Tips for UG/PG Institutions & Students of Computer Application

Thanks to the new education policy(NEP) of India 2020 with objectives of Inclusion & Excellence targeting higher Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER). I come across universities adopting the NEP 2020, like Amity University and Manipur University (India). For instance, the Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) program is now 4 years course instead of 3 years. Every 1 year completion is awarding a certificate/diploma/degree as below illustration.

Below illustration is to share my observation on capability mapping of the 4 years BCA program of Manipur University along with Industry need from the perspective of application development

I suggest the BCA students to complete at least the 2nd Year (4th semester) before you exit. The employability chance might still be dim until one completes 3rd year. The system and mindset could be tough to change so soon and we all have to work together to make such program to be successful. Institutions and Students needs to be aware of industry demands at an early stage and should align to increase employability.

I have been into this software engineering for some time and I am aware of certain gaps between a degree course and industry needs. Even if the syllabus of the UG/PG course is so good and up to date, there is practically big gap. The earlier a student gets guidance from industry aware mentor, the better the employability.

Software development life cycle (SDLC) is something we cannot escape in our industry job. During our degree course, all the basics has been covered in the syllabus but my observation in the industry is that average professional start learning these basics during the job. The earlier a student acquire these knowledge with practical experience, the higher the employability.

Let's take the example of the subject "Software Engineering" which is a part of the BCA or MCA program. The subject covers several ENGINEERING practices to be followed in the software development life cycle (SDLC). Had a student learnt it with practical exercise during the course, he/she would have acquired good Software Engineer skills. This should help cut down the learning curve and cost to the employer. So? better employability.

The below chart is not based on any data source. It is based on my personal industry experience & observations for last 20 years.

Let us assume that 3 freshers joins a company with different talents. Those who cross the productivity bar within 6 months (fresher-1 in this case) are rare and those who cross after 12 months (fresher-2 in this case) are very common. This learning curve period is total cost to the company. If students come prepared with skills that can reduce the learning curve period, then the better rate of employability. I have encountered approximate 5% to 10% freshers belongs to the first category. We need to work together to help increase this rate.

A group of freshers were smart in coding but failed to run their startup company. It was not just the Java or C thing, we need several soft skills and technical skills like Communication/Presentation skill, Leadership skill, Analytical skill, Sales skill, Engineering skill, Management skill, Delivery skill, Programming skill and much more. Even computer typing skill should be good. Some of these skills could have been earned during the student's degree program. For this, one has to go beyond books and act SMART. I come across some institution who understand the gaps and their focus is to provide grooming sessions for soft skills along with the academic course. Thumbs up for you!

We are working on financial domain projects. Had not we learnt the basics of financial accounting, I doubt we could be so strong in analysis, algorithms and testing of the financial business applications. I recommend students to implement those financial accounting exercise as software programs during your degree course.

We are proud of the Program from the university for the 4 years BCA that considers practical for almost every subjects as per NEP 2020. We highly appreciate those who formulated the program syllabus. I still advise the institutions to engage with industry experts/mentors as much as possible and as early as possible. Organize frequent workshops or guest lectures. Train the trainers concept should also be adopted by the institutions. Industry doesn't stop learning. We organize certain programs to fill gaps and we should explore if such programs can be extended to institutions.

There should be many industry experts who are happy to contribute for the society, and I recommend institutions or student groups to approach the experts cum mentors and invite them to be part of them. Recruitment Experts should never be ignored for consultation. Should be win-win for all. By the way, I have some thoughts and ideas how to make win-win for all the stakeholders (government, institutions, industry, students) and I will write it someday on another blog.

Thanks for reading my blog where I use to express my thoughts. It is said that thoughts should be shared otherwise useless.