To encourage students pursue research in the areas of Computer Sciences and Information Technology, the Department of Science and Technology and Nasscom will soon start special fellowships.
The DST has accepted a proposal of National Association of Software and Service Companies in this regard.
"The fellowship will be started very soon. The focus of the fellowship will be on original work rather than applied research," Nasscom vice president Rajdeep Sehrawat told PTI.
He said as per the proposal, DST in partnership with private companies will create fellowships to be given out each year to PhD scholars. In the first year, the top few universities or institutes in India will be given these fellowships for implementation.
The fellowship will allow scholars to spend 12 to 18 months in a suitable research group in a university overseas. About 75 students will be given the fellowship over a period of three years.
The Nasscom has also set a target of providing training to 60,000 teachers over a period of five years and submitted a proposal to the ministry of HRD.
The initiative assumes significance in view of severe dearth of faculty in institutions of higher learning in the country. The vacancy of teachers is over 30 per cent in the central educational institutions.
"The training programme will be aimed at updating the knowledge of the teachers," Sehrawat said. He said there is a clear mismatch between the skills the students are graduating with, and the skills required by the industry.
It is because of the lack of faculty empowered with the requisite skills, he said.
"It is therefore imperative to first equip the faculty members with relevant domain and communication skills, thus enhancing their own knowledge to address skill gaps," he said.