Rakesh Reddy, an engineer by training and a developmental activist by conviction unravels as to how the latent creative energies of the Indian youth can be unleashed.
Q. How relevant & equipped is India’s Engineering education to take on the global challenges as mentioned above in President Obama’s exhortation in the context of India?
India’s Engineering Education is at cross roads. In a bid to balance to the growing demand for technical education and quality, we have compromised on the latter. The quality of engineers we churn out every year is appalling. Simply speaking, we are not at all ready to neither take on the challenges nor make use of the opportunities presented.
Q. What are the specific roadblocks which are holding back the creative energies of Indians?
The course curriculum is outdated in most universities and there is very little academia – industry interaction to understand what is needed. While we have the advantage of numbers, this advantage is going to be futile if we do not focus on Research and Innovation. The environment in the colleges is not conducive to research and there is very little incentive for innovation. In a way, the engineering education has turned into churning out products suitable for the service industry.