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The internet, coupled with advances in mobile technologies for computing and communication, is transforming businesses globally and opening new possibilities for both customers and organizations.  

E-commerce is expanding steadily in India. Customers have the ever-increasing choice of products at the lowest rates. E-commerce is probably creating the biggest revolution in the retail industry, and the trend is growing.

The dynamic growing e-commerce environment has led the customer to avail comforts as varied as car service or doctor’s appointment with a simple android app. The buying experience has been freed of the bondage of distance or time multiplying manifold the ease of access. The Indian customers, just like their global counterparts, can shop from the comfort of their homes. Buyers have varied choice with a wider range of products and prices from global vendors. They can use their smartphones from anywhere 24/7 to shop.

Figure 1: Growth of E-commerce

With Amazon prepped up for its first cashier-less shop ‘Amazon Go’ in Seattle, e-commerce is set to witness a paradigm shift. It allows the customer to place the products directly into their bags and get charged for them from their online account saving them the hassle of waiting in the queue or check out. This utopian concept is a result of an amalgamation of cameras, sensors and artificial intelligence. Adopted to Indian markets, the technology can significantly reduce the madding weekend rush in the supermarkets.

As mentioned in The Daily Pioneer dated, 24th Jan 2018, all kinds of retails— big and small— want to leverage the advantages offered by digital retail e-commerce platforms, which enable them to spend less money on real estate while reaching out to more customers in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

Some of the top e-commerce companies in India are:

Figure 2: Some top e-commerce companies.

Another very recent report in The Economic Times dated 22nd Jan 2018 states that e-commerce companies are emerging as a major driver of commercial vehicle demand, with online sellers and logistic providers consolidating warehousing solutions and opting for hub-and-spoke model. Major commercial vehicle makers, including Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland and Mahindra Truck & Bus, report a significant surge in sales to transporters catering to the e-commerce sector. 

This stupendous growth in the e-commerce space, needs a huge demand for trained management professional who can expertly handle the challenges. Companies are hiring e-commerce specialists in large numbers. But the demand is outdoing the supply.

Very few B-Schools in India have been able to keep pace with the changing demand in the skills required to handle e-commerce jobs. The jobs would require skills like big data analytics, logistics management, digital marketing, and technology management among other general management skills.

The e-commerce field thrives on interdisciplinary activity that calls for multiple skills to execute tasks.  However, due to the lack of interdisciplinary learning in the traditional education, there is a great deficit of professionals who can directly take job roles in this sector. The extensive business prospects combined with the low availability of skilled workers makes this filed a fertile ground for job opportunities.

Since the field of e-commerce involves interdisciplinary concepts, a traditional pedagogical framework cannot deliver the full gist of this challenging field. An interdisciplinary programme in management trains the student in all domains required to become a successful manager in the e-commerce industry. With live projects and internships, the students get ready to take on the challenges of this sector. 

(The above article is a summary of recent articles appearing in The Daily Pioneer, The Economic Times and The Forbes Magazine)

References:

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/ecommerce-companies-drive-cv-demand-post-gst/articleshow/62612814.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

http://www.forbesindia.com/article/state-of-the-mba/indian-business-education-is-strongly-influenced-by-the-american-model-yale-acting-dean-anjani-jain/49129/1

http://www.livemint.com/Companies/bV9TfiahkAAgzgDBdAIvoL/Amazon-to-open-first-cashierless-shop-to-public-on-Monday.html

http://www.dailypioneer.com/avenues/managing-e-commerce.html

Dr. Jayashree Vispute

Assistant Prof & HoD CM Department, Vishwakarma University

How does technology impact the ability of education to build effective skills in students in the always connected world of today?
Wireless, mobile and other digital technologies are shaping new patterns of delivering education. In India alone, the market of e-learning is predicted to cross 1.29 $ billion by the end of 2018. The combined ease of portable mobile devices, and fast internet speeds have created a massive scope for students to benefit from digital learning by creating smart classrooms anywhere, anytime. Futuristic technologies like cloud computing, and Internet of things will accelerate the development of artificial intelligence.

