At a workshop organised last week by the All-India Council for Technical Education, its chairman T.G. Sitharam spoke about training students and making them industry-ready.
He said Tamil Nadu was way ahead when it came to gross enrolment ratio. During his speech, he repeatedly urged colleges to register themselves with the Council for the benefit of students.
He said the Council had a separate portal for internship, which would benefit students. Though the programme was targeted at colleges offering BBA and BCA, the message was not hard to comprehend.
The larger the pool of companies the greater is the opportunities to land internships and jobs. On the horizon is the hope that today’s students will be the change-makers of the future.
Colleges seem to understand the concept, but many, private or government, are in the first stage of engaging industry for internship or setting up incubation centres to develop entrepreneurship skills.
The Government Arts College for Men at Nandanam has received a grant of ₹1.5 lakh this year. It proposes to use the money to set up facilities for cultivation of spirulina and mushroom. It has also planned to establish an aquaculture pond for its life sciences students to conduct research, said principal Jothi Venkateswaran.
But the immediate aim is to bring together the students as a team. Recently, the college launched a students’ Exnora club that would clean up the campus ahead of the proposed developments, the principal said.
This is being done to show the college in good light, he said. “We will go in for the NAAC inspection in September,” he said. The club would not only inculcate a sense of belonging in students but would also help them understand the need for sustainability, he felt.
The Queen Mary’s College has produced several researchers in liberal arts programmes, but incubation centres are yet to reach the students. Principal Uma Maheswari said her students are trained by industrial partners. Postgraduate students in physical and life sciences are trained at instrumentation laboratories, she explained.
Some of the middle-rung engineering colleges are looking up to inculcate in students teamwork and resilience, something essential for developing entrepreneurial skills. From the academic year 2024-25, Rajalakshmi Engineering College will introduce students to entrepreneurship.
“Our goal is to transform innovative ideas into successful business ventures,” said Abhay Meganathan, vice-chairman of Rajalakshmi Institutions.
“We believe that by providing the right guidance, resources, and environment, we can significantly contribute to the entrepreneurial ecosystem and empower our students to become the change-makers of tomorrow,” he said.
He said the programme is not just about creating start-ups but about instilling a mindset of innovation and problem-solving in students. “We are excited to see the diverse and impactful ideas our students will bring to the table,” he said.
While institutions are trying to find ways to train their students, much depends on the support their alumni can provide. An example is the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, whose alumni is engaged in almost every activity — from internship to helping students foray into entrepreneurship.
