They can crack the toughest math, but some need help to improve their communication skills, developing a positive body language, even a crash course in developing Android apps. The establishment of new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), a faculty base and curriculum unable to keep pace with changing times, rising competition and the changing rural-urban student mix has led to employability issues at the premier engineering schools. They're trying to fix this by bringing in some outside help.
IIT Hyderabad is in the middle of a pilot to assess speaking, reading and writing skills of its 1,500 students. The institute — rated as one of the best among the newer IITs in research — tied up with IT skilling firm Talent Sprint to conduct computeraided tests for BTech, MTech and PhD students. Those found wanting will have to undergo a 36-hour remedial coaching programme on body language, effective professional communication, listening and paraphrasing and articulating thoughts. The tests are mandatory for all first-year students from next year.
"Our students are good in technology and engineering but communication is vital in the real world. Whether they become CEOs, CTOs, or entrepreneurs, they need these skills," said Uday B Desai, director, IIT Hyderabad.
The need for such tests has assumed importance in the face of changing rural-urban demographics at IITs, and the sheer absence of soft skills training at schools in big cities. "We'll also learn as we go along," Desai said. "The problem is much deeper and complex, unlike running a course in mathematics." To enhance job readiness, other IITs are seeking external help as well. Plans include assessments such as those conducted by Talent Sprint, getting trainers from the corporate world, business schools and the British Council for English lessons, effective professional communication, body language, resume writing and crash courses on Android app development.
Mohandas Pai, chairman of Manipal Global Education and a member of the Anil Kakodkar committee on autonomy for IITs, sees these as much-needed changes. "The IITs are a dream destination for thousands of students who come from a different socio-economic strata. Bringing them up to the mark is important. The IIT curriculum is very theoretical and such hands-on programmes will boost employability."
IIT Kanpur tied up with the British Council this year to conduct English tests focused on conversation skills and written and spoken fluency. It will get other organisations to help students with aptitude and technical tests. The institute will also set up a Career Development Center (CDC) this year for helping students make informed decisions on job opportunities.
"CDC will provide exposure to opportunities outside of traditional careers. Knowledge of MBA programmes, IAS training, inter-disciplinary programmes shall be provided to students, and CDC will aid them in preparation and application," said an IIT Kanpur spokesperson.
"Since industry skills are changing, and placements are getting more competitive, the new IITs want to put their best foot forward from day one," said Santanu Paul, managing director of Talent Sprint and an IIT Madras alumnus. Well-established colleges are setting up skill programmes to maintain their stature, he added. "If an employer hires lesser students this year, the college is not going to wait till next year for course correction. It will start implementing skill programmes now."
IIT Guwahati is in talks with business schools and coding platform providers for mock tests. "The plan is to conduct softskills workshops to infuse confidence in our students," said a spokesperson.
Venturesity, set up by IIT Kharagpur alumnus Subhendu Panigrahi, will conduct a year-long workshop at IIT Kharagpur for online and on-campus courses on Python (a coding language), analytics with R programming, and Android app development. "We have finalised these courses because of industry demand," said Panigrahi, who helps seek out talent for angel and venture capital-backed companies.
"The number of IITs has gone up, but getting quality faculty is a challenge," said Srikanth Sundarajan, IIT alumnus, and a venture capitalist at Helion. Sundarajan feels there's a significant difference in quality between the IITs in the 90s and now. "These skills should be a part of the curriculum. Institutions which were very good are receding towards mediocrity fairly quickly," said Sundarajan, also a visiting faculty member at IIT Bhubaneswar.
"It's is a good step, and would help polish students who are mainly focused on technical courses," said P Thiruvengadam, human capital leader, Deloitte. IIT Delhi dropout Azhar Iqubal concurred. Iqubal, a Kishanganj resident, dropped out of IIT Delhi last year to pursue his startup that's developing the 'News in Shorts' app. "Coming from a small town, I found it challenging to read lengthy stories in newspapers. Students from small towns lack exposure, and this will help at the time of recruitments," he said.
'New in Shorts' delivers top news stories in 60-word, bite-sized portions, some thing that emerged from his difficulty with long news stories. It raised seed investment from Times Internet and entrepreneurs including Flipkart co-founders Sachin and Binny Bansal in July.
"Skilling programmes need to be specific in terms of needs and delivered with focus. They assume greater importance as hiring by companies during the last few years was limited," said VS Raju, former director of IIT Delhi.
IIT Madras will also lay strong emphasis on soft skills training. "We will be more hands on with training students on sitting through interviews and body language. Students are bright, but some of them could do with support," said Babu Viswanathan, placement advisor, IIT Madras.
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