ICT Academy to launch Bridge 2011

ICT Academy of Tamil Nadu (ICTACT) is launching a forum for stakeholders in the higher education segment to discuss opportunities and ways to make students job-ready.

Launched in September 2009, ICTACT is a public-private partnership consortium of the Centre, Tamil Nadu government and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

It would launch the forum, Bridge 2011, as a stakeholders’ one-day conference and may make it an annual event, depending on the success of the first event, said Lakshmi Narayanan, chairman, ICTACT, and vice chairman, Cognizant Technology Solutions.

Bridge 2011 would be held in Chennai on February 16, where the primary participants would be from industry and academia.

He said the primary focus was to improve the employability of engineering students, especially in Tier II and III cities in the state. Bridge 2011 would evaluate the performance of the academy so far and discuss ways to improve the project further.

The demand for skilled manpower in sectors like IT is expected to increase several times in the coming years.

ICTACT has trained 3,047 faculty members in 486 colleges in various parts of the state, who will in turn equip the students with skillset to meet the requirements of the industry.

A software company has recruited 300 students from colleges in Tier II and III cities where the academy had conducted the training programme, according to Narayanan.

Nasscom is also partnering ICTACT where its members, including Cognizant and Tata Consultancy Service, will provide expertise and course module.

The academy targets to train 5,000 faculty across Tamil Nadu in three years for which the beneficiaries are expected to be 250,000 students.

ICTACT has also signed a tripartite agreement with Anna University for knowledge sharing and offered its support the Puducherry government to set up a similar initiative.