The Karnataka Government is working on making education industry-relevant, further to its initiative last year where it introduced a unique degree programme with apprenticeship, the Minister for Higher Education, Dr. M.C.Sudhakar said while making the valedictory address at the Global Women Entrepreneurs Summit here in Bengaluru.
The Minister said that the programme was in four areas B.com in Logistics; B.Com in Retail; B.Com in E-commerce and B.Com in Banking and Finance where the students get to do apprentice in the 5th and 6th semesters. These students, he said, would be industry-ready. The government, he added, was looking at other focus areas too as to improve skilling, particularly in government institutions, and has started working with industry partners to make the syllabus relevant to the industry needs.
Talking about the surge in the number of women entrepreneurs in Karnataka, the Minister said it was heartening to see that they were achieving enormous success in entrepreneurship, in a male-dominated society. The number of girls who are graduating from various educational institutions is growing and nearly 70 per cent of the girls in any institution do well, including walking away with more gold medals.
This trend would continue and there would be more women entrepreneurs in the near future, further signalling how women were getting empowered. Irrespective of gender, the Minister said, the government was aware that the present education system was not conducive for industrial growth and the department of education was seriously looking at this issue. The focus areas would shift to skilling and entrepreneurship, he said and mentioned that the syllabus had to become dynamic than static for which industry inputs would be essential.
Bengaluru has the necessary infrastructure for innovation as can be seen with the growth of many startups and the IT industry thriving. However, with rapid technological developments, he said, it was necessary for educational institutions to be in sync with what is happening in the industrial realm.
The Global Women Entrepreneurs Summit attracted women from across the world. Talking about the Summit, Radhika Shetty, President of eMERG (Engineering Manufacturers Entrepreneurs Resource Group), said that the summit provided a platform to further empower women in the business landscape.
The Founder and Past President of eMERG, Uma Reddy highlighted the programmes eMERG has been undertaking for women to participate in more numbers in entrepreneurial development. She said that there is still a long way to go, but the right steps are being taken and appreciated the efforts of the government in supporting women-driven programmes.