 

Following trends are likely to influence the interaction of education and digital technology in the near future:

Internet of things(IOT):

 

IOT is the reality of our times. Syncing and connecting devices e.g. smartphones with computers creates networks from software, hardware, data and service which leads to seamless data transfer. IOT will create more effective smart-classes through remote learning. Technology like interactive boards, digital highlighters, digital textbooks, smartwatches and IP enabled smart glasses will accelerate learning as students will corroborate with peers, mentors and educators from the comfort of classroom or homes. Moreover, accurate and updated data about employability, revenue generation and innovation after students’ graduate will be available as students remain connected through such digital networks.

Cloud Computing:
Rather than saving data in a computer or a local network, data is now being saved on remote servers hosted by internet. Cloud Computing will aid digital education by bringing those students into education who are traditionally excluded by offline learning. Students will be able to pursue diploma or education through online tutorials, submission and correction of assignment and exams online. This will create a more flexible system of education. As technology becomes more effective remote areas will also be connected through smart classes, and so create more equal access to education. Basically this will mean more diverse MOOCs (Massive online Open Courses) to include long term and advanced courses than offered now.

Artificial Intelligence (AI):
AI will redefine the educational experience in future. It will take over basic functions like grading, and reduce teacher burden. Not only will this save time, but also allow teachers to research more. Already OMR sheets are marked by computers, but AI will allow more advanced and complex submissions to be graded. AI technology will aid individualized learning as big data gathered from internet of things, stored over clouds will identify topics and lacunae by emphasizing relevant topics, repeating topics which have been inadequately understood or mastered. This will lead to calculation of optimum learning pace for each student on the basis of learning capacity. Students will be able to experiment and create in AI driven digital smart classrooms without fearing judgment, while being provided constant feedback.

Authored by Dr. Yogesh Deshpande. Dean and Professor Dept. of Computer EngineeringVishwakarma University, Pune

 
 
 

FB Post Internship TM 1260x400

Last week, the Builders Association of India (BAI) Pune Chapter started its 11th cycle of hiring interns. BAI has been taking interns for the last 6+ years and has been very successful in growing and sustaining this activity. This year itself, more than 150 students from various engineering institutes of Pune have been selected for the one-month internship at various sites of the members of BAI. 45 students out of these are from Vishwakarma Institute of Information Technology (VIIT).

As I was addressing the students, memories of my internship with Tata Motors which was for a period of one year, came to mind. I was assigned to Tata Automation Limited (TAL) for the first six months and the six months to the C Block Pimpri Plant which was the gears manufacturing plant.

In TAL, my boss Mr. R.K.Joshi put me on his design team for machines and systems. TAL had its own manufacturing plant for manufacturing of special purpose machines and had customers from across industries and geographies. One day my boss asked me if I had a license to drive a car and if I was proficient at it. To which I answered in the affirmative. He said, “Good. Tomorrow the Vice President of one of our important customers is visiting Pune to see the progress of the machine that we are making for him. I want you to receive him at the airport at 7 am. Also, our engineer who is working on the project is on leave and will join only at 11 am tomorrow. Hence, I do not want you to bring the customer back to our office before ”

I was taken aback. I believed I was there to train to be a good engineer with learning in engineering technology. And here I was being asked to be a or driver! I was there to be an engineer. I needed to learn technology. I was now being asked to receive as if I was a or a driver.

Not wanting to go up against a higher authority I did what was asked of me. For the next two I became the Customer Relationship Officer of our group. I had to do an airport pickup, have breakfast, lunch, or dinner when the seniors were not available, coupled with Pune Darshan and shopping for the wives and kids of the visiting officials. I hardly had any time for any engineering related work. I couldn’t imagine what I would write in my Project Report at the end of my internship. How would I answer my guide? Would I fail if I said that I was a driver and picked up no engineering related work?

Today, after 15 years in the profession, I the importance of that learning. I that it was that learning that made me capable of talking and befriending customers, vendors, partners, and other professional relations. I today cherish all that time. In fact, my guide gave me extra marks for this work and appreciated me for doing this in addition to the engineering work.

