| Demand of the question Introduction. Contextual Introduction. Body. How higher education institutes like IITs, IIMs can help in achieving $5 trillion dollar economic goal? Conclusion. Way forward. |
India has one of the largest higher education systems in the world. However, there is still a lot of potential for further development in the education system. Education provides a foundation for development, the ground work on which much of our economic and social well-being is built. It is the key to increasing economic efficiency and social consistency. It helps to ensure that a country is competitive in world markets now characterized by changing technologies and production methods.
How higher education institutes like IITs, IIMs can help in achieving $5 trillion dollar economic goal?
- By creating a quality workforce: The modern workplace is in a constant state of evolution. Even within the last decade, job roles and the skills required to succeed in them have changed enormously, with technological advancements being a key factor. The higher education sector is pivotal in delivering training to people at all stages of their careers, from students and recent graduates to senior managers.
- Skilled manpower: Skills training has an immensely positive impact on the wider economy. A well-trained, highly-skilled workforce is better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the modern workplace. Staff with the right expertise work more efficiently and confidently than those struggling to keep up with the changing demands of their roles. Ultimately, a skilled workforce increases productivity, boosts output, and propels growth in the wider economy.
- Drive Innovation: A key role of higher education institutions is to drive innovation, with the aim of finding solutions to global challenges in areas that matter to society, such as healthcare, environmental protection, resource security, international development, and population trends.
- By Increasing Employability: Applicants are faced with a highly-competitive job market, in which their qualifications might not be enough to secure the kind of work they desire. As the economy moves further toward competency-based recruitment, with its focus on skills and experience over pure academics, graduates and established professionals must be armed with the tools they need to find and succeed at work. Higher education institutions are critically important.
- Upskill Existing Workforces: As digitisation changes the landscape for working professionals, higher education can provide them with the opportunity to enhance their existing knowledge and learn new skills. For employers, this has a positive impact on productivity, output, and staff morale. It also helps companies to drive efficiency and thus profitability.
- Boost Graduate Earning Power: Graduates with the right knowledge and skills have the ability to demand higher salaries, as they are equipped to make significant contributions to the revenue and growth of the companies they work for. This feeds back into the rankings and employment prospects lists, strengthening the reputation of universities as both centres of innovation and places where the future of the economy is made.
- Collaborate Between Education and Business: In the last decade, there has been substantial growth in the number of research deals between companies and universities. It’s helpful for universities and their collaborative partners in industry to be geographically close in order to create research hubs that attract the best academics and continued industrial investment.
- Feed into a Knowledge-Based Economy: A knowledge-based economy is characterized by dependence on a highly-skilled, well-educated, and technically-minded workforce. It makes use of advancements in technology alongside intellectual capital to move away from material consumption and aim toward an economy built on knowledge and data. The higher education sector is a natural partner to the knowledge-based economy. As the source of advanced learning and new information from research, universities help train the workforce of tomorrow while supporting the innovations of today. Knowledge creation has been identified by economists as a key driver of economic growth.
The higher education sector has a wide-ranging, proven influence on the economy. Its confluence with business provides commercial value to innovation, while academic instruction and skills training help individuals and organizations to have the tools to succeed in a knowledge-based economy. Thus higher institutions are important for achieving $5 trillion economy mark.
