Bangalore University has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Aspiring Minds, a human capital assessment company, to conduct skill-assessment test for students pursuing post graduate courses in the varsity. The computer-administered test — Aspiring Mind Computer Adaptive Test (AMCAT) — will assess students on various parameters.
According to Shiladitya Patnaik, Associate Vice-President, Aspiring Minds Assessments Pvt. Ltd., the three-hour test is aimed at giving students a 360-degree feedback on their pre-employment skills.
“The test is aimed at identifying the skill sets of students and suggesting the career he/she needs to choose. It is better to take the skill-assessment test as early as possible instead of postponing it till the final year. Many colleges spend lots of money on training programmes for final year students. Instead, if students take AMCAT or the skill assessment tests before they enter the final year of their course, it will give them an idea as to which areas they need to work on, and which profession would be best suited for them” he said.
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Mr. Patnaik said that Aspiring Minds, which is working with 80 colleges affiliated to Bangalore University, has networked with 550 corporate companies. M.K. Sridhar, Chief of Placements and Director, Canara Bank School of Management Studies of Bangalore University said that while the assessments will begin with the fourth semester students on basis of the “urgency”, they will be working simultaneously with the first year students as well. “It is not mandatory for all students to appear for the Aspiring Mind Computer Adaptive Test, but we want all the students to take advantage of it. Students will not just have percentages to show this year, but also a skill profile,” he added.
It is estimated that as many as 2,000 fourth semester students of all post graduate courses in Bangalore University will benefit from the test. While Aspiring Minds has come forward to conduct the test for free, company representatives maintained that the next batch would be charged a “nominal fee”, which will be less than the Rs. 1,000 (per test per candidate).
Bangalore University Vice-Chancellor B. Thimme Gowda, while maintaining that the fee for taking up the test should be reasonable so that students from economically weak and rural backgrounds can benefit from it, said it may be extended to undergraduate students of the varsity as well.
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