Industry-Academia Interaction in India: The Current Scenario and the Future

Abstract

Education plays an important role in the holistic development of an individual. Better quality of life, more job opportunities, higher earning potential and growth of the economy are all linked to a good quality of education. Education is a very effective tool in creating skilled manpower. The employment ability of a student improves drastically when given exposure to trends in the industry and also when a student gets the chance to interact and collaborate with industry experts. Such an interaction prepares the student to face real world problems. World over, it has been observed by experts in the industry and scholars in academic circles that there is a gap between what the industry needs and what is taught in the universities. It is imperative that the current education system is scrutinized for further improvisation. As far as India is concerned, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 provides a framework for a plethora of reforms, some of which are linked to better employability. The policy provides for relevant changes in the education system which is conducive to encouraging Industry- Academy collaboration. The present study first gives a comprehensive overview of Industry-Academia collaboration in the context of India. Past endeavours in the pursuit of this collaboration - both on part of the public and private sectors, are discussed extensively in the study. How NEP is providing a channel to bridge the gap between academia and industry is also deliberated upon.