Date:22/12/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/12/22/stories/2006122211580500.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Oracle's gesture to help polytechnic students

Special Correspondent

The company imparted training to instructors and gave software free

PACT: Krishan Dhwan (left), managing director, Oracle India, exchanging files with Kaushik Mukherjee, Principal Secretary, Higher Education, after signing a memorandum of understanding in Bangalore on Thursday. Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy looks o n. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Bangalore: Students of 100 polytechnics will benefit from training in Oracle's widely used database management solution.

The instructors of 50 polytechnics are completing their training under the Oracle Academy Programme and 50 more will be trained early next year.

The training was given free and the polytechnics have been given free software for training their students.

A memorandum of understanding was signed on Thursday by the Government of Karnataka, Orcale India and Karnataka's Board of IT Education Standards (BITES) formalising the arrangement.

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who was present, said, "This will take polytechnics and their students in Karnataka further into the 21st century where information technology is an integral part of our lives. The fact that Oracle did not charge for training the instructors and also gifted the software, altogether spending $ 5.4 million is noteworthy."

Kaushik Mukherjee, Principal Secretary, Higher Education, appreciated the "thoughtful gesture" from Oracle that would place many diploma holders on a par with engineering graduates.

Director of Technical Education Mohammed Ali explained that the process of training had started with brainstorming among his department, BTES and those from Oracle India, whose parent company approved the changes felt necessary to meet local needs.

The 50 instructors would complete their training and receive certificates by end of this week at PES Institute of Technology.

"We want this extended eventually to all 178 polytechnics in the State and among the instructors now trained, the best can be selected to train others fast. We want to take this kind of industry collaboration to mechanical, electronics and automotive courses through a tie-up planned with MICO Bosch and want partners for fashion design courses. The polytechnics will also seek links with EDUSAT."

K.V. Prahlad Rao, director of BITES, said the skills acquired by polytechnic students from the Oracle programme were sought after by many corporates, including those in the manufacturing sector that needed to maintain and manage large databases.

The instructors too should change their methods of teaching and make it more interactive and with smaller groups of students acquiring hands-on experience.

Oracle India managing director Krishan Dhwan pointed out that this first such initiative in the region would ensure the students had no skill gaps that affected their employability.

Krishna Sistla, who heads the Oracle Academy Programme for Asia-Pacific, said along with technology the students should be helped acquire skills to act and interact globally so that major companies could hire them.