BENGALURU: In an attempt to bridge the industry-academia gap and improve the productivity of students in state-run polytechnics, the Department of Technical Education has decided to tie up with Microsoft India.
H U Talwar, Director, Department of Technical Education, told Express that Microsoft India has shown keen interest in lending their expertise to tone up the technical skills of the students.
He said Microsoft India, the Indian arm of the global software major Microsoft Corporation, would provide soft skills for final year diploma students of the government polytechnics across the state.
He further said the talks with Microsoft India are in the initial stages and are likely to be crystallised soon. Initially, the programme will benefit students in 81 government polytechnics, in the computer science and IT streams, he said.
“If the programme proves successful, the same may be extended to the students in 44 aided and 167 un-aided private polytechnics in the state,” he said.
Stating that the move to provide special training was the idea of Higher Education Minister R V Deshpande, he said it would not only help the students become industry-ready but also sharpen their competitiveness.
Outlining the features of the proposal, he said the department would provide the necessary logistics to facilitate the online and remote training initiative, which includes providing special classrooms equipped with video conferencing facilities.
The cost in providing a virtual classroom is nominal, he added.
Among the other initiatives, the Department of Technical Education also has a tie-up with IIT Mumbai, to improve the communication skills of polytechnic students.
“Taking a cue from the success of the programme, we have decided to rope-in Microsoft to provide soft skills to the students. The majority of them are studying in rural areas,” he said.
It may be recalled that the department had recently signed an MoU with the Toyota Kirloskar Motors Private Ltd and Entrepreneurship Development Institute, Chennai, for providing job skills for the final year students of all diploma courses.