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Capacity Development in GIS Rajeev Shorey (Ph.D, FNAE) President, NIIT University India 8 February 2012
Capacity Development in GIS
Rajeev Shorey (Ph.D, FNAE)
President,
NIIT University
India
8 February 2012
Agenda
• GIS: A Multidisciplinary Space• Approaches to Capacity Building in GIS• Need for a Research Driven Culture• Industry Interface• NU 4 Core Principles• Conclusion
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What is GIS?
• Integrates hardware, software, and data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information
• GIS allows us to view, understand, question, interpret, and visualize data in many ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts
• GIS technology can be integrated into any enterprise information system framework
http://www.esri.com/what-is-gis/overview.html#overview_panel
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GIS: Multi-Disciplinary Space
Geographic Information
System
Software
Data Mining
Pattern Recognition
Graphics & Data Visualization
Hardware
Geographical User Interface
Data Analytics
Statistics
Important Statistics
• India has the youngest population in the World– Current Median age
• India: less than 26• Europe: 40+• Japan: 44+• China: 35+
• Unique opportunity for India in Education today !
Reference: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2177.html
Important Statistics
• Current employability rate is around 25% for Engineers in IT Industry
• And out of non-engineering graduates, only 10-15% are suitable for employment in BPO industry
Source: NASSCOM
Growth of Engineering Degree Level Institutions
2007-08 # Institutions Annual Admission Capacity
AICTE Approved Engineering Degree
1668 653,290
MCA 1017 70,513
2008-09 # Institutions Annual Admission Capacity
AICTE Approved Engineering Degree
2388 820,000
Source: Annual Report MHRD, Data from AICTE and Banerjee & Muley Report
Acute Shortage of Skilled Manpower
• Nasscom-Mckinsey Report (2005)– Shortage of 500,000 engineers in IT and ITES sector alone in
2010
• Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of Higher Education– GoI Decision to raise from present 10-15% by end of 11th plan to
22% by the end of 12th plan
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Alarming Statistics
• More than 1500 Technical Institutions• Total intake of nearly 5,70,000
• Research is non-existent in all but about 15-20 of these 1500 colleges
• Poor quality of Engineering Education• August 2010, HRD Minister
– 35 percent posts are vacant in the central universities– 25 percent in the IIMs– 33.33 percent in the National Institute of Technology– 35.1 percent in other central education institutions coming up under the Human
Resource Development (HRD) Ministry
• Serious crisis of talent pool in India !
Talent Crunch in the Corporate Sector
• India is finding it hard to fill in key positions in research, sales and IT– Lack of training and experience
• “67% of employers in India are experiencing difficulty filling mission-critical positions within their organizations such as R&D, sales and information technology (IT) staff”
• 6th annual talent shortage survey by global human resource, consultancy and staffing firm ManpowerGroup– http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/
India_Inc_faces_talent_crunch_in_RD_sales_and_IT-nid-83716-cid-3.html
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Example: China
• China tries to lure overseas talent– http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-03/20/
content_7601875.htm
• Under a new program to hire 1,000 overseas specialists, the central government will offer each 1 million yuan (US$146,000) in subsidies– 65 Lakhs an year !
• If employed, they will also be able to enjoy fundamental social security policies including medical care and pensions
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Globalization Today
• Need to Compete in a Global Open economy• Highly Dynamic Environment
– Adaptive Organizations– With products and services originating in India as well as
abroad, Indian companies cannot remain static• Continuous Innovation (Innovate or Perish)
– Innovation in Teaching Methodology, Processes, …– Institutions must innovate constantly, in products and
processes in India and abroad
What is the Approach to Capacity Development?