I suggest to all students that internship is a must for hands-on knowledge. Along with that not remain attached to only technology. We must develop social skills and do every task that our intern manager would assign us. Am sure the internship experience would help all as it has been a huge benefit to personally me.

Bharat Agarwal @ the BAI

Linkedlin Post For Fake News 1

 After the demonetization of currency notes in 2016, the media frantically reported that the new 2000 rupee notes shall carry a GPS chip embedded in them that can track the location of the person carrying them. It was later revealed to be a fake news.

There are numerous such instances that reveal the rampant corruption in the media today and its malicious manifestation in the form of fake news. It has exposed the credibility deficit and a lack of journalistic ethics prevalent in media today.

 Origins of fake news-

‘Fake News’, a term heavily popularized by the U.S. President Donald Trump may have gained currency in recent times but it has been around as far as the history goes back. There are numerous examples in history where misinformation was spread against rivals to gain political mileage. Octavian, the first Roman emperor and his campaign against his rival Mark Antony being the case in point.

 What is fake news?

Fake news defies the journalistic ethics of honest and balanced reporting and present distorted facts or false information as real news to mislead the masses. Fake news would typically be biased towards a particular party or ideology and carry selective quotes to support a particular view point. It is not only limited to fake stories, doctored videos and photo shopped pictures as much make for fake news. The intention could be political propaganda, financial gains or to create sensational stories to attract web traffic on social media.

Reach and influence of fake news-

TV and print journalism are as much infected with fake news as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and other social media sites. With easy accessibility to internet and the average time people spend on social media the reach of fake news is bound to be widespread. However, reach is different from influence. The quantum of influence it has on making public opinions is debatable.

Steps taken to curb fake news-

In the face of mounting criticism popular social media sites have taken steps to root out the menace of fake news. But the fact that even seasoned journalists and politicians fall prey to it and end up sharing and posting doctored pictures and videos shows that the check mechanism need to be escalated.  

Richa Singh
Journalism and Mass Communication Department

Tuesday, 25 August 2020 09:53

Is Engineering Education in Crisis ?

Linkedlin Post For Engineering Education in Crisis

The aim of education is to equip us with the ability to analyze any situation logically, systematically and gracefully. Once the objective of education is clear, we can develop ways to inculcate it in students through their area of interest. One’s passion, priority and property -aptitude/inclination (3 Ps) should decide what one chooses to study.
Engineering as a knowledge field is valid only when it is supported by application. It calls for passion and a knack for lateral thinking. Engineering is the sum total of techniques, logic, design, analysis, statistic, probability, etc. The coordination between all these aspects result in products useful for the mankind.

However, lately engineering education has fallen into despair and seems to be losing its relevance. Most of the engineers are collecting degrees without learning the essential skills to handle core engineering tasks. According to an article published in the India Today, 1.5 million engineers graduate in India every year. Out of which 97 per cent of the engineering graduates aspire for a job either in software or core engineering. However, only 3 per cent have the required skill sets to find employment in software and the product market, and only 7 per cent are equipped to handle core engineering tasks. The rest simply do not have adequate skills to be employed.

This dismal state of engineering education is a result of a number of factors. Outdated curriculum, lack of updated reference/text books, insufficient academic rigor, the demand for readymade solutions, lack of innovation and knowledge-based outcomes, adopting an exam centric approach, absence of pedagogical innovations, ill equipped laboratories etc. are some of the onerous issues that stare engineering education in the face.

Rethinking the approach to education is the key to rectifying the situation.

Excellence in research and good quality teaching are inter-related. Stake holders should encourage fresh ideas and foster them till they see the light of the day. During undergraduate studies engineering students must contribute their knowledge at every level of functionality by identifying real life problems, designing methodology to solve it, analyzing the problem from a user point of view, executing the solution, checking the utility of solution. Mere successful completion of undergraduate study, does not make one capable enough to build any type of usable product. The knowledge and skills gained during undergraduate studies need to be strengthened either by pursuing post-graduation degree or by gaining work experience to successfully build products. 

