Engineering admissions – is India headed for a talent crisis in core streams?
In today’s episode, I ask if we are headed for a talent crisis in core engineering streams, but first a couple of headlines. Headlines Agnikul Cosmos, has raised $26.7 million in Series-B funding from investors including Celesta Capital, Rocketship.vc, Artha Venture Fund and Artha Select Fund, the Chennai startup said in a press release on Oct. 17. IBM yesterday announced the signing of three memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with three entities engaged with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to advance and accelerate innovation in AI, semiconductor and quantum technology for India, the company said in a press release. One thing today It’s that time of the year when the last of the admissions in India’s massive engineering education market get nailed down. And once again, despite the ongoing slowdown in the IT services sector, computer science remains the hottest area. Reports from states known for their engineering schools, such as Maharashtra and Karnataka show that traditional streams such as civil and mechanical engineering are running a large number of vacancies. Over the next decade, will this translate to a talent crisis in India, just when the country’s manufacturing and infrastructure efforts need to shift to high gear. In Karnataka, at least 10 engineering streams that have had little or no demand for the last few years may be removed from the pool of seats available for students to choose from, Deccan Herald reports today. In alignment with the ongoing trend of low demand for certain streams, the Karnataka state government’s department of higher education is planning to write to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to discontinue such streams, the paper reports. These subjects include Aeronautics, Polymer Technology, Environmental Engineering, Construction Technology, Ceramics, and Textiles Engineering. Deccan Herald reports that 60 colleges in the state have not enrolled more than three students in some courses, with some colleges even seeing only one admission in core streams like Civil Engineering, according to data from the Department of Technical Education. M C Sudhakar, the state’s minister for higher education, has said that the government is collecting college-wise details about low admissions and streams that had no admissions. And this will be communicated to the AICTE, according to the paper. The AICTE has extended the deadline for admission to engineering colleges to October 30. And the Karnataka government is in collecting details from private engineering colleges, the paper reports. Computer Science remains the most popular branch of engineering in Maharashtra with preference for allied new-age technology courses such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning and Cyber Security, The Indian Express reported on Sep. 11, citing data from the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell. Some 1,17,000 students already having confirmed their preferences, the paper reports. Of the close to 50,000 seats in computer science and the allied new-age courses, nearly 45,000 have already been filled, the paper reports. Traditional core engineering branches such as mechanical and civil engineering are running 50 percent vacancies this year, according to the Express. And allied courses of civil engineering such as Civil and Environmental Engineering, Civil and Infrastructural Engineering, Civil Engineering and Planning also recorded very low admissions. Out of a combined intake of 341 seats, only 104 seats have been filled so far. Consider this. Next year, it will be the 10th anniversary of the launch of the ‘Make in India’ campaign. And as India looks to step up its efforts in areas ranging from electric vehicle battery cells to ships, planes and space rockets, not to mention bridges, ports and smart cities, perhaps it’s time to figure out how to build the talent pool in the core engineering streams that we’ll need in the coming years.