- According to a NASSCOM report, up to 40% of the estimated four million workforce in India need re-skilling over the next 5 years to keep pace with automation and changing skill needs in various industries. Today, over 54% of India’s total population is below 25 years of age and over 60% of population comes under working age group.
- So there is a huge need of skilling and re-skilling and there are several skilling education and training companies and platforms servicing this need. Recently, Amity Education Group, arguably one of the major private education providers in India, also ventured into this space with the launch of Amity Future Academy with focus on short term courses in Analytics, Blockchain, Cyber security and Data science. Curriculum magazine got Siddharth Maheshwari, director AFA to reply some questions on this venture.
Tell us about the Amity Future Academy launched a few months back. Where did Amity Education Group feel the need of digital education?
From the past few years there has been a drastic change in the job market scenario, and it is going to continue for another decade. With the growth of technology and digitization, jobs are getting highly specialized and automated. Consequently, there is a learning gap that needs to be addressed by the educational sector. Skilling employees/individuals is important not just to keep up with the technological trends, but also to stay ahead of the competition.
Therefore, Amity Education Group being one of India’s leading research and innovation driven group with over 4500 Academicians, scientists and researchers, it was natural for us to take a note and do something. Under the leadership of our Chairman, Mr. Ajit Chauhan we after much thought launched Amity Future Academy to train the workforce of tomorrow.
What exactly is the direction that the AFA will take?
Amity Future Academy is the flagship institution of Amity Education Group, purely devoted to excellence in Digital Education & Campus Learning, and to mounting students in various disciplines that will shape economy of tomorrow like – Data Science, Blockchain Technology, Machine Learning & AI, Cyber Security, HR Analytics, Product Management.
Will you please elaborate on the course programs at Amity Future Academy?
At Amity Future Academy, we have extensive online programs which include topics like Block chain Technology, Cyber security, Machine Learning, Data Science, Business Analytics and Digital Marketing. These programs are in collaboration with International Universities like eCornell, Wharton, ASU, Thunderbird and Open University.
These programs are designed by industry experts and faculties from international universities to provide world-class content.. Our teaching pedagogy is to bridge the gap between academia & industry by following the principle of “learn by experiencing.”
When will the enrolment for AFA be starting?
We will be starting our enrolments from the month of August 2019 to mark a new beginning in skilling in India as we celebrate 73rd Independence Day. We are also in touch with leading corporates to offer Re-Skilling to their existing workforce and also offer customised programs to train workforce that can be deployed straight on projects.
Emerging and future job trends is what most people looking at in terms of skilling etc. So, in this context, what are some of your thoughts?
Industry 4.0 looks into emerging technologies to make the economy smarter and create new jobs, Amity Future Academy is on a similar mission to provide skills to ready the Industry 4.0 workforce.
In order to provide better understanding of various technological trends for the ever-changing future, it will allow individuals to explore futuristic trends. The courses offer advanced training programs that are specially designed to create a pool of high-quality professionals and help young professionals gain in-demand skills.
Reskilling and upskilling is the need of the hour and demonstrates a massive skill-gap in today’s workforce. Personalised learning is the key to bridge this gap. At Amity Future Academy, we strive to provide personalized learning with 1:on:1 mentorship with industry experts, flexible yet a rigorous program schedule and conduct career weeks where our career coaches help learners to achieve their career objectives. Also, our in-house support team provides personalized support to learners by analyzing their course progress, learning graphs and come up with tailor-made solutions.
How do you perceive education 4.0 vis-à-vis new economy?
The world is changing at an exponential rate with the usher of Industry 4.0. Artificial intelligence, Robotics, Big data and Internet of things are combining together thus making an impact on our jobs and industry.
We have emerged from the times when students were required to reside in the Gurukul to serve their teachers and obey their duties with no set curriculum. Education that once focused on one-to many is now gradually transforming its way of delivery by providing various broad learning opportunities to students.
Artificial Intelligence is changing the way students used to take assessments. Digital experiential learning and micro-credentials is making its way ranging from online degrees and coding bootcamps, to technology certificates, digital badges and nanodegrees.
Internet of Things (IoT) is influencing education by helping institutions making informed decisions. Education now largely emphasizes on “the way it is taught” by aligning with future trends thus making the current generation- Leaders and Learners of Tomorrow.
