seen
as reaching “first-base” in the recruitment process.
… the fact that they have that degree basically
confirms they are people who think in a certain
way and have certain abilities, so the next stage
is a number of key competencies…
 Personal Manager of a multi-national company…

9.  Employability refers to a person’s capability of gaining initial
employment, maintaining employment and obtaining new
employment, if required (Hillage and Pollard, 1998)
 Employability is a union of several skills , abilities, knowledge,
competencies and capabilities.
 Skill set, tool set and mind set !
 A set of achievements –skills, understanding and personal
attributes- that make graduates more likely to gain employment
and be successful in their chosen occupations which benefits
themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy..
Mantz Yorke (2004 in “Employability in Higher education: what it is –what it is not –
Higher Education Academy/ESECT)

10.  As an institute, we want not only to survive but
thrive, prepared to tackle the key challenges faced
by the societies of today and tomorrow.
 The potential of students has to be maximized
drawing on wide ranging strengths and honest
self-appraisal , engaging effectively with
surrounding environments, professionals and
communities.

11.  Though students coming from all over India,
majority from non-English medium schools
 Typically from lower and middle income
group
 Technically sound but Inadequate soft skills

12.  Traditionally we focus on academics
 We neglect other aspects
 Social relationships (significant others, parents, and peers)
 Environment (students are not conscious that they need time to
adopt to a new environment, they should also be aware of
environment)
 Physical health
 The best that can be realistically achieved may
be to facilitate the development in students of
the understandings, skills and attributes that will
help them to make a success of their careers.

13.  Technical skills : Subject matter
 Ability to ask questions
 Ability to work independently
 Ability to identify with the community
 Soft skills: Leadership, Communication, team
work, perseverance , tenacity

14. Hard Skills
 Domain knowledge
 Problem solving aptitude
 Ability to use/handle
technology
 Ability to analyze
 Ability to synthesize
 Ability to innovate
Soft Skills
 Ability to communicate
 Ability to work in a team
 Ability to lead and inspire
 Ability to have a positive
frame of mind
 Ability to negotiate

15.  Employability surveys (McKinsey, Nasscom
etc.)
 Feedback from employers
 Observations from faculty/experts

16.  Working through and with people
 Thinking “we”, not “I”
 Getting the Team to work together by:
 Giving the team the big picture
 Dividing work fairly
 Assigning responsibility to achieve accountability
 Giving recognition

17.  You negotiate everyday!
 Identify your needs & the other’s needs
 Conflict Styles: Avoiding, Competing,
Accommodating, Compromising, and
Collaborating
 Aim for a “win/win solution, if possible

18. 1 Student Festivals Technical Festival
Sports Festival
Cultural Festival
2 Training Programs Personality Development
English Speaking
3 Professional Lecture
Series
Sessions with CEOs, Industry
executives
4 E-cell Entrepreneurship Programs
5 Innovation & Incubation
Centre
Nurturing entrepreneurs

19. S.no. Skill
1 Leadership
2 Communication
3 Creativity and Innovativeness
4 Conflict Management
5 Interpersonal Relationship
6 Organization skills
7 Decision making ability
8 Listening skills
9 Responsible citizen
10 Ethical Behavior

20. Communication
Class participation
Debate
Group Discussion
Role Play
Article in Student Magazine
T&P Representative
Outside Participation in
Essay competition
Hindi Events

21.  Peer group
 Seniors
 Teachers
 Mentors
 Facilitators

22. Orientation Programme
Student festivals – .

23.  Developing competencies
 Identifying weak areas
 Predicting the capabilities of students
 Assisting in competency mapping
 Developing positive frame of mind
 Helping the employers
 Enhancing Employability

24.  Retention span of students is not more than 12 minutes –
Thanks to gadgets such as Mobile, Laptop, Internet, TV
etc.
 They need to be engaged and teaching learning process to
be made more interesting and challenging
 Student need to be engaged in many activities
 New generation expectations and aspirations are different
and at times difficult also !
 Soft skills are hard to impart !!

26. Creativity
is a
prerequisit
e to
Innovatio
n
Creativity
is a
prerequisit
e to
Innovatio
n

28. NARROW GAUGE RAILWAY
Narrow Gauge Railway
was started in year 1904
and was named Gwalior
Light Railway (GLR) which
covered the distance from
Gwalior to Sabalgarh.
 In June 1909, the track
was ready up to Sheopur
Kalan.
 The width of the track is
610 mm(The smallest !)
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5bZyNq5k9Q

29.  This train covers a distance of 198.6km
daily, so it is the longest route on the
narrowest gauge in the world !!!!....
 Total number of stations on the track -28
(B-class stations 14 and D class 14)
 Total bridges-322 includes 8 major ones.
 Total road crossings-184
 Total number of coaches vary from six to
seven including an Indian post coach.
 Engine-NDM5,Max speed-50 km/hr
 Engine diesel capacity-630 litres and Fuel
consumption33-34kl per month.

30. EXERCISE IN TEAMWORK
 The Completion of the
project is always possible in
a team.
 Team working together
helped to view the
situation from different
perspectives.
 Conflict led to clarity in
ideas, thought and action.
FUN EXPERIMENT
 Making movie and
handling video camera for
the very first time.
 Fun to travel on the roof of
train, having refreshment
there, chit chats with local
public.

31.  Student forum
 Student festivals
 T&P Activities
 Expert sessions
 Documentary making
 Blogs
 Newsletter
 Annual Publication
 Celebrations like – Technology day, Science Day,
15th
Aug, 26th
Jan, World Environment Day
 Hindi Pakhwara and so on..

32.  Curriculum to be supplemented by giving free
space for experimentation, innovation
 Soft skills are vital for preparing students for
life
 Both formal and informal mechanisms for
nurturing soft skills
 Monitoring of soft skills through Score card

33. To be employed is to be at risk
To be employable is to be secure ….
Peter Hawkins

34. Thank you very much !
I would appreciate your comments at
deshmukh.sg@gmail.com