Imperatives for an Operative Engineering Pipeline Brig (Dr) R S Grewal Vice Chancellor, Chitkara University 2010 ASEE Global Colloquium – Track 1 Keeping the Engineering Pipeline Filled – Attracting Young Talent to Engineering in the New Economy October 20, 2010

Present Environment in India and challenges faced Key Factors – Why such skewed environment Likely consequences – the looming predicament Some recommendations Preview

Adequate capacity created in engineering colleges Intake capacity for Bachelors 1.08 million * 2906 Technical Institutes * Skewed demand and supply due to artificial increase in number of institutions; No. of seats remain vacant Challenges Masters and Doctoral level programmes not the preferred choice Low preference to programmes dealing with basic sciences Average / Below par quality of Technical Institutions Deficiency of high quality faculty Present Environment * Source:

Growth Rate: Graduate Engineers * Source: Study “Engineering Education in India”; Rangan Banerjee, Vinayak P Muley; IIT, Mumbai, Dec 16, 2008 India 10 Germany 0.9 UK 3.9 USA -1 S Korea 5.9 Japan 1.6 China

Engineering Graduates per Million Population * Source: Study “Engineering Education in India”; Rangan Banerjee, Vinayak P Muley; IIT, Mumbai, Dec 16, 2008 Steady rise in demand for Engineering Graduates across the past fifty years, across geographies

Output Comparison of Output : Bachelors & Masters BACHELORS CAGR Graduates : 12% Number of Graduates 2008 : 350,000 Number of Institutions : 1668 CAGR Institutions : 6.2% CAGR Masters : 11.6% Number of Masters 2006 : Number of Masters 2008 : MASTERS * Source: Study “Engineering Education in India”; Rangan Banerjee, Vinayak P Muley; IIT, Mumbai, Dec 16, 2008

Percentage of Masters Output to Graduate Engineers Output Masters vs Bachelors Percentage * Source: Study “Engineering Education in India”; Rangan Banerjee, Vinayak P Muley; IIT, Mumbai, Dec 16, 2008

Students Graduating at Masters and Doctoral Levels IndiaUSA Engineering Masters’ Output20,000 (2006)35,000 (2003) % Engineering Masters to Bachelors Output 8.5%50% No. of Engineering Ph Ds~ % of Engineering Ph Ds to Bachelors’ output * Source: Study “Engineering Education in India”; Rangan Banerjee, Vinayak P Muley; IIT, Mumbai, Dec 16, 2008 India needs to encourage students to take up Masters and Doctoral level programmes

Output: PG, Doctorates and Salaries Postgraduate & Doctoral Output Output : Masters Programme YearNumber% of Sanctioned GraduatedIntake ~23,00057 Doctorates: Annual number for 2007 : 1000 to 1100 Growth Rate 1954 – 2005 : 8% per year Ph D Output to Graduate Engineer Output : Between 1 to 3% Average Salaries Degree Annual Salary (INR) Bachelors 510,000 Masters 420,000 Doctorate 700,000 (Figs for IITs only) * Source: Study “Engineering Education in India”; Rangan Banerjee, Vinayak P Muley; IIT, Mumbai, Dec 16, 2008

Low technology based society content with import rather than research and development Fast expanding economy needs engineers to keep processes operative and need skilled manpower for repetitive work Students enticed away by industry after completion of bachelors’ degrees Short term profit motives inhibit R&D investment by industry Absence of role model technologists and scientists for younger generation to emulate as compared to large number of management experts Economy dominated by services sector Why Such Skewed Environment?

Academia Poor infrastructure and problem of lack of intellectual capital Theory based curriculum with hardly any emphasis on practical applications fails to fulfill aspirations of students Lack of emphasis to produce problem solvers Wide fluctuations in demand and supply of specializations Disparity in compensation packages: Managers vs. Engineers Why such Skewed Environment ? (contd)

Knowledge creation neglected Institutions not producing problem solvers Famine of faculty likely to become more acute; applied sciences may be worst affected; engineering no better Lack of stimulating environment likely to deter students from taking up engineering Knowledge economy will soon demand personnel with R&D skills and suffer due to paucity The Looming Predicament

Some Recommendations Time to act now before the engineering pipeline dries up Multi-pronged strategy to include changing mindset of society Students and Parents: Job security vis a vis career growth Academia: Develop ‘Executive’ M Tech/ME and other multi-disciplinary programmes with an element of Management; add incentives for ME/M Tech programmes; Faculty Development Programmes like IUCEE and Mission 10X Industry: Greater emphasis on creative work; seek problem solvers Hiring of ‘Mentor Professors’ to boost R&D Help in research and to create exciting careers; offer incentives Improve career options for engineers including forecasting

What more can be done to ensure that the present engineering education system : - (a) Provides right type of knowledge workers for national development? (b) Is capable of nurturing the future leadership to meet the needs of R&D in the Industry? Some Points for Discussion

Thank You