Prof. Ravikumar K., Director, Bapu Gujarat Knowledge Village, Gandhinagar speaks about the importance of skill-based education

“Until and unless the industries come forward in framing the curriculum with the universities then this will not be helpful,” says Prof. Ravikumar K., Director, Bapu Gujarat Knowledge Village, Gandhinagar in an interview with Chandan Anand, Founding Editor, ArdorComm Media Group at the ‘ArdorComm New Normal – Education Leadership Summit & Awards 2022’ #ELSAGujarat #ELSAAhmedabad

Would like to understand and please give key highlights about your institution?

Yeah, my institution is 13 years old institution, we started with engineering and pharmacy now we’ve grown up to we have law, nursing, science and commerce colleges separately and we are affiliated to different universities like the core branches like professional branches are affiliated to Gujarat Technological University and other branches are affiliated to Gujarat University, Ahmedabad.

According to you how does the industry-based curriculum helps in a better employability and how skill plays an important role in the current based of curriculums?

Until and unless the skill is there nobody can be employed actually. So, only going with the curriculum that has been designed by the university will not be helping the industries to go about. That’s why whenever they appoint anybody they will be having some training of kind of thing what I suggest is the training what they want to give at the industry level if they start at the curriculum level itself, at the University level itself, at the college level itself it will be too good that’s what when the discussion is industry institute the relationship or the gap should be bridged totally. Until and unless the industries come forward in framing the curriculum with the universities then this will not be helpful. So, I am very much about that at least the last year of the curriculum of the universities, industry should take it up and it should train the students whatever maybe it is professional or non-professional whether it is science or commerce. For example, whenever you talk about commerce, a commerce graduate should know tally 100% but there is no tally in the curriculum. I request the industry so that let them come let them come to the college as to the Institute to the universities and tell them this is what we need so that they will have ready-made employees for their institutions.

So, as the event name shows that it’s a New Normal Education Leadership Summit what does the word New Normal stands for you?

See when we talk about pre-covid and post-covid, New Normal is very much essential because earlier when 10 years back when we talk about the colleges or finishing school they were thinking only about the personal development of the student they were not thinking about the technical. The new normal is whenever an industry is there industry needs a specific information or the specific knowledge of that particular student until and unless the specific knowledge is there the industry cannot employ that particular student or a fresh graduate. So, new normal stands that the specifications, earlier only the soft skills were the requirement of the industry, the technical knowledge was given by the universities but now in the technical or non-technical knowledge they need specificity in this. So, for example when we talk about the computer, some industries need python some industries near artificial intelligence now when we are giving in the curriculum of the university we are talking only about entire thing they will be master of none, that should not be the case. The New Normal is specific knowledge on that particular platform as I was telling you about the commerce thing, until and unless tally is taught to the student he will not be employed he will not be employed by the industries.