India’s growing economy means that there are an increasing number of jobs and a need for a workforce with the right knowledge, skill sets and qualifications. While on one hand there is a rise in the number of graduates every year; on the other, India Inc. finds it hard to recruit the right candidates. Either the graduates lack the technical expertise required for the job, or have limited/no understanding of non-technical aspects or lack soft skills. The reason for this mismatch is the industry-academia gap, leading to highly qualified students who don’t hit the ground running when they go to work. Instead, companies often have to invest significantly in training, to bring them up to par.
For universities, the industry academia gap represents a challenge: to keep pace with what the industry needs, in time to deliver the right skill mix to their students. This is where universities that have their ear to the ground have a significant advantage.
UPES Dehradun, for instance, has already placed ¾ of its 2022-23 batch of graduates. So far, more than 2000 offers have been made by over 250 recruiters, with a considerable number of students receiving dual offers. The highest CTC offered this placement season has been INR 36 LPA by Autodesk India to a B.Tech Computer Science Engineering student with a specialization in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, while five B.Tech Applied Petroleum Engineering students with a specialization in Gas/ Upstream were recruited by Schlumberger at INR 33 LPA.
Amongst MBA students, an MBA graduate with specialization in Oil & Gas Management was placed at Accenture Strategy & Consulting at INR 27.83 LPA. Four other MBA graduates with the same specialization found their place at ONGC at 23 LPA.
Students landed major roles as business analysts, cyber security analysts, consultants, revenue managers, data analysts, software engineers, design consultants, and risk analysts. Top recruiters included ONGC, Airbus, Boeing, Microsoft India, Zeta, Amazon, Oracle, Accenture, Infosys, Deloitte USI, Ernst & Young, KPMG, PwC, LTI-Larsen & Toubro InfoTech Ltd, and Wipro Limited. The UPES placements page reads like an industry who’s who.
Of course, this isn’t the first time. In the previous academic year, UPES’ placement season concluded with recruiters offering over 3800 placements, equating to a staggering 20+ offers per day. The School of Engineering, School of Computer Science, School of Business, and School of Health Sciences and Technology achieved 100% placement, with students recruited across various industries in over 20 sectors, primarily by research and consulting firms, IT, and education. The highest package offered stood at INR 50 LPA by Microsoft India to 3 students from School of Computer Science.
What does UPES do differently?
For starters, UPES has had a clear focus on bridging the industry-academia gap and providing quality education through an innovative, multidisciplinary curriculum and unmatched learning experiences. The university offers state-of-the-art facilities, a commitment to excellence, and tailored learning that focuses on skill building, as opposed to the traditional focus on theoretical learning and adherence to learning outcomes that are now firmly in the past.
UPES is a private university recognized by the UGC, and serves as a powerhouse of excellence and innovation. Established through the UPES Act, 2003 of the State Legislature of Uttarakhand, the university has carved out a niche for itself in the academic world, boasting an impressive ranking of 243 in Asia and the 3rd best private university in India according to the QS World Rankings 2023. Additionally, with accreditation grade ‘A’ by NAAC and 5-Stars on Employability by globally acclaimed QS Rating, UPES has achieved a placement record of 90%+ over the past few years, demonstrating its commitment to student success.
To ensure that their students possess a high employability quotient, UPES puts equal emphasis on domain knowledge, technical expertise, soft skills, life skills, and aptitude through on-campus trainers and experts from outside. The B.Tech Computer Science (AI & ML), for instance, combines classroom learning with global opportunities and industry exposure to ensure that graduates are at the cutting edge of their field when they graduate. In fact, the School of Computer Science is proud of its 100% placement record, and the highest package in 2022!
The university offers its students the ability to design their own degrees by choosing an academic and skill-based learning path that caters to their individual needs. They can opt for core and specialization subjects, exploratory courses, interdisciplinary electives, life-skill courses, signature courses, and social internships.
UPES empowers students aspiring to tackle real world issues, by granting them exceptional access to top research professionals in the country, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and a vast pool of like-minded collaborators who share their vision. Through a start-up incubator initiative called ‘Runway,’ students receive critical support in the form of funding, guidance, and accelerator workshops to bring their entrepreneurial ideas to fruition.
As the ‘University of Tomorrow,’ UPES believes in the power of creation and dissemination of knowledge and skills, providing lifetime placement support, mentorship, and entrepreneurship opportunities. Through its Alumni Nurturing Program, ‘NEST,’ the university extends its support ecosystem and resource base to its graduates.
Through creating an ecosystem of support, mentorship, hands-on training and work experience, and exceptional classroom training, UPES has created a blueprint of how to demonstrably bridge the industry academia gap, and nurture the best and brightest minds in the country to deliver real value, not just to their employers, but society at large. For the chosen few, UPES also provides significant relief in the form of scholarships. Check your eligibility here.
Education is an investment into our futures. It isn’t just a path to the job market, but a way to build skills that we’ll rely on for a lifetime. Promises are just that. Whereas results speak for themselves.
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