Addressing Industry-Academia Gap in Business Schools: Promoting Skill Development to Increase Student Employability

Abstract

As a consequence of India’s liberalization policy, the post-reforms period in India since 1991 has been characterized by structural changes in the economy. Growth in services and foreign direct investments has led to a multitude of employment opportunities in India. Growth of IT and IT-enabled services, technology portals and entrepreneurial opportunities in India has led to the demand for skilled and competent professionals. This has sparked great interest among graduates to acquire a post graduate qualification in management. A management programme enables acquiring of soft skills by students along with functional expertise. However, reports suggest that many of the post graduates in management are not employable. This gap has been attributed to the lack of adequate interface between industry and academia. Often it is perceived that academia alone benefits from collaboration with industry. But nothing can be farther from the truth. Industry can benefit too by having access to quality research and a greater appreciation of the conceptual models that can help business decision making. Industry also benefits by having access to a talent pool that can be easily moulded to fit both strategic and operational roles. This paper talks about the synergistic effects of industry-academia collaboration and the areas that need immediate attention.