Global Network getting networked in India: Sourcing Talent, Skills and Content

The world has become a “Global Village” and India is fast becoming the hub for this networked world. The Indian education platform is grabbing attention internationally for its expansion in growing and growth driving fields.

The education model all over the world is changing rapidly – from government-owned universities to privately owned ones; from instructor-led training programs to virtual classrooms; and online courses to the industry-led programs. Today’s education system focuses on the employability of its students to address the gaps in industry; the purpose of education is to provide business-ready-managers.

One such model was pioneered in India and it has achieved the status of the first university in Asia to offer domain-specific courses and impart industry-oriented education. The University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), established in 2003, is the first university to be established under Public Private Partnership. Founded by Mr Sanjay Kaul, it was set up with the aim of creating talent that caters to the skill gaps in the Energy, Infrastructure and Transportation sectors, the growth driving sectors of the economy. With a focus on the requirements of the future, the university offers 75 industry-focused programs, the highest number under one banner. The university has recently begun to offer specialization in areas such as Cloud Computing and Virtualization Technologies in line with its mission to design, develop and deliver cutting edge education. UPES has also formed strategic alliances with industry. The Centre for Information Technology (CIT), for example, is an academy-industry alliance between UPES and IBM India aimed at developing a dynamic platform for next generation students to acquire high end IT education at the graduation level.

This domain-specific model is now being eyed by international players in the education sector. The US-based global education giant, Laureate Education Incorporated (LEI), has recently incorporated UPES into their network as a part of their endeavour to re-create a similar domain-specific education center in other parts of the world. It is expected that there will be over 150 million job opportunities in the EIT sector in the near future. LEI plans to leverage this opportunity in its network of more than 75 campus-based and online universities offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs to over 850,000 students spanning across geographies. LEI has an international academic community across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

The global player has set up its Centre of Excellence (CoE) in India to leverage the experience and expertise of UPES, especially in emerging markets.

The UPES model can easily serve as an example to other education verticals such as healthcare and hospitality.