Understanding the basic principles of science is equally important as engineers build applications that are based on fundamental scientific knowledge. E.g. working of robots is based on physics and mathematics, water treatment is based on the science of chemistry. A deep understanding of engineering principles and practices may open you to a wide variety of career opportunities in domains other than engineering and technology. Good engineers may end up building successful careers in finance, marketing, etc.

Indian engineering education needs to take a leaf from the German universities to make engineering programmes more industry relevant. Engineering programmes in Germany run in a close symbiotic relationship with the industry which allows students to learn skills in real life scenario. While engineering education in India is largely theoretical. 

Development of a civilization always go hand-in-hand with development of technology. Thus, good quality engineering education was, is and will always be needed in the society. For sustainable development of this field, we need passionate engineers, as passion combined with perseverance will definitely lead to excellence.

Refrences-
https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/featurephilia/story/engineering-employment-problems-329022-2016-07-13

Authored by Maya Kurulekar. Assistant Professor STEM,  Vishwakarma University, Pune

Tuesday, 25 August 2020 09:51

Eco-friendly fashion

Article Eco Friendly Fashion 1260x400

What does Natalie Portman, Meghan Markel, Diya Mirza and Kate Middleton and the Duchess of Cambridge share? Well, apart from the simple fact that they all are incredibly famous, they are all vocal supporters of eco-fashion.

Prefixes like organic, green, eco are in vogue. They originate from the same sensibility as the increasingly popular concept of organic farming and green technology. The motto to go green is dawning upon the fashion world too.

Do we ever pause to ponder about the clothes that we discard? What happens to them? Where do they go? What consequences do they have on the environment? The fashion world is waking up to the rude reality of landfills piling up with used clothes. The fad for fast trendy fashion has lead to devastating consequences for the environment. Fashion industry is considered to be the second largest polluter of environment after oil.

What is eco friendly fashion?
Eco-fashion upholds the fashion trends by employing environment friendly practices in manufacturing clothes and accessories. Eco-fashion ensures the use of natural fibers made of bamboo, hemp and other natural products as opposed to petroleum based fibers and promising no or as little wastage as possible. Upcycling the waste material to make fashion products is also one of the prime exercises of practicing eco fashion.

Global scene
With premium fashion brands like Gucci promising to go fur-free before unveiling their summer/spring 2018 collection and H&M pledging to recycle polyester, use hemp and organic cotton, commitment to eco friendly fashion appears to be taking leaps in the Western consciousness. Style quotient intact, look and quality of fiber maintained, eco friendly fashion is being taken seriously, shedding the ‘hippy’ tag being attached to it. Celebrity designers like Stella Mc Cartney, has put in sustainable efforts to put eco fashion in the mainstreams of runway fashion. In the West, Green is steadily becoming the new Black.

Indian scenario
Though ‘go green’ is the all-pervasive mantra, it still largely eludes the Indian fashion industry. A cursory glance at the fashion scene will reveal designers doing their bit in pockets to promote eco-fashion. However, it is difficult to place any known Indian designer or celebrity committed to the cause.

In order to ensure that eco- fashion descends from the high fashion ramps to the common man, you as a consumer can make a difference. Pick up environment friendly clothes each time you shop and you can alter the demand pattern of the industry. So exercise your choice wisely.

Authored by Richa Singh, Content Writer Investronaut.

Tuesday, 25 August 2020 09:47

Indian Web Series

Between the soppy soap operas on TV and the fluffy Bollywood flicks, Indian Web Series are enjoying a moment under the sun. For people looking for something beyond the cliché of 50 something middle aged actors running around the trees, the digital space has a plethora of exciting web series to watch out for.
Increased internet accessibility, cheaper mobile phones and ditching the run-of-the-mill stories in favor of out-of-the-box, realistic content has set the Indian Web Series space buzzing.

Shackle free space
Mainstream films in India have traditionally settled for ‘sanitized’, quotidian themes and stock characters’ least they invite the wrath of the draconian censor board or hurt the often volatile public sentiments. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus Padmavati and Anurag Kashyap’s Udta Punjab were in the eye of the storm recently. Indian Web Series, still outside the preview of the censor board allows us to traverse over progressive territories viz-a-viz content. Though, in the swiftly shrinking space for tolerance, one can never be sure which story might brew a fresh storm and put the noose on web content.

