The first Vice-Chancellors’ conclave on ‘Redefining role of universities in the era of industry 4.0’ to enable higher educational institutions to stay relevant to the dynamic global economy was inaugurated by the Chairperson of UGC Dhirendra Pal Singh at the Indian Institute of Management - Tiruchi on Monday.
The two-day conclave jointly organised by UGC and IIM is meant to equip Indian universities to contribute to social and economic development of the nation in an era of Industry 4.0 (fourth industrial revolution) signifying factors driven by digital growth such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing with implications on the economy and the labour market.
Since Indian universities will have to deal with opportunities and challenges due to Industry 4.0 in a scenario of paradox between creation of jobs and displacement of labour by technology, the conclave envisages enabling educational institutions to develop their own version of Industry 4.0.
The conclave, Prof. D.P. Singh, said was aligned to the digital initiatives undertaken by the UGC, and advocated collaborations between institutions, industries, government agencies and NGOs in the era of networking and information technology. India with its advantage of demographic dividend is poised to supply manpower to the rest of the world, he said.
Institutions should equip students and professors with better employable skills and soft skills, Prof. Singh said, and described the quality mandates implemented by the UGC that includes induction training for students and teachers. Each educational institution should identify thrust areas and contribute to addressing socio-economic, environmental and climate change issues based on their strengths, he emphasised.
The Director of IIM, Tiruchi, Bhimaraya Metri, said the purpose of the conclave was to equip educational institutions need to attune their curriculum to the fast changing and dynamic world by developing the skill sets of students in consonance with industry needs.
Thirty-five VCs and senior academic administrators from across the country were participating in the conclave.
The two-day conclave includes sessions on 'Higher Education: Leadership in the Era of Disruptive World' by Padma Shri Prof Pritam Singh, Former Director, IIM Lucknow and MDI, Gurgaon; 'Industry 4.0: Employability & Industry Connect', by Shri Avinash Arora, ED & Global CIO, TrakItNow Technologies; 'Leveraging Technology in Higher Education' by Richard Rekhy, Board Member, KPMG; and a panel discussion on 'Developing World Class Universities'.
