University-Industry Inter-Linkage Centre
(Under the Faculty of Skill Development & Vocational Studies)
The significance of university-industry interactions has become an important agenda of higher education on the policy-making front at both national and international levels. It is well-known that today the country faces a dissonance and disconnect between higher education and its relevance to industry, a demand-supply mismatch as the economy is in need of more ‘skilled’ workforce as also the managers and entrepreneurs than the country produce annually. This is so because a majority of the existing Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) remain almost disconnected with the requirement of the workplace, as they are yet to incorporate the specific requirements of various industries in their curriculum in an innovative and flexible manner while producing well-groomed graduates. A crying need is felt more than ever for taking integrated initiatives towards knowledge acquisition and up-gradation of skilled human competencies in universities and colleges to address the emerging needs of the economy so as to ensure that the graduates have adequate knowledge and skills to get suitably employed or become entrepreneurs and thereby meet the economic and industrial needs at the regional and national levels. This need can be fulfilled by creating and operating suitable collaborative arrangements between Higher Educational Institutions and industries. Considering the importance of the issue, the UGC got contemplated to launce a Scheme of setting up of University-Industry Inter-Linkage Centres (UIL Centres) in universities, which become an effective, goal-oriented and naturally-enriching mechanism.
The main objectives of the Scheme of establishing UIL Centres in Higher Educational Institutions are to:
