The Dean and Director of Academia-Industry Partnership at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham spoke to NDTV.
At the NDTV World Summit, a key session titled "The Role of Education in Shaping India's Century" brought forward discussions on how technology and education can shape India's workforce, with a particular focus on preparing students to be industry-ready. Educationists from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham highlighted how the integration of real-world problems, interdisciplinary research, and technological advancements are central to their educational approach.
Dr Balakrishnan Shankar, Dean of the School of Engineering at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, detailed the university's unique "Living Lab" programme, where students are actively involved in solving critical problems in rural areas across India. "Our parent organisation has adopted around 100 villages, where students identify real-life issues, work on cost-effective solutions, and deploy them," Dr Shankar said. This hands-on approach, he explained, has resulted in 200 patents being filed by students and faculty, with 100 of them already accepted.
He further shared a key example of the university's impact when they set up a wireless network centre in Munnar, a region prone to landslides. "We identified a village, deployed sensors, and predicted landslides, leading to the evacuation of villagers twice, ultimately saving lives. This centre is now recognised for excellence in detecting landslides," Shankar added.
Highlighting the role of compassion-driven research, Dr Shankar noted, "Our motive is to solve the common man's problems through interdisciplinary efforts, leveraging AI and other technologies."
Suresh Kodoor, Director of Academia-Industry Partnership at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, said that AI has emerged as a major disruptor in today's world, driving the need for a workforce with new, future-ready skills.
Reinforced this point by discussing AI's profound impact on the job market, he said, "AI is estimated to replace 85 million jobs in the next two years while creating 100 million new ones requiring different skill sets. Automation has always replaced jobs, but this time, it's targeting roles that require cognitive ability," Mr Kodoor explained. He stressed that educational institutions must collaborate closely with industries to prepare students for the jobs of the future.
In line with this vision, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham has signed over 100 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with various industries, including the automotive, energy, IT, and construction sectors. "Our students work on real-time industry projects, go for internships, and gain practical exposure to what's happening in the business world," Mr Kodoor said.
On fostering entrepreneurship among students, both Dr Shankar and Mr Kodoor emphasised the need for universities to move beyond just being centres of knowledge dissemination. "Universities need to become knowledge creators," Mr Kodoor noted, explaining that innovation is crucial for addressing emerging challenges.
