Manpower Development: Role of Industry – University Partnership

1 Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600 036, India. Tel: 91-44-2578297, FAX: 91-44-2572545/ 2570509, email: [email protected] Abstract − The most important factors of national competitiveness veer around the skilled human resources. The ascendancy of information technology and the intellectual capital in the current millenium would bring in a sea change in the global scene through cross-cultural synthesis irrespective of creed, color and religion. The explosion of scientific and technological marvels coupled with the fast confluence of a panorama of growing expectations of the millenium brings in the urgency and efficacy of forging long lasting partnership between industries and universities. With the Indian scene as the backdrop, its 132 rank among 174 countries is deplorable; more so when it possesses the world’s largest population of trained personnel in science and technology. Its population, recently, has crossed one billion. For exploiting such vital human resource, India needs to have development plans with vision and dedication. As a broad framework of tasks for manpower development, the focus of the study is in the context of skill generation and productive applications, dynamic partnership of universities and industry and knowledge management. Finally, a framework for nationwide knowledge management is quoted for forging a viable and vibrant partnership of the industrial organizations and the academic institutes.