New Delhi: In a major reform in Higher Education, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked the colleges to introduce Short-Term Skill Development courses on their campuses.
In a detailed guideline published on its official website, the UGC has also released a list of courses that can be introduced by the Higher Educational Institutes (HEIs).
The objective behind the latest UGC notification is to provide holistic and specialized education with a focus on practical training, enabling individuals to acquire hands-on experience and develop a deep understanding of industry practices and standards to enhance the employability of learners through skill development.
The UGC has advised to the Higher Educational Institutes to reach out to the industries associated and linked with the listed courses to establish the skill development courses on the college campuses.
“The objective is to utilize the expertise of skilled practitioners / professional / industry experts for training the skilled workforce, and to strengthen the HEI-industry linkages through an internship or on-the-job training (OJT)”, the UGC said.
Some of the courses suggested by the UGC are Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, IoT (Internet of Things)/ Industrial IoT/Smart Cities, Data Science and Analytics, Cloud Computing, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Extended Reality, Cyber Security and Digital Forensics, 5G Connectivity, Digital Fluency / Digital transformation, Industrial Automation and Robotics Process Automation (RPA), Electronic System Designs/ VLSI Designs, Electronic Manufacturing and Basic Coding in Computing Languages etc.
The target group for these courses are anyone who has passed the 10+2 / Senior Secondary Examination or its equivalent and is eligible for admission to any undergraduate programme of the HEI, the UGC said.
The UGC in its notification further said that the centre shall maintain a profile of local job opportunities, Skill requirements for the local industry in the region and will provide data support for these courses, and it shall also monitor the design, adoption and delivery of the short-duration skill development courses.
The UGC further said that the centre shall publish information such as the nomenclature of the short- term skill development courses, number of seats, admission criterion, course structure, fee structure, details of admitted students, certificates issued for each course, etc., on the HEI's website as mandatory disclosure.
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