Hyderabad, March 19, 2024……. Currently, there is a wide gap between industries and academia, there is a wide gap between what students possess and what industry requires and there is a wide gap between acquired knowledge and required knowledge in India, said Dir. U.B. Desai, founding Director of the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad and Chancellor, of Anurag University

Dr Desai was the Chief Guest at the inauguration of the MBA Business Analytics –Industry Immersive Program at Anurag University, the first private University in the state.

Dr Balaji Utla, Registrar, Ms. S. Neelima, CEO and others have graced the occasion.

Dr Desai spoke to the students and interacted with faculty after the launch of the program

Speaking about Industry-Academia Connect, he said, there is a lot more to be done. We are just taking baby steps in developing a strong connection. That is because of the lack of clear policy in strengthening ties between them.

Several luminaries and academia opined in the past that Industry-Academia Collaboration Should be Mandatory by Law. When asked about his opinion about the same, Dr Desai said, academia and industry are interdependent. And change cannot be brought by force.

Speaking further he added that Academia and Industry are interdependent. The Sooner this is recognised the better the outcomes will be.

The initiative is the brainchild of Dr Balaji Utla, Registrar, and founder CEO of Satyam Learning.

Prof of Practice Venugopal said the MBA Business Analytics Industry Immersive Program is probably one of the industry’s first initiatives introduced with the sole aim of producing industry-ready Management Graduates. Under this program, 35 students who are pursuing MBA Analytics not only learn theory but also put into practice the same by being themselves as business owners while pursuing their studies.

According to Dr Syed Mansoor Pash, Program Director, it is a combination of management and technology and is probably the first Immersive Learning programme in Business Analytics in India. The program is uniquely designed to allow students to do projects every alternate term for a total of 6 terms. This offers an opportunity to do real-life and near-real-life projects so the students can practice the concepts/tools learnt in the earlier term.

During the program students will be treated as employees working in a temporary organization so that they are industry-ready by the time of completion of the Programme, said Dr V. Vishnu Vandana, Head of the Department, School of Management, Anurag University.

Academia, industry experts and Professors of Practice as envisaged in the New Education Policy (NEP) will guide students and help them navigate through the program.