Filing patent, tech transfer and research consultancy still rare: AICTE survey.
Despite extensive efforts for years to bridge the gap between industry and academia in order to improve the quality of education and impart practical skills to make engineering students job-ready, it seems little has changed so far.
The latest survey conducted jointly by the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Confederation of Indian Industries reveals that filing patents, intellectual property rights, technology transfer and research consultancy are still rare even in established engineering institutes in India.
“Established institutes appear to have weak linkages with industry in the areas of research and consultancy, technology transfer, interaction between faculty members and industry,” states the survey report, which will be released in Delhi on Thursday. A summary of the report was shared with the media on Wednesday.
“The interaction between faculty members and industry is weak when it comes to training provided to teachers (or vice versa), faculty involvement in company boards or industry councils,” states the report.
The online survey was launched by AICTE in May 2013. Out of 2,230 eligible colleges, only 660 engineering institutes, all well-established, participated in the survey. They were evaluated on the strength and quality of their linkages with industry based on various parameters. The survey gave 98% colleges a rating of less than four on a scale of eight. On faculty-industry interaction, 93% institutes scored less than seven on a scale of 14.
A top official of an automobile company blames campuses for being a decade behind the industry and teachers for being too rigid and less-informed to collaborate for research. A CEO says had the survey been mandatory for all, the picture would have been grimmer as newer institutes have their own limitations.
However, dean of faculty of technology, University of Mumbai, SK Ukarande blamed the industry for not coming forward with a focussed approach to help academia.
Ukarande also said that companies want quick results, while students take more time to complete the projects due to various compulsions.
South ahead of West
The southern region was the best among the eight regions surveyed. On a scale of 35, it scored 31.3 as against western region’s 23.6 and northern region’s 21.7. The national average was 21.
The central region scored the poorest at 10. The southern region’s engineering colleges were the most enthusiastic in participating in the survey with 23% (242 out of 1,050) belonging to southern region alone. East, north and south-central regions contributed only 6%, 7% and 9% institutes in the survey, respectively
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