Decades back Prof. Virendra went to Illinois University to do his Ph.D. Although he was invited by the Physics Department he was not allowed to proceed with the research till he cleared B.Sc. Maths papers again. He did it in 6 months remaining in the library for 12 hours a day. After Ph.D. was conferred on him a local industrialist, approached him to train his people to start production on the basis of his research. The infrastructure was ready. It was then that Prof. Virendra realized that the university, in the very beginning took its own time to allow him to do research on a subject that was useful for the industrialists of the region.

In almost all the reputed universities in Europe and USA there is a permanent interaction between the university and the industrial cum business magnates. The advantage of that the research doesn’t go waste. The students, of course have to take great pains for the research has to be genuine and not fake.

The process is not limited to research work alone but starts from the graduation level itself. The syllabus is not decided by the academicians of the subject alone but by a committee comprising of members of different faculties, industrialists, people from business management and sometimes even social activists.

In India it seems a far fetched dream with many universities, specially in the North gripped in the clutches of mediocrity, indiscipline, mafiaism and political intervention of the worst type.

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By now the students have to face a number of problems. Standard in me of the universities is so bad that private sector industries do not entertain the applications of candidates graduating from these universities. Even technical hands from good universities do not get complete training. Their education is not sufficient enough to accommodate them in the industry. They have to undergo an orientation course. It is rather wastage of time, energy and money.

It was Karnataka government that took the advantage of World Bank aid to the tune of Rs. 50 crore to initiate a project to “harmonise technical education with the requirements of the industry”. The project is expected to cover 150 polytechnics in the state. The highlight of the project is that the syllabi will, henceforth, be decided in consultation with the industry. It will have two basic advantages. The students will be on the priority list of the industries according to the performance. The industries will have trained hands to work from the very first day. The employers know what the students should be taught. A mere conformation to the age old stereotyped knowledge is of little use in the present age.

The programme has been taken up by Bangalore University, the first in the country to initiate such a project. It was rather natural looking to the technical expertise of N.R. Shetty, the Vice Chancellor. Mr. Shetty divided the programme in two categories. The new syllabus for the students at different levels and provision for staff development. Moreover there would be identification of thrust area to upgrade polytechnics.

It is not only—the drawing of curriculum that is of importance— identifying resource persons i.e. expert teachers and technicians is more important so that the “technicians coming out of polytechnics are readily acceptable to user agencies. All the colleges are expected to have modern equipments too to produce a complete product.”

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Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE) has also been associated with the project. ISTE has its unit at the university Vishveshwaraya College of Engineering. It will undertake programmes to upgrade skills of working professionals and teachers. The unit is going to be developed as a Resource Training Centre. Bangalore University would provide technical inputs.

With this initiation the teaching techniques of advanced countries would be available in India in due course. Bangalore University can boast of playing a role-model for the country in the sphere of industry-institute linkage. In years to come business management institutions may also be associated with the scheme. It may not take much time for the universities in the South to follow the programme. Maharashtra and Gujarat may be the next on the map. If the universities in the North gain academic consciousness the scheme may change the very face of the nation. It may also stop the brain drain.