1. An Indian Perspective on IT & Engineering Programs: The Quality Imperative Vijay Bhatkar International Institute of Information Technology, Pune, India

2. India: The Knowledge-based Civilization World’s first knowledge-based civilization since the Vedic times, 5000 years back Veda = Knowledge Vast knowledge heritage through the centuries First universities (Taxila, Nalanda) were borne here Invention of zero, decimal system, and early advances in language, mathematics, astronomy, etc. credited to India. Richest country of the world till the 11 th century In the 20 th century, India was termed as a rich country where poor people live

3. India: The Economic Miracle in the Making A nation of 1 billion+ people (not a billion mouths to be fed by a billion minds to be unleashed) Fourth largest economy in the world in terms of PPP GDP expected to grow at a rate 7% plus in 2003-4 To emerge as world’s 3 rd economic superpower by 2050 World’s 2 nd largest S&T manpower now World’s largest English speaking nation by 2010 Synonymous with Information Technology now

4. A Huge Market Potential for Education 1 billion plus population Education No. 1 priority for parents Enrollments at Higher Education level growing at 7% plus in last few decades

5. Stupendous Growth in Higher Education Segment A culture of propensity for higher education in India, supported by a strong institutional framework No. of UGC recognized universities increased from 27 in 1950-51 to 272 in 2001-02; colleges from 580 to 11,100 in the same period Enrollment of 8 million graduates & post-graduates in 2001

6. Government’s Role in Education Sector The role of Government in higher education has progressively decreased over the years. The Government spend on higher education has come down from 33% to 19% over the last decades. This trend is expected to continue, as the Government is targeting the goal of “Education for all” at the elementary education level.

7. Government’s Role in Education Sector Budgetary allocation across segments USD (Bn) Primary education0.80 Secondary education 0.21 Higher education0.14 Total1.15 Budgetary allocation for higher education has been frozen at 1991-92 levels Budgetary Constraint of the Government has been an important driver for the opening-up of the higher education segment to private investment.

8. Increase in Private Sector Participation There has been a significant increase in the number of higher education institutes promoted by the private sector A bulk of the recent growth has occurred in the engineering & management segments: - In the last decade the number of engineering colleges have trebled from 400 to 1200 - Presently, there are around 750 management institutions in the country However, a number of the new entrants have not been able to match upto the quality benchmarks of publicly funded premier institutes.

9. Gap in Quality Education in India Although the number of students enrolled in higher education institutes has grown significantly over the years… Growth in Enrollments – Higher Education

10. Gap in Quality Education in India …However, there remains a sizeable unmet demand for top quality professional education InstituteAnnual Intake Average number of applicants IIT’s 3,800170,000-> 2% success rate IIM’s 1,250130,000-> 1% success rate Besides, barely 50 of the 750 recognized management institutes make it to the serious recruiters list.

11. Significant Growth in the Number of Students Opting to Go Abroad The unmet demand is partially met by students going overseas to earn professional qualifications particularly in the areas of engineering, IT, management and medicine Indian Students in Foreign Universities - US accounts for the largest share (74%) - There has been a 58% increase in the number of students going to US in the past two years - About 75% of the students go for higher education On an average a student going to the US spends in the range of USD 20,000 to USD 40,000 on tuition fee alone

12. Summary of Key Trends in Indian Higher Education India has a strong base for higher education, and this segment has registered over 7% compounded growth over the past few decades Traditionally, the Government has been the biggest funder of higher education; However, this has changed in the last decade, and Government spending has decreased significantly during this period. Changes in the regulatory framework have also enabled private investment in this sector. The Private Sector has moved in to fill this gap; but there is a distinct gap in quality in most of the newer entrants. There is a big demand for quality higher education, and number of Indian students going overseas for higher education in engineering, IT and management has seen a steep increase.

