ONLINE EDUCATION AS A PLATFORM FOR BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIA_An essay by R. Ramya

We are presenting the series of essays submitted for the 1st Annual Pharma Literati Essay contest. The opinions in the essay are by the authors and need to be endorsed by Pharma Literati team. 

Introduction

With the evolving technology, change has become an integral part of success and if technology is something related to internet, then people must embrace the technology as quick as possible. Education sector in India has long awaited an overhaul to meet the growing demand for a contemporary education system that is accessible to all, through technology-driven, revealing considerable potential and readiness to imbibe and learn using digital media. Although, India scored well in improving from mere 12% literacy at the time of independence to 74% as per 2011 census and youth literacy is about 90.2%, it still lags behind the world average of 84%. The literacy leads to hire a job in an industry. There are two separate worlds: Academia and Industry. Both have very different goals and attitudes. Today, industries are looking for innovative solutions from the academia to meet their business needs of higher productivity and lower costs, yet increase efficiencies. A series of outdoor problem-solving activities to solve a specific task reflects upon real-time industry needs.

Industry needs and expectations

Many companies have an interest to invest in technology development initiatives. Academic participation is often needed in minor technological innovation. Small-scale industries often depend on support in the areas of design, process improvement, machinery performance, etc and also rely on processes to yield a product that already exists. In some cases, problem solving may simply amount to product testing and production enhancement in terms of quantity and quality. In such interactions, industries expected periods have been immediate and investments are directed towards efforts that promise result oriented solutions.

Academia Expectations

An academician shows interest normally in problems that are intellectually challenging. Students areas of interest lie in technology development initiatives and methods related to process and design improvement. Researchers have strong preference for working towards creation of knowledge in specialized areas. For industry-related problems, a researcher has to explore a variety of options that is time consuming. In academic institutions, the period of an academician is governed by research guidance and teaching assignments. Academicians are oriented towards R&D activities of the industry for funds that helps them to sustain their broader research interests.

Reasons behind the gap between Academia and Industry

Ø  Academicians and industrialists have a different outlook; therefore, both have different perspectives and expectations.

Ø  The curriculum is static in nature while its application is dynamic.

Ø  Both academicians and industrialists are pursing different goals entirely. The academic is striving for recognition from student peers whereas Industrialist is striving to survive.

Ø  Lukewarm attitude of lecturers is to surrender themselves for trainings and workshops.

Ø  Industry thinks in terms of short-range goals nevertheless academic has a long-range perspective.

Ø  Industry prefers proven solutions with a low risk, whereas academia is interested in creating new solutions with a high innovation rate.

Ø  Industry seeks the minimum solution to minimize their risk, whereas academia strives for a maximum solution to maximize their recognition.

Need for bridging the gap

An education system of the country has to strengthen its technical and management resources as these are crucial to knowledge-based industries. A market-driven approach to higher education has to be foster in order to encourage man-power development from the grass root level itself. The idea is to involve the private sector in higher education.

Online education provides solution to bridge the gap

Online education is defined as the creation and proliferation of the personal computer, the globalization of ideas and other human acts, and the use of technology in exchanging ideas and providing access to more people.

Online education is distance learning and consists of taking classes via the internet. More and more students are taking online classes because of the flexibility and convenience it provides. Student can attend class sessions from the comfort of their home and complete assignments whenever it is convenient. Online classes are great for individuals who have family responsibilities or lack a flexible work schedule. In addition, online classes are more cost efficient because they does not require any commuting, allowing you to save on gas, the wear and tear of your vehicle. Online courses are also great for individuals in the military or who travel frequently. The distance-learning format allows students to pursue education wherever they are, rather than tying them down to a specific location.

Various categories of online education are Virtual education, Internet based education, Web-based education, and Education via computer-mediated communication.

Interaction between industry and doctoral programs:

In the Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical education is a foundation for its structure. For example, R&D and pharmaceutical technologies supply qualified pharmacists to the industry. The interaction should begin when researchers are doctoral students and should continue well after they start their careers. Some institutions fear that if students are involved in industry work, it might distract them from their doctoral work. However, many professors and faculty are willing to put this fear aside. They may realize that collaborating students with industry could have very positive benefits. Not only could it boost doctoral productivity/output, motivation, and potentially lead to a job (or even a start-up company someday), it would further foster the academia-industry relationship as the cycle continues with new post-docs and graduate students. Those who cannot secure academic positions will seek out industry positions and will need to acquire necessary skills, knowledge, and experience in order to successfully break into industry. Industry provides research topics, funds and access to data for research. Industry also provides an opportunity for employment outside the traditional academic setting.

Considering Academia-Industry interactions as part of the education:

The classes should not be taught just by the school of business from people who lie only in academia and know nothing about industry. There should be industry PhDs teaching these classes since they bring to the table real world experience and examples. With the presence of industry PhDs on virtual campus through video conferencing, this should foster some sort of relationship. More importantly, this would allow for recruitment of outstanding candidates who lie in academia and are looking to break into industry. Bear in mind that graduate students and post-docs are not the greatest at networking, so this would also allow for some exposure outside of their mundane lab environment.

Apart from classes, biotech/pharma/healthcare industry needs to be on campus with clear offerings for internships. The incentive is that you are recruiting the best and brightest to strengthen and grow your company. A three month summer internship using online prototyping would dramatically increase a post-doc’s or graduate students chance of landing a job in industry in this down economy. Until an academia-industry relationship fosters on all levels, there will be little incentive to help struggling post-docs and graduate students with offering internships and optional coursework that could give them an edge. Nevertheless, ignoring the problem that there is a growing gap between academia and industry will only harm our economy further and leave more people unemployed.

Internships

At the completion an Elective Coursework Program, graduate students, and post-docs should be allowed to apply for an internship. Obviously, corporate sponsors can still be selective in this case. However, if a graduate student is in a PhD program for 5-6 years and was turned down, he or she can just reapply the following year. A three-month summer internship could lead to a full-time position later on down the road with a “foot in the door”. After all, some experience is better than none.

Conclusion

Companies have adopted various new methods and strategies to acquire best and unsurpassed human resource to survive and succeed commercially in the highly competitive market. These strategies range from identification of skills, shortfalls that may occur, efforts to impart required skills, and adapt existing skills by orienting to new demands. Since the gap between academia and industry is widening day by day, the government, academic institutions and industry must come forward with some innovative and research based ideas to bridge the gap through online education system. However, we cannot deny that only a holistic development of all the sectors of a country will help to outshine its competitors and succeed in its endeavor to become an empowered economy at the global platform. Efforts should be made in line with bringing institutions of higher learning and industry together to ensure that quality is delivered both ways. A regulatory body must be created to regulate, monitor and ensure Q&A (Quality & Assurance) in delivery of education. Educational institutions need to comprehend that change is the only constant and so is the demand for the day. Academia-Industry linkage requires strengthening, with an impetus on grooming the students to become effective researchers and leaders of tomorrow.