Are we prepared enough?
- A survey among young professionals
I
did a short survey in Febraury 2009 to understand what a profession would
expect from undergraduates who are seeking job opportunities. The subjects of
the survey included my own friends who are pursuing in a profession that is in
line with their UG/PG degrees.
Questions
asked were:
1.
If you were recruiters for your company, what would you expect from
undergraduates/postgraduates who apply for an initial position in your company?
2.
From your own experiences of being a student and a growing professional, what
do you think your undergraduate/postgraduate education did NOT provide/equip
you with? Are you aware if this lag has been made up for in the years after
your graduation?
A
summary of what qualities professionals expect from fresh undergraduates
1.
Aware of the practical relevance of what is learnt/taught.
2.
Strong in the fundamentals.
3.
Aware of the current trends in the field
4.
Open to learning new things and curious enough.
5.
Good communication.
Reasons
why undergraduates may fail to possess these qualities
1. Faculty themselves
are not aware of the requirements in industry.
2. Students are not
enthusiastic enough to seek to learn new things and find the larger picture of
what they study – lack of networking and reading.
A
small discussion
The
current syllabus of our UG curriculum is well designed to meet the requirements
of industry and technology. However, translating the intention of the designed
syllabus depends partly on the teacher who teaches it and the student who
receives it. Currently, from my interactions with teachers and students, I feel
that many students lack the motivation to undertake risks and achieve and
prefer to follow well-trodden paths. Many lack a vision for themselves. Many
teachers who are also products of the same educational path also lack these
values. So they also don’t really seek out to understand the requirements in
the fence beyond themselves and hardly try help the students appreciate the
practical usefulness of the stuffs they learn.
What
could be the solution to fill in the gap?
Alumni,
who are now experienced professionals in their own field, should go back to
their UG colleges, interact with the students (juniors) and share their
experiences. They should tell students to think creatively and encourage
applying their knowledge. In that way, we educate the students as well as the
teachers.
Actual
Responses (Click here)
