Bridge the gap between academics and industry essay

For last many years our education system has been under a critical hammer for not delivering the professionals with right attitude and right skills. Currently Following is the lead time for the fresh graduates to become professionals. 1. 2.

3. 4. 5. 6.

Law – 5 years Medicine – 3 years Engineer – 3 years Management – 2-5 years Architecture – 5 years Chartered accountant – 5-7 years As far as management education is concerned, the basic reason for the situation is deficit in following areas of education. a. b. c. d.

Selection of the right candidate Standardization of syllabus Education process Internship or exposure of the live industrial world. Management science is not a rocket science. It is basically a science to create managers and leaders to supervise and ensure quality in all departments of an organization.

The theoretical aspects of the basic management science are not very long or complicated. The development of leadership skills, attitude and values is equally important. It is a common experience in most of the management colleges that candidates scoring excellent ranks in the examinations get selected last on campus interviews. The most successful managers in industrial world usually don’t have the brightest academic credentials. These facts should lead to serious pondering over the status and mode of education. We also need to have a look at the syllabus and pedagogy. We must have a permanent built in system of updating syllabus. We certainly should be on the lookout for the latest systems being practiced by the industry.

Our students are future managers. Is our syllabus accommodating the futuristic management techniques? Do we look at our students as management components (like auto-components) who fit into the management machine perfectly right from day one? Somebody should keep on developing the design of this component ? There are many elements of syllabus which are simply outdated. They are neither practiced nor are they relevant.

But they are there because textbooks mention it. Same thing is for pedagogy. Not all but most of the management schools rely on the traditional method of “ chalk and talk”. This is good system if any fundamental concept is to be explained.

In management science, how many concepts need this treatment? We have to have an industrial laboratory for the management practical. When skills, values and attitudes are to be developed, let’s question the relevance of all existing systems of pedagogy. There needs to be a system which keeps on doing research on newer techniques of pedagogy. Our examination pattern is based on memory and it needs a complete and fundamental review. It is a fact that recruiters look at management institutions as talent hunting agent and no more. The onus of training the recruits remains with the companies. Management institutions have a greater responsibility in developing the human resource required by the industrial world. Let us develop a system by which all the afflictions can be addressed.

I suggest following system, with an underscored statement that it is not the only solution. Every management institution or a group of institutions should have an industrial cell. The cell will have following functions and structure. On one side they will co-ordinate with industrial world and on other side, they will connect with academic activities. The cell should be managed by people with right attitude, vision, dedication and appropriate experience of both the worlds.

It should be seen as a vendor development activity for the industries.