2nd FICCI INDUSTRY ACADEMIA CONFERENCE 2023
'Leveraging Synergies: Industry-Academia Partnership for Education & Research'
26th May 2023
Dr. Sangeeta Mangesh Karyakarte (Associate Professor) and Ms. Richa Jaiswal (Training and Placement Head) of Dronacharya Group of Institutions, Greater Noida attended the 2nd FICCI Industry Academia Conference 2023 on Leveraging Synergies: Industry-Academia Partnership for Education & Research’ organized by FICCI at FICCI Federation House, New Delhi on 26th May 2023.
The conference inaugural session was addressed by Prof. Rajan Saxena, Advisor – FICCI Higher Education Committee & Former Vice Chancellor, NMIMS. The conference theme was introduced by Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar, Chair, FICCI Higher Education Committee & Pro Chancellor, Symbiosis International (Deemed University) through online mode. Special guests who addressed the gathering were Mr. Ranjan Kumar Mohapatra, Executive Director & Head, Indian Oil Institute of Petroleum Management, (IOCL) and Dr. Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), Govt. of India.
A panel discussion on ‘Decoding Industry-Academia partnership for Research and Innovation’ was organized during the pre-lunch session. The following panel members participated in the discussion:
- S. Sundar Manoharan, Director General, Pandit Deendayal Energy University (PDEU)
- Vishal Talwar, Director, Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad.
- Satya Prakash Dash, Founding Chief Executive Officer, BITS BioCyTIH Foundation.
- M. Balakrishnan, Honorary Professor, CSE Department, IIT Delhi.
- Abhay Kapoor, Head – Human Resources & Administration (CHRO), Suzuki Motor Private Limited, Gujarat.
- Ranjan Saxena, FICCI Higher Education Committee & Former Vice Chancellor, NMIMS.
The panel deliberated upon the role of key players involved in the collaborative innovation-and research which included the university or academic institutions that conceptualize the core and multidisciplinary problems, provide networking environment to the researchers, industry, to take insight of the problems , address the financial aspect provide suitable networking platform for the academicians , the government to extend administrative and financial support and finally the start-up ecosystem. The panel indorsed the importance of industry and academia partnership and how it can provide opportunities for the students to develop their innovative ideas into prototypes, as well as role of the industry in handholding, nurturing and developing successful Research and Innovation Centres at the academic institutions.
The topic of the panel discussion in the post lunch session was Digital Transformation of Higher Education: Industry-Academia Partnerships for Online Learning and Teaching. Participating panel members were -
- Rajani R. Gupte, Vice Chancellor, Symbiosis International (Deemed University)
- Raghav Gupta, Managing Director, India and APAC, Coursera
- Kamakhya Vikram, India Geo Head - Education Unit, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
- Parikshit Markanday, Chief Growth & Partnership Officer, TimesPro
- Avantika Tomar, Partner, EY-Parthenon
- Bala MS, Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Ken42
They discussed the role of online teaching-learning platform, Mr. Raghav Gupta, presented the study on the Coursera platform on industry collaborative courses such as Google SEO course, web developer course, IBM, Microsoft Certification that have received maximum enrolments. He projected the need for the micro-certification and acquiring micro-level skillsets by the youth to enhance their employability. The need for such micro-certifications was also substantiated by another panellist, Dr. Avantika Tomar. Dr. Rajani Gupte highlighted the importance of regular offline teaching-learning.
Concluding the discussion, the panel unanimously agreed that the teacher regular teaching-learning can never be replaced. However, it can be complemented by the technological aids that can facilitate knowledge and reach to the distant population, aid in acquiring micro-level skillsets, to acquire skills that enhance employability of the youth in years to come.