13. India Emerging as IT Superpower IT has crossed US$ 13 billion & ICT $ 20 billion Present growth rate 25% plus per annum GDP share 4% plus; export share 25% plus Significant increase in employment opportunities in ICT sector Number of professionals in IT sector increased from 160,000 to 650,000 in 5 years IT will cross US$ 80 billion in 2008; ICT US$ 100 billion

14. IT Industry: Targets for 2008 (Software) In US$ Billion Total Production (Export Target) IT Services38.05(23) Software Products19.5(08) ITeS19.0(15) E-Business10.0(04) Total87.0(50) Source: MIT X Plan Study Team

15. Software Manpower Break-up for 2008 (In Million) Segment MIT Study NASSCOM / McKinsey IT Services 0.58) 1.10 Software Products 0.20) ITeS 1.26) 1.10 E-Business 0.33) Total 2.37 2.20

16. IT Manpower Projections for 2008 (in Millions) Software2.2 Hardware - Direct1.6 - Indirect3.2 Total7.0 Source: Task Force on HRD & McKinsey Report

17. Supply of IT Manpower (2000) Colleges Awarding Engineering Degrees776 Colleges Awarding MCA Degrees494 Total Colleges1270 Total Intake 200,000 (Appx.) IT Courses Intake60,000 (33%) + IITs, IIITs, IISc7000 (1200 in IT (courses) Total IT Intake 73,000

18. Projections on Availability of IT Manpower by 2008 Graduates785,000 Post-Graduates263,000 IITs, IIITs, IISc 12,000 Total Availability 1060,000

19. IT Skills in Demand Programmers/Engineers/Analyst/41% Computer Scientists Internet/e-Commerce Applications/Web Designers19% Database Administrators/Developers11% Network Specialists/Telecom Engineers14% Digital Media & Technical Writing 5% ITeS Managers/Engineers10%

20. Life Skills Required Communication Skills/Technical Writing Skills Project Management/Time Management Team Work Stress Management/Emotion Management Multi-Ethnic Culture Ethics,Values & Attitude IQ, EQ & SQ

21. The Quality Issue Rigid and outdated course curricula Inability to adapt course curricula to dynamic industry requirements Poor lab infrastructures Limited exposure to latest tools & techniques Limited exposure to industry problems Poor industry linkages Best do not come to academics to teach Little R&D Inability to enter into emerging areas Problems of economic viability No significant endowments/grants/donations

22. The Quality Issue (Pedagogy) Examination Orientation Insufficient grounding in theoretical concepts Inability to explain applied framework Inadequate lab/tools & techniques infrastructure Little real-life case studies Little scope for creative learning

23. Strategy for High-Quality High-End Education Program in ICT & Emerging Technologies Increase in No. of IITs/IIMs – Capacity Increase in each Institute Upgradation of RECs as NITs Consolidation of IIITs with Private Sector Involvement New World Class Institutes/Corporate Universities High-End ICT & Emerging Technology Education with Global Collaborations Distance Education through Advanced e-Learning Environment

24. Drivers for New Strategy Demand Drivers Significant Growth in New Technology Industries: - IT - Communications - Biotechnology - Bioinformatics - Nanotechnology Gap In High-Quality Higher Education in India

25. . Supply Constraints - Limited Quality Graduate Institutes - Constraints in Capacity Increase in Existing Publicly Funded Institutes India’s Global Positioning - India’s Brand Equity in ICT - India’s Emergence as a Global R&D Hub

26. India’s Emergence as a Global R&D Hub Availability of High-Quality Low-Cost S&T Manpower Over 100 of Fortune 500 Companies have set-up R&D bases in India. These R&D bases have been remarkably cost-effective Over 1000 patents filed The new phenomenon of “brain-gain” Increase in demand for highly skilled resources in frontier areas of IT, S&T, and Tech

27. New Areas for Advanced Education ICT - Microelectronics & VLSI - Embedded Technology - Advanced Networking - Wireless Technologies - Web-Services Architectures & Applications - Advanced Database, Data-warehousing& Data-mining - e-Manufacturing - ITeS

28. New Areas for Advanced Education (contd.) Biotechnology Bioinformatics & Biocomputing Environmental Technology Management of ITeS/BPOs Advanced Technology Management

29. Success & Failures: Lessons Learnt IITs & IIMs emerged as world-class institutions However, recent Government signals on Policy Changes have created confusion Capacity expansion taking time Upgradation plan of RECs to NITs is slow IIITs with State Government involvement is a mixed success (IISE, Mumbai closed) Creating research and industry linkages is a major challenge I 2 IT started with a private initiative shines as a successful model

30. Summary India poised for an explosive growth in ICT India emerging as a global R&D Hub From brain drain to brain gain Millions of jobs will be created in ICT & other emerging technology areas Quality issues will have to be addressed Private Sector world class institutions will emerge with global collaborations India will reclaim its ancient heritage of the world’s most advanced knowledge-based civilization called “Bharat”.