A wide range of technological skills coupled with social values are a prerequisite for engineering students to become successful professionals in the Information Technology (IT), said S. Krishnan, Secretary, Union Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, on Friday.
Speaking at the Second International Conference on Emerging Trends in Information Technology and Engineering (ic-ETITE’24), which was organised by VIT at its campus here, Mr. Krishnan said students, especially those in diverse campuses like the VIT’s, have an opportunity not only to acquire technological skills but also to learn social values from their peers from other States and countries. Such social skills coupled with technological adept remain a prerequisite in today’s IT sector in the country. “Due to the lack of such social values, IT professionals today do more harm to the sector by misusing technology than for social good,” he said.
Highlighting the importance of the current generation of engineering students for IT growth in the country, the IT secretary said that at present, the IT sector contributes around 20% of the total economic growth in the country. In such a scenario, the role of engineering students in the present generation is crucial in the growth of the country’s economy. “Students should specialise themselves in various technological fields like artificial intelligence, electronics, and robotics to meet industrial requirements,” he said.
He stressed the need for more collaboration between academic institutions and the industry, especially frequent hands-on training, workshops, and internships for students in companies. It will help students to improvise on their technological and innovation skills, and prepare themselves for industries. Only a handful of educational institutions in the country were providing such frequent interactions between engineering students and the industry, he said.
Narendra S Chaudhari, vice-chancellor, Assam Science and Technology University, In-Ho Ra, professor, School of Software, Kunsan National University, Republic of Korea, and Sankar Viswanathan, vice-president, VIT, were present at the event.
