Call for greater coordination between IT industry and varsities

Of the130 institutions providing training in IT, ITeS and BPO services across the state that have applied for accreditation, 50 have been accredited in the first phase, said K C Reddy, chairman of the Andhra Pradesh State Council for Higher Education (APSCHE) at a workshop on 'IT Industry-Academia', jointly organised by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) and the state government here on Monday.

The state government has announced an innovative scheme through which it gives an incentive of Rs 2,000 on each student to the training institutions.

Students will get employment after receiving training on IT services from these institutions, Reddy said, adding, the state government has also decided to introduce new curriculum on soft skills from this academic year to meet the IT industry requirements.

Speaking on the occasion, Ratna Prabha, secretary, IT, government of Andhra Pradesh, said that the state government was according top priority on developing IT in tier-II cities and that Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Tirupati and Warangal had been identified for IT industry growth.

She expressed hope that Visakhapatnam, which occupies the seventh position among the tier-II cities in the country in IT exports with about Rs 70 crore will occupy the first position by 2007. "To get skilled manpower for IT Industry, we need coordination between IT Industry and universities," she stated.

In his keynote address, Kiran Karnik, president, Nasscom emphasised on the need to produce skilled and high quality human resources. He said that of the 3 million graduating from universities, only 10 per cent manage to get immediate placements.

According to him, there are more than 1,000 postgraduate and engineering colleges but a majority of industries look for the premier 50-60 institutions. He said that universities need to enhance their curriculum based on the requirements of the IT industry.