With inputs from Dr. Arpita Gopal, Director of Sinhgad Institute of Business Administration and Research (SIBAR)
If you’ve been part of academics in the field of information technology, especially in India, there is a high likelihood that you lamented about the wide gap between educational institutions and the industry.
The problem is so grave that millions who graduate every year are simply unemployable.
So, what could be done to achieve a long term solution?
The answer lies in setting up research and product development labs within college premises.
Students and Teachers – Driving the Industry
Starting a lab in a college can give both students and teachers a taste of the industry. What can be more exciting than watching freshly learnt computer science concepts spring to life while solving complex real-life problems?
Computer science and engineering colleges can earn by selling software products made by their students. This can check the rise in tuition fees, while keeping payouts in the teaching profession at decent levels.
And there would be no worry about beta testing college-made software before it is released to a wider audience – students will pounce on the opportunity to learn about software architecture and quality assurance by participating in initial beta testing drives.
Benefits for the Industry
If you are a member of the industry, there’s reason to be excited as well.
Long before you’ve made your first freshman hires, you’ll have potential candidates stretching their minds to get your organization’s tasks accomplished, with little or no expenditure on your part.
Colleges may well be interested in partnership deals with software companies for some of their best products.
A case in point
My own college, SIBAR, has done it!
They’ve come up with myprojectwindow.com, a complete campus placement module for colleges and other institutions.
Another full fledged solution GEMS which is an all-encompassing software with modules ranging from finance, student admissions, campus placements, library, research and 42 others. It is being tested out within the college itself and its partner branches. Overall, that’s thousands of students involved at any given instant.
They’ve also been working on other full fledged solutions, including a management system for hospitals, which is being tested out at a partner branch, Smt. Kashibai Navale Medical College and General Hospital.
What are the takeaways for both students and teachers?
- Learning about complexities surrounding hosting technologies and the available options.
- Experience with developing industry-standard Java EE applications using Spring and Hibernate.
- Experience with optimization to deal with skyrocketing server load during peak hours.
Are you wondering if a career in academics will be rewarding enough? Take a closer look to see if you have an opportunity to stretch your grey cells at an in-campus research and development lab.
