This presentation talks about why our college degrees are not enough to open the gateways of industry for us. It consists of interviews of three people, what they said and what were their feelings and insights. This presentation was prepared for assignment submission for the online course of Design Thinking Action Labs by Venture Labs, Stanford University.

1. EMPATHIZE AND DEFINE
Submitted by:
Arijit Goswami
Engineering Student
India

2. 1ST INTERVIEW
SAY
THINK
DO
FEEL
•No application
based teaching
•Poor
infrastructure
•more focus on
concepts
•not taught real life
applications
•Lack of soft skills
•Less focus on core
topics
•Not much expressive with his arms.
•Hurrying with his statements.
•Eager to suggest some possible
remedies.
•Did not give importance to concepts
•Gave more importance to application.
•Was standing stiff on the ground.
•Made a little eye contact all the time.
•Touched his nose frequently.
•Sarcastic about the curriculum.
•Stammering often
•Thinks that application based teaching can be of
help.
•Tie-ups with companies is vital
•Just cramming concepts does not always help.
•Only practical knowledge helps in industry.
•Marks won’t be of any use in future.
•Industry-academia relations - prime importance.
•Knowing how market works opens the gateway to
industry.
•Practical experience during studies more
important.
•Industrial visits are important.
•Corporate life values skill and not marks.
•No tie ups with
media labs
•No tie up with
companies
•No idea of market
•No idea of how
industry works.
•No research
publications during
college

3. INSIGHTS
 The lack of application based amenities cum teaching in colleges
– A BIG PROBLEM
 Focus on mere learning of concepts does NOT help.
 It is important to teach real life applications of everything we
study.
 It is vital to have tie-ups with industries and media labs.
 Students must understand how the markets work.
 Marks won’t have any importance in corporate life. Only one's
skills are important.

4. PROBLEM STATEMENT
A creative, final year undergraduate student, who loves to work
in teams, has a knack towards making decent engineering
projects and interested in research
needs a way to have serious tie ups of institutes with industry
and media labs and wants to study application based lessons at
his college
because that is something that would make him ready for the
market tomorrow and to impart him with the skills that the real
market and the industry demands.

5. 2ND INTERVIEW
SAY
THINK
DO
FEEL
•Students don’t aim at
practical knowledge.
•Focus on scoring
grades.
•No quality labs.
•Poor quality
instruments
•Damaged
equipments
•Exams encourage
rote learning.
•He was being very much expressive.
•Was swinging while talking.
•Good body language.
•Very polite and professional while
speaking
•Made a good eye contact with interviewer.
•Was giving his points one by one.
•Full of criticism for the curriculum.
•Spoke with a few pauses in between.
•Had patience to listen to questions.
•Attacked students for their wrong attitude.
•Practical sessions in labs are of quite
importance.
•Rote learning kills the creative spirit.
•Focus on just scoring marks is one of the big
problems behind this.
•Lab condition needs to be proper for learning.
•Industry looks for practical knowledge.
•Improving lab set-ups would be helpful.
•Culture of cramming needs to be discouraged.
•Exams must test the practical skills of the students
and not just the cramming power.
•Research culture must for a making good
graduates.
•‘Copy and submit’ assignments are futile.
•Students themselves are responsible as well.
•Practical
knowledge not
tested in exams
•Cramming is
encouraged.
•Lack of a research
culture.
•Assignments are
copied, shows lack
of inquisitiveness.
•Practical based
assignments must
be given.

6. INSIGHTS
 The lack of well maintained labs with state of the art facilities
and instruments is a major problem in institutes.
 Cramming is encouraged through exams and students lose out
on the domain of practical knowledge.
 Assignments must encourage the creative spirit of students and
should encourage learning by research.
 Students must try to build a culture of research in their institutes
themselves.

7. PROBLEM STATEMENT
A studious, polite, final year undergraduate student, who loves
organizing events, loves quizzes ,professional in attitude and is
looking for campus placements
needs a way to have a curriculum that discourages rote learning
and sparks the creative ability of students and also wants to
avail facility of well maintained labs
because he thinks that only practical knowledge helps to survive
in industry, not just marks earned through rote learning.

8. 3RD INTERVIEW
SAY
THINK
DO FEEL
•Lack of practical exposure
•Lack of industrial exposure
•Professional life requires problem solving
skills in real-time
•At colleges we learn theoretical aspect of
the course
• Let our prospective employers have a
say in our curriculum
•Very professional in attitude
•Very soft spoken
•Ensured that his each point is understood
•Had a perfect body language.
•Good eye contact.
•Asked frequently if I understood what he
meant to say.
•Eagerly gave suggestions about possible
remedies.
•Had a gentle smile all the time.
•Paused in between for me write down his
points.
•Industrial exposure is must.
•Industrial visits must take place
•Corporate sector and industry leaders must
help in designing curriculum.
•Only theoretical concepts can’t serve the
purpose.
•Take feedback from employers about
curriculum.
•Theoretical concepts are of little use in market.
•Real time challenges are important.
•Industrial visits of prime importance.
•Practical experience during studies more
important.
•Industry can give valuable opinion in
curriculum design.
•Real time simulation of market scenario is
important for learning.
•Practical sessions help more than theory.

9. INSIGHTS
 The lack of industrial exposure during college life– A BIG
PROBLEM
 Focus on mere theoretical concepts does NOT help.
 It is essential to give problems to students that simulate the real
world challenges solved in real time.
 It is vital to involve industry experts and prospective employers
to get their opinions while designing the curriculum of colleges.
 Feedback from employers about the curriculum is necessary.

10. PROBLEM STATEMENT
A soft spoken graduate, recruited in a reputed IT company, who
loves to collaborate in teams, quite professional in attitude and
embarking on corporate world
needs a way to give more industrial exposure to students and
involve the prospective employers in the curriculum designing
process
because that is something that would fill the gaps in the
curriculum and impart students with the skills which are in
demand in the market outside the colleges, thus making
students of today industry-ready for tomorrow.

11. THANK YOU !!!