Philips, IBM, Wipro & Infosys are investing in students to create skills-ready workforce

A couple of months ago, Philips launched an artifical intelligence (AI) lab at Manipal University, called the HealthSuite Insights Lab, to support the adoption of analytics and AI in key healthcare domains. The company also regularly engages with universities such as Manipal, IISc, UVCE, MSRIT and IIT-Kharagpur to help shape some of their curriculum with respect to data science and AI. “This helps ensure that the skills and knowledge students are learning are in line with what is required in the industry,” said Deepak Shetty, senior director-HR at Philips Innovation Campus.

Several such companies are helping people cope better in a fast-changing scenario by developing market-relevant skills. EXL implements this strategy in two focus areas — education and skill develop ment. The firm is reaching out to students from the seventh to tenth class both in government and other needy schools to supplement classroom teaching, specifically in STEM subjects. “Given the success of this pilot project, we aim to expand the initiative in the near future,” global HR leader Manishi Saxena said.
As part of its skill development programme, EXL is helping school and college graduates gain foundational skills in back-office, finance & accounting, analytics and machine learning. The benefit, say companies, is the increased employability of candidates; and in case of school programmes: lower dropout rates, improved overall academic performance, particularly in mathematics and sciences, and enhanced self-confidence. IBM, which supports the Niti Aayog’s Atal Tinkering Mission to build innovation mind-sets in students, is launching school programmes that will introduce students to new thinking and technologies in cognitive and artificial intelligence.
“The numbers today tell us that girls need significant enablement at schools to pursue STEM and computing careers. Our STEM for girls programme will provide opportunities to girls for self-actualisation,” said Rumi Mitra, country lead-corporate citizenship at IBM South Asia. Collaborations with top educational institutes have been a key part of such programmes, as in the case of MphasisNSE -0.43 % which in April set up a centre of excellence for cognitive computing on campus in collaboration with IIIT-B (International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore).

The centre will focus on applied research with relevance for society and enterprises, said CEO Nitin Rakesh.
At SAP Labs’ earn-while-youstudy programme, students can simultaneously undergo a fully sponsored M.Tech degree in software engineering from BITS Pilani or an MA from Srishti School of Design & Technology. The firm is also running an internship programme where it partners with National Institute of Design, Srishti School of Design and other design schools, and brings in students in their final years, says chief operating officer Mahesh Nayak. They then work on projects for six months or so, eventually becoming part of the workforce depending on their performance.