IIITB-UpGrad partner to train over 10K Software Engineers
Bangalore: After the overwhelming success of Data Analytics program, International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore (IIITB) and UpGrad plans to launch another Post-Graduate Diploma Program in Software Engineering. Starting from November, the 11 month program provides hands-on learning to the students and working professionals, giving them an opportunity to learn from IIITB expert faculty and industry veterans leveraging the online medium.
“We are seeing a huge change in the IT industry – from automation, digital and data transforming many roles. Although many feel that this will lead to job losses – I am of the opinion that these changes bring in new types of opportunities. With specific context to software engineering, we feel that the current pool of programmers needs to have a stronger foundation of core computer science concepts along with best in class software engineering principles. We need to create a stronger product focus in the next generation of software engineers and this program aims to enable individuals to be relevant in jobs that will be needed tomorrow” said Professor Sadagopan, the director of IIIT Bangalore.
Ronnie Screwvala & Mayank Kumar, Co-Founders, UpGrad, in their joint statement said, “Considering the radical technology changes and increasing automation, the industry is expecting an elimination of almost 30 % jobs in the Indian IT Sector, amounting to over 1 million lay-offs. Most of these jobs need to be repositioned to avoid net loss of jobs in the sector. It is crucial that professionals take charge of their careers and develop a ‘Life Long Learning’ mind-set”.
Digital and data are important theme representing the tremendous opportunity for the growth in the IT sector and the revenue from digital projects is expected to be the primary driver of growth for IT in coming years. Various government initiatives are accelerating the growth further. Software developers who leverage open source technologies, API, micro services and SAAS will have to inherently demonstrate ‘product centric thinking’ and not ‘services centric thinking’. Thus, software development in digital context will be crucial.
“The program, apart from training professionals on software engineering, also focuses on developing creative problem solving and critical thinking by enabling them to grasp new skills and adapt themselves to the changing era of Technology”, added Ronnie & Mayank.
Engineering is a popular education choice for students in India where more than a million students graduate from colleges every year. A recent study by ‘Aspiring Mind’ says that students studying Computer Science & IT related fields don’t meet industry requirements and more than 95% of engineering graduates in India are unfit for software development jobs. There is a dearth of good teachers and rote-learning methods in most of the engineering colleges in the country, majority of students don’t have access to quality education at a post-graduate level. More than 1.5 lac students apply for Masters; however, seats at the top colleges are very limited. IIITB-UpGrad have come together to address this big need.
The online programme will include modules in object oriented programming, data structure, algorithms, software engineering principles and mobile development. The programme will largely target working professionals who have recently graduated from their engineering schools. It features sound conceptual knowledge of software development and engineering and the much needed understanding of latest software development tools, technologies and programming languages. The academic framework and pedagogy of the programme is conceptualised and designed by leading faculty members of IIIT-B in collaboration with a network of corporate partners, guest lecturers and industry speakers by UpGrad.