In June this year, software major IBM announced a unique initiative called Drona Partner Programme aimed at empowering faculty members in the Indian institutes with the right resources to train IT students.
Under the programme, IBM would collaborate with Independent Software Vendors or ISVs, and universities, and work together to empower the faculties to train students specialising in information technology.
Senior contributing editor, Shobha Warrier spoke to Anil Menon, vice president, channels, marketing & ecosystems, IBM India/ South Asia, on this unique initiative.
Do you feel there is a disconnect between the industry and the academia? The industry is always complaining that the academia is not moulding students the way industry wants. Is that one of the reasons why IBM decided to start the Drona program?
Partly, yes. We do not see academia to be completely disconnected. I think they definitely understand the challenge. But I don't know whether they feel it is their responsibility.
The most common complaint from the faculty is, 'what can we really do about this because we do not have an influence on the curriculum. We have to conduct 40 hours of training and teaching, and yet, we do not have the flexibility to do innovative things'.
They say even when they are engaged in project works, the companies do not pay much attention. We tell them they need to demand a strong commitment from the companies. If the project does not proceed well in a week's time, they need to highlight it to the appropriate level in the company. I don't think the schools are focused enough to look at such projects on a week to week or a month to month basis.
So who is to blame? Industry blames the academia and vice-versa.
I think organisations like the All India Council for Technical Education or AICTE have a very strong role to play. They have to be far more active. Instead of getting stuck on something for 15 years, the frequency with which our curriculum changes, they should address it at more regular intervals.
Java did not exist ten years back. Many things which we talk about today, like social computing, social networking, did not exist at that time. Things have changed drastically and very fast.
As far as the curriculum is concerned certain basic things will always be there. At the same time we need to incorporate studies that deal with advanced technology.
Secondly, cultural segment training also plays an important role. This deals with what to expect of a job, how to handle a particular job, the speed of change, etc.
Whose responsibility is that?
Our academic practice is set upon imbibing the contents of text books. But only so much of a job, say 30, 40 per cent is theoretical. A lot of it is adaptability to change, adaptability to conditions, responsiveness to situations...we continuously get buffeted by change. Adaptability to change is something that our educational system doesn't teach.
What kind of collaboration between faculty and industry do you envision?
While we continue to focus on students, we felt that things will by and large fall in place. Faculty stays on the campus for 15 or 20 years, while students change every four years. Thus a particular faculty would be teaching at least 15 different batches during his stint in the campus. And that is very, very long. We will educate the faculty and give them equal skills as we are imparting to the students.
How receptive are the faculty?
Very receptive. They want to re-engineer their careers also. They want to be in touch with the latest.
You mean they are open to it?
There are a few who do not want to change, who say 'we will only go by what AICTE tells us to do'. But the vast majority believes that they have a role to play in the way they shape their students' career.
How do you plan to empower the faculty?
One, we want to take the programme to multiple cities. We launched it in Chennai, soon we will expand to other parts of the country. Though we are helping them set up competence centres in their campuses, they are not meant to be only a technology demonstration point. They will be more like a traditional village eco-system. We will bring in our experts, our consultants, our architects, our main people and will talk to the people there.
Is it going to be a continuous process?
It is a continuous process. We will use the competence centre as a central point and run programs around it.
Will the programs be there throughout the year?
Yes. Curriculum inclusion is one, competence centre is another, and running programs around the competence centre is the third arm. Training faculty along with the students is the fourth. Of course, involving them in more community building activities, and getting them to champion a particular set of colleges around their college, is also there.
When will you come to know that your program has succeeded?
This is a journey. We can't say that, 'by March, we should have done so much training', etc.
At least by the end of a year, won't you come to know how successful it is going to be, when recruitments start?
We believe it will be successful. As long as we do the right things, and keep looking at the picture and keep acting on it. We need to act continuously. Overall quality, you can't change overnight because we are looking at a huge number of people. When we do that consistently through a large number of campuses, probably we will be able to touch a 100 or 200 colleges through competence centres.
Are you going to look at any particular state, or will the program run all over India?
Our effort is to touch as many states as possible.
Will this programme help the entire industry? You possibly cannot restrict yourself to IBM alone...
Absolutely correct. It cannot be just for IBM. Competition among companies is not only for channel partners; it is also for talent. This program helps us to have a stronger talent pool in the country. That is one thing.
The second and most important is, we want to create a more vibrant eco-system in the nation. Finally it will benefit all of us - the industry, as well as the government.
You said at the launch of the program that IT professionals will need to acquire new skills to compete in the global economy. What are the new skills you are looking at?
Both soft skills and technology skills; skills that will allow them to adapt, and become change agents. They also have to keep abreast of the latest technology developments. We don't restrict it to IBM technology but also cover standards like Java and Linux. For that, students should understand the foundation technology; and the core building blocks that go into the technology platforms today.
Are you really worried about the slowing down of the US economy and its impact on the other parts of the world?
I don't see any reason for worry. When we deliver software solutions, we give optimisation solutions that can make a great organisation far stronger. And that essentially translates into making businesses more cost effective and operationally more efficient. When there is a slowdown, there is a higher demand on our software. We look at it more as an opportunity than a challenge. There will always be a cyclical and secular trend in the economy.
Do you think we have reached a stage where it has got to be the end of the India shining story?
Definitely not. We at IBM is extremely committed and extremely excited about India opportunities. We think the best is yet to come.