Lockdown is coming to an end and the world is gradually returning to its normal. Now, the question is – will the world become tech driven in post-lockdown? Or will there be still the debate between Engineering and Humanities? Experts like Dr Neelam Upadhyay and Dr P Shankar have shared their opinion in this regard.
- Corona virus has caused health as well as economic crisis. As a result, job market is hit badly. Will this affect the choice of courses for students?
Dr P Shankar: The world has already become technology-driven and technology is expected to have greater emphasis in near future. Big data, automation, IoT and artificial intelligence are in use and they help the industry to become more resilient to disasters and pandemics in future.
Dr Neelam Upadhyay: Students should see carefully the strategies adopted by the companies. They need manpower and they are not stopping hiring process. She suggests that students should take this pandemic situation as a chance to prepare themselves with all the necessary skills. there is likely to be no changes in courses that are offered but, there will be restructuring of engineering program. Emphasis will be more on interdisciplinary exercises which are only practiced in some renowned institutes only.
- Engineering has been adding and updating its list of subjects in the last few years. Is this based on the feedback from industry?
Dr P Shankar: Industry demands students who are job-ready and universities are grooming students in the like manner. However, curriculum needs to be updated periodically and for this, institutes should keep track of the current technology trends.
Dr Neelam Upadhyay: According to her, curriculum in India has not been received for long. Many institutes are still following the old curriculum and so, engineering students are not acquiring proper skills and are incapable of addressing any current market trend. Hence, they are turning out to be unemployable. After Prime Minister’s introduction of Make in India project that the institutes have started proposing changes.
- Brightest students go abroad and India faces brain drain. Is the situation still the same or is it changing?
Dr Neelam Upadhyay: Unfortunately, the situation in India is still the same. Many bright students are going abroad, especially in the USA as it offers better opportunities. So, there is a brain drain in our country till date.
This pandemic situation is a global issue and therefore, normalcy will be restored globally as well. However, technology has received more emphasis in recent times but, you should not forget that humanities teach to be creative and solve problems innovatively. It also induces critical thinking together with other things. So, with normalcy nothing is likely to change much except a little more focus on technology.
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