../Desktop/indian-web-series.jpg

Content rules
The short episodic structure of the web series reflecting the humdrum of urban existence has found resonance with the attention deficit, on-the-go generation. The runaway success of shows like ‘Permanent Roomamates’ and ‘The Aam Aadmi Family’ and many such series speak for the phenomenon of Indian web shows. Web series are pushing the envelop by delving into complex themes as varied as gay rights, premarital cohabitation and a modernistic take on marriage and sexuality.

Indian web series to watch out for in 2018
With big studio backings and mega stars associating themselves with the web series, 2018 could catapult the Indian web space into a league of its own. ‘The Ministry’, a political satire featuring Irfan Khan, ‘Breath’ starring R. Madhavan and ‘Sacred Games’ based on the novel by Vikram Chandra to be directed by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwani are some of the web series to watch out for in 2018.

Authored by Prof. Rahul Mate. MSc Mass Communication and MA English Literature Dept. of Assistant Professor, Journalism and Mass Communication, Vishwakarma University, Pune

Linkedlin Post For Management Education Entrepreneurship 1

Management education acts as a fertile ground to develop entrepreneurial skills, independent thinking, ability to spot the opportunities, risk taking ability etc. For students driven to be entrepreneurs, a good blend of theoretical grounding and practical exposure and interaction with entrepreneurs could be a boon. To instill confidence in their ideas classroom education and attitudinal training in entrepreneurship should go hand in hand.

To do so, the students would extensively need to be exposed to real life situations by giving them an opportunity to participate in business plan competitions on a regular basis, handling live industry projects often. Successful entrepreneurs can also be roped in, to share their experiences with the students about the challenges faced by them, opportunities in the market, knowledge about financial assistance. More and more interaction with entrepreneurs through guest lectures and seminars/conferences and close association with senior managers in high growth, innovative companies would go a long way in enlightening the future entrepreneurs. Being associated with entrepreneurs would allow students strategic inputs to start their independent ventures.

Since the job market is likely to reach saturation, the inventory of available jobs may be exhausted soon. Creating entrepreneurs would go a long way towards the development of the economy as well as job creation. The education sector, by encouraging entrepreneurial spirit could itself become an established growth industry. It could provide a hunting ground to discover the hidden entrepreneurs from amongst the otherwise academically talented crop of students. 

Management education remains a crucial opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs for the following reasons:

1. Providing access to versatile relationships
Many universities and educational institutions are contributing to their local startup ecosystem through incubator and accelerator programs. These programs connect young entrepreneurs to real startup resources that are harder to come by when you are starting out on your own. In some cases it leads to job opportunities and access to funding for student-led projects.


2. Enhancing skills through student diversity
MBA and BBA programs offer the opportunity to both work with different personalities on projects and interact with students from different cultures. Learning how to manage groups of people who don’t always agree will be a key to creating a positive work environment in your company.

3. Inculcating leadership qualities and management skills
Half of all businesses fail by their fifth year, and only 80 percent make it past the first. The exposure to entrepreneurship and other management courses that teach skills like leading others in a business setting are vital for succeeding in the competitive environment.
Entrepreneurs are good at identifying ways to make the most of opportunities, so a good management education helps them tap those opportunities more effectively. With their concentration of resources and growing emphasis on providing entrepreneurial experiences, colleges, universities, and other educational programs are the right first step for budding entrepreneurs and leaders looking to make it big in the corporate world.

(The above article is a summary of two research articles and The Forbes Magazine)

References:
1. Waraich, S. B., & Sharma, R. MANAGEMENT EDUCATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
2. Gangaiah, B., & Viswanath, J. (2014). Impact of Indian management education in developing entrepreneurial aspirations and attitudes among management students. Asia Pacific Journal of Research, 1.
3. https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamarruda/2018/02/11/why-aspiring-entrepreneurs-should-put-their-education-first/#7d06c340467c

Authored by Dr. Jayashree Vispute Assistant Prof & HoD CM Department, Vishwakarma University, Pune

Linkedlin Post For The top three skills required by 2020

In the wake of digitalisation and democratization of information, the world is a transformed place. New technologies have led to the proliferation of handheld devices and computers that enable connectivity and allow access to information without traditional dependency on infrastructure of roads.