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Create a Research Driven Culture
• Research– A Mindset– Innovation & Creativity– Continuous improvement and improvisation of
methods, products and solutions – Partnerships
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Focus on Innovation, Creativity, IP
• Complete lack of understanding of IP in India in comparison to USA, Europe and China
• Example– 2004– Number of Patent Applications in USA: 181,299
• http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/us_stat.htm– Number of Patent Applications in India: 3630
• http://www.rkdewan.com/pdfs/other/applicantsSurvey.pdf
• In today’s Knowledge Society, Intellectual Property will be a Key Differentiator towards providing Quality in Engineering Education
• Need to seriously focus on Innovation that leads to IP
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Creativity & Innovation“Never before in history has innovation offered promise of so much to so many in so short a time” (Bill Gates)
Create Industry-Linked Culture
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Explore and Encourage Partnerships
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Collaborative Framework
Governments• Centre• States
Universities• Public• Private
Private Players• Local• Multinationals
Partnerships: The NU Example
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GISCollaborative Framework
Experts in the Advisory Board
Universities• University of Redlands, USA• NIAS, Bangalore
Private Companies• ESRI, India• ESRI, USA
Corporatization of GIS: Merits
• Benefit of current, state-of-the-art education• Industry-linked education• Access to experts in partner organizations• Visiting/Adjunct faculty from corporations• Continuous feedback from industry
– Enhances the quality of the program• Key benefits
– Placements– Long term interaction– Learn corporate culture well ahead of time – Internships– …
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Focus on Quality, Quantity will Follow
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NIIT UniversityVISION
To be the leading centre of innovation and learning in emerging areas of
the Knowledge Society
MISSIONTo foster research, discovery and sustainability
To deliver distinctive education through the pioneering use of technology
To develop talent for sustainable growth of industry and society
To nurture a culture of seamlessness in all facets of life
CORE PRINCIPLES
• Industry-Linked
• Research Driven
• Technology Based
• Seamless
MASTERPLAN
Conclusion
• Organizations and Academic Institutions need to stretch to hire the best talent and more importantly “retain” the talent
• We need to leave No Stone Unturned to ensure high quality talent
• The challenges are herculean and need to be solved through Incentives, Partnerships & Collaborations
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Key Enablers: 21st Century University
21st CenturyUniversity
Cross-Disciplinary Areas
Address Burning Societal Needs(Active Citizen)
Academia-Industry Interaction
CollaborationsDomestic &International(Exchange Programs)
Innovation(Centres of Excellence)
Knowledge Economy
ThoughtLeaders
Entrepreneurship
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21st Century Learner
Globalization Today
• Need to Compete in a Global Open economy• Highly Dynamic Environment
– Adaptive Organizations– With products and services originating in India as well as
abroad, Indian companies cannot remain static• Continuous Innovation (Innovate or Perish)
– Innovation in Teaching Methodology, Processes, …– B-Schools must innovate constantly, in products and
processes in India and abroad– Has a potential to become a ‘Key Differentiator’
• Create meaningful Partnerships with organizations and academic institutions in India and abroad
• Need to nurture Managers with Global Mindset
Facts• MBA is the most job oriented educational program
– The program needs to be in sync with the demands of the workplace
• The entry of corporates has ensured that those who pass MBA have to be ready for the workplace on the first day itself
• Corporates are worried about the large amount of time that they have to spend on students who pass from job oriented programs before they become day one productive
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Facts
• Corporates perceive a gap in what the industry demands and what the B schools offer in terms of curriculum and delivery
• Most of the B School Students seldom have a feel of the workplace ecosystem
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Challenges
• The phrase “Corporatization of MBA Education” leads to a conclusion that corporates may have an interest in controlling higher education– This is a misconception
• The objective should not be to affect academic freedom in any way
• The core issue is to do away with the disconnect between job oriented technology & management programs and the real workplace
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Merits
• Entry of corporates is likely to bring about the much needed capital infusion in higher education segment
• Entry of corporates will also support lifelong learning that is accessible to everyone
• Education is a rewarding experience that should not be restricted to a certain timeframe, place, or a rigid format, as it is happening now
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Road Ahead
• We all need to focus on ‘Quality’• Need to be selective about new programs
– Choose the area/s carefully• Need to ensure a Win-Win between Academic
Institution and Corporate world • Key Challenges
– Frequent open communication and exchange of ideas
– How to continuously innovate in an ever changing world !
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Solution to the Knowledge Divide
• What should the Government do?– Fund the Tier 2 and Tier 3 institutions that show promise
• Established institutions are already well funded and have an excellent infrastructure
– Mandate that all funded institutes contribute towards nation building
• Use the funded institutes as test-bed for innovation/research/experiments
– Research should be used to solve practical and current problems being faced in society
– Crate an environment for ‘Innovation’– Encourage start-ups with the help from Industry and NGOs
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Knowledge Divide
• Leverage Communication Technologies– Lessons from Cell Phone Penetration in India– The next wave of growth in subscriptions will come
from semi—urban and rural areas– Emergence of Utility Mobile Value Added Services
(MVAS)
• Learn from the success of ‘Educational Technology’
• Need of the Hour– Cost-effective, efficient solutions for the masses
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New Initiatives
• Initiatives by the Government of India– Cost-effective solutions
• Affordable Hardware/Equipment• Launch of ‘Akash’ tablet @ US $35 cost
– National Knowledge Network (NKN)– Innovation Universities– IT Research Academy (ITRA)
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Government – Private Partnership
• Vyapaar Sewa (A New Value Added Service)– SASKEN – Department of Telecom Partnership
• Sanchaar Shakti Scheme of Department of Telecom
– Financial assistance provided to women in rural areas– The services enables Livelihood
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What do Private Players need to do to get on to the Knowledge Highway?
• Build Partnerships with like-minded organizations
• Provide expertise and work with GoI in providing an environment of ‘Excellence’
• Spawn ‘start-up’ companies to create neat cost-effective solutions
• Encourage existing ‘start-up’ companies
• Provide Incentives !
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NIIT UniversityMBA in ‘Finance & Planning’
Landmark Collaboration with ICICI Bank
CORE PRINCIPLES
• Industry-Linked
• Research Driven
• Technology Based
• Seamless
“Scientists investigate that which already is; Engineers create that
which has never been”
Albert Einstein
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Core Principles of NIIT UniversityINDUSTRY LINKED TECHNOLOGY BASED
RESEARCH DRIVEN SEAMLESS
