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April - 2015 - issue > Career Guide

Acquiring and Imparting Knowledge through Collaborations

Syed Rufaid
Assistant Editor-siliconindia
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Syed Rufaid
Since the initiation of the Indian Economic Reforms in 1991, India's economy has improved and at present, it is in a state of transition. Different enterprises have been set up and have helped in its economic expansion. One of the major advancements is the collaboration of industries and institutions, which seems to be having an impact on the economic growth of the country. This collaboration is effective for students as it helps in boosting talent, acquiring and generating knowledge and also, developing skills. It helps them understand and develop the level of knowledge required once they step into the work environment. It, in turn, also helps different organizations become household names and exposes them further more to the younger generation, who by then gets a firm grip about how the particular organization actually works. Such collaborations also boost industries to come up with necessary changes accordingly, to identify the talents of the students and initiate recruitment more effectively. For example, a study in Chile and Colombia shows that collaboration with universities substantially increased the propensity of firms to introduce new products.

The interactions between academia and industry should akin to that of producer-consumer, a relationship that will exist for the long-term benefit for both sides. This relationship should call for a collaboration where the consumer, in this case institutes, has to ensure that the output of the producer satisfies the needs largely. Thus, making collaborations function as a feedback loop and ensuring the industry is able to provide inputs back to the academic institutions regarding their perception or evaluation of their products.

The broader the collaboration, the greater is its impact on global economic growth. Whether at the organizational level, an industry, or across multiple stakeholders worldwide, collaboration enables stakeholders to deal effectively with talent market challenges to significantly enhance growth. According to a research done by Jos� Guim�n, World Bank, 2013, titled 'Promoting University-Industry Collaboration in Developing Countries', the collaboration can be done in different levels- different objectives, scopes and institutional arrangements. It may be formal or informal, focusing on research activities or training, interactions in conferences and expert groups among others. Acquiring and imparting knowledge is the key component of this collaboration. It helps in administering a sense of what exactly goes on in the industries, how to tackle problems and how to initiate the growth of business. This partnership certainly has boosted the strength of institutes and industries alike, and has helped in empowering a bright future for the economy of the country. If the initiative is taken by institutions through out to collaborate with industries, it can be a sure sign for India to come out of its shell and be one of the developed countries in the world.

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