Diffusion of Technology

We are in the fourth industrial revolution and new technology has blurred the boundaries between physical, digital and biological spaces. Unbelievable as it may sound, it is now possible for machines to manufacture organs/ biological matter. Machines now possess the intelligence based on the digital capability and enormous cognitive ability.

The definition of automobiles has changed to mobility solutions reducing the moving components by more than 80% and the mobility has become a function of electronics and primarily data driven, outdating the classical mechanical engineering of internal combustion engines. The landscape of industry and business has undergone paradigm shift which is evident from the fact that Google is now on the verge of making cars, which in the conventional sense of business definition and domains is unheard of. A self-driven electric delivery van, that could be on UK streets next year, has been unveiled at the Wired 2016 conference in London. The firm manufacturing it claims that the vehicle's stripped-back design and lightweight materials mean it can be assembled by one person in four hours.
This digitally transformed world, is bound to have bearing on human resources development and skill up gradation programmes.

Preparing well-groomed human resource for present and future

The digital transformation, access to information and thereby commoditization of knowledge has posed new challenges for academia. As per the world economic forum publication, the top three skills required by 2020 are - complex information processing, critical thinking and creativity (the three Cs). Academic community and Universities will have to respond to these transitions without compromising the essential aspect of core teaching-learning and development of student ability in the new context.

It is important to inculcate the essential skill set or the three Cs as an integral part of the human resource grooming in view of these challenges. Universities are springs of knowledge, and an enriched source of well-groomed human resource. The onus lies with them to produce human resource, which can respond and adapt to the technological diffusions, contribute to society and industry and keep pace with the swift paradigm transition.

There is an emergence of learning, un-learning and re-learning cycle to adapt to the changes in the existing human resource in the industry. This necessitates another role of academia in terms of providing anyone, anytime and anywhere the skills for capacity development. The “ability to adapt” is imperative to develop the existing work force for the industry to embrace the changes.

The diffusion of digitalization in the world of machines, humans and for that matter every single aspect surrounding us has resulted in the generation of humongous data. This leads to the task of processing this data in the meaningful context. It has become a tool that transcends all the boundaries of specializations. There is a pressing need for inter-disciplinary skill sets and should be incorporated in the educational system. In the age of industry revolution, the future holds many challenges, let’s be prepared for them.

Authored by Dr. Sidharth Jabade Vice Chancellor, Vishwakarma University, Pune

linkedin article

A third year Science student in college, Mansi usually beams with life, is always raring to learn new skills and challenge her own boundaries. But lately an existential dilemma seemed to have gripped her. She is often downcast and anxious.

Today, like any other day she helped her mom getting her younger brother off to school and rushed to college. As she hopped on to her scooty, she couldn't help thinking of the time when she vehemently resisted the pressure to apply for Engineering and Medical entrance exams after Clas XII. She had grown up in this city and the thought of relocating to a new city, leaving her friends and family unsettled her. So she stayed back, enrolling herself in a science course. Two years had passed in a wink! Mansi was now in her third year of college and clueless as to what she wanted to do with her future. She was never been a bookworm and had always believed in combining academics with extra curricular activities. In the last two years, along with her studies she had learned a foreign language, tried her hand at music, painting and dancing. But after all this she still feels lost. Had she gambled her career away because of her choices? Was she a jack of all trades and master of none? With her head clouded with self doubt she reached college.

