ROLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY [power-point presentation ]

Slide – 1

Delivered at Coimbatore in a totally interactive manner. Audience mostly Principals, teachers, some industrial groups.

Slide – 2

Questions

The viewers may try their answers.

Q.1 Very many interesting definitions of Knowledge Economy – In the modern global business or economic parlance, it has a limited meaning. Two said it well.

Q.2 Most said “No !”.

We need several other items too.

Q.3 Only a few persons attempted. I explained. During 1995 many analysts and optimum makers wrote of Steel, Foundry etc are sunset industries – gone !!!

Knowledge technologists knew they were not. I explained it that nothing will be “sunset” – they will absorb new knowledge, better steel making, new properties etc.

Slide – 3

Three pyramid story.

At any given point of time in any economy (developed or developing) most of the GDP is derived from the conventional technologies with incremental innovative additions (as in Left pyramid). Top small part is New Advanced Commercial or Strategic Or Critical technologies.

 

In countries which have developed, they continue the incremental & advanced, regularly.

In developing countries, say India, since 1970 we almost never attempted new. They standard argument of economists/administrators was “well it is so small; you keep doing it! Not required for operational sector !”.

What happens after approximately 5 years ?

What was “new advanced” five years ago becomes conventional and “conventional” become older technologies (middle pyramid).

In developed countries : older technologies are weeded out and new – new starts also.

Ten years later ….. you can interpret it.

In India during the license – permit – quota – raj when everything was controlled, we shack on to conventional of the left edge and sold them domestically.

So we were stuck with old – old – old technologies for decades. Industries did not bother for incremental or advanced R&D as imports were restricted and they had domestic monopoly : think of automobiles, scooters, cycles, telephones, any Indian product during 1970’s, 1980’s even in early 1990’s.

I ask a question ?

What is the bottom of a pyramid ?

Some answer; many don’t.

It is “mummies”.

Indian technologies were mummified !

 

Now things are changing with massive import of technologies. But still Industries (baring a few in Pharma and Auto sector) have not adopted advanced R&D and incremental innovations on imported technologies.

…….Continual changes will give competitive edge.

Actually our academic institutes & S&T also should not do isolated work but that what is required for our industry ? Or a global industry.

Slide – 4

Questions.

Attempt answers.

GET is Gross Enrolment Ratio.

(There was a consensus in our interactions. I was happy because people have started looking at ground realities instead sitting in ivory towers !).

See in this website what I have written on Education.

You can tally answers. If you differ, let me know.

Slide – 5

I have explained it in other places including in Sarabhai, Science & Indians.

It is crucial to understand India.

Slide – 6

How wasteful is our Academic system – oblivions to global charges and also the welfare of our youth –

All agreed !

We need to change this ‘reject’, ‘reject’…. Approach.

Slide – 7

Items self - explanatory Push – Pull interesting. Earlier education was pushed by the system to the learner. With new electronic means, the learner can “seek” and interact.

Not that everything will become virtual.

But this new tool changes the concept of usual modes of “push”.

Slide – 8

Clear in words.

Important point is that narrow S&T or Economics etc will not do. Need to have multiple electives and combinations of humanities too.

On the whole it is time to liberalise Education in India without patronising controls and controls in the name of uniformity! We need diversity & flexibility for competitive relevance & excellence.