The college was organizing a seminar on Interdisciplinary studies. She had little idea of what that meant. The resource person in the seminar dashed out mind boggling figures. He informed them that by 2022, 9% of Indians would be in jobs that did not even exist today. He said that 60%-65% of the Indian workforce in the IT-BPM would be deployed in jobs that have radically changed skill sets, followed by 55%-60% in BFSI and 50%-55% in the automotive sector. Exponential technologies in the advanced markets were expected to improve productivity by 15-20% in the next five years, he added. Increasing demand for business innovation, creation of highly optimized supply chains, the launch of smart connected products/services, new work arrangements, and the demand for a planet with sustainability would require human resource with interdisciplinary skills, aptitude and knowledge. Need for a constant search for faster, better, cheaper and user friendly solutions to satisfy the new age is on the rise, he concluded finally.

Overwhelmed by the complicated data and figures, all Mansi could comprehend was that interdisciplinary skills were going to shape the future of the job market. After the seminar, Mansi headed to Prof. Despande’s office to seek some clarity. Prof. Deshpande, was hugely popular amongst students for his academic brilliance and friendly disposition.

“Sir, I am so confused! I cant figure out what to do with my future after I pass out of college. Should I apply for a Master’s degree? Should I take up a job? But I don't know what is it that I want to do in the long run! I am interested in too many things!” Mansi blurted out without pausing to take a breath.

Prof. Despande was slightly taken aback by the volley of questions being thrown at him. But he smiled gently and asked Mansi to sit down. He explained “Mansi you have numerous skills. You are a good cook. You can paint and dance and play music. You can speak a foreign language and you have a degree in Science too! You can do whatever you like.”

The expression on Mansi’s face turned from curious to perplexed. ‘I don't think I understand you Sir,’ she said.

Prof. Despande explained further “The world is moving on from a narrow approach to problem solving to a more eclectic approach. You should focus on acquiring as many different skills as possible and train yourself to come up with creative solutions to problems. Interdisciplinary studies is the way ahead. The rationale for interdisciplinary studies lies in our observation that, in the world of matter and life, there is very thin separation of different disciplines of knowledge. The world has recognized that all the sciences need to be employed in understanding humans and their relationship with the environment. Therefore in this century, interdisciplinarity is increasingly becoming an important approach in our understanding of the natural and social worlds. And the persons having interdisciplinary knowledge, skills and aptitude are becoming key persons for jobs involving problem solving tasks.”

Professor Despande continued “The word ‘Educate’ in Latin means ‘to draw out’. Therefore etymologically, to educate means we draw out knowledge. So to teach interdisciplinarity means to expose the students to a situation in which interdisciplinarity is required. Provide them with some vital information. The students observes, listens, thinks and analyzes the situation, finds the best possible solution or opportunity to deal with the situation effectively. In this process the student learns and acquires knowledge. Once trained, the student is able to face a new situation and skillfully analyze it, and therefore, whatever skills are required for the new new jobs the student easily adapts to them.”

“Okay…I understand but how do I choose what to study” Manasi mumbled.

Well! the choice must be based on your inherent nature, the innate bent known as passion, the distinct passion which defines individuality. From an early age the passion manifests in a student as a clear tendency, a clear inclination towards say engineering, painting, music, medicine, history, philosophy, writing, speaking etc. This tendency arising out of passion is said to be one’s own nature. So draw out the skills in your own nature, and then build your career around it by enhancing your interdisciplinary skills.
“Sir can you please suggest any definite course for me that will derive me towards interdisciplinarity?” she asked eagerly.

“Sure! For a person like you, I would suggest you to opt for professional education in interdisciplinary studies which a lot of new age state private universities are offering these days. The Government of India has recently initiated a skill gap bridging programme under which they have identified the current and future (2012 to 2022) skills and manpower requirement by the industry and estimated the skill gap that exists today. They have identified that in sectors like organized retail, logistics and supply chain, business analytics, tourism and hospitality, banking finance and insurance, youth like you equipped with interdisciplinary skills would be required.”

“Great! Thank you very much, Sir”, Mansi chirped. Having cleared some of the cobwebs in her mind and new hopes springing in her heart she lightly bounced out of the office, visibly relieved.

Source used:
FICCI-NASSCOM & EY- Future of Jobs- report. Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/62052943.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Authored by Prof. (Dr.) Sunil D. Doke. Dept. of Professional and Vocational Courses under Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies, Vishwakarma University, Pune

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