Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Higher Education Department has signed three Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with CSRBOX, Nandi Foundation and Odisha Knowledge Corporation Limited (OKCL) to strengthen skill development, digital learning and employability among students.
The department also launched the ‘AI Course for All’ programme in collaboration with NASSCOM, along with the Academic Performance Assessment Portal and the Question Bank Portal.
The programme was held at the Tennis Centre Auditorium of Kalinga Stadium. Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj attended the event as the chief guest.
Under the MoU between the Higher Education Department and IBM–CSRBOX, more than 1.25 lakh students across Odisha will benefit from a skill development programme.
The initiative will cover students from Arts, Science and Commerce streams. Training will be provided through online courses, workshops and project-based learning in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Digital Literacy, Enterprise Design Thinking and Project Management.
Special attention will be given to students from 107 higher education institutions located in remote and aspirational districts of Odisha. The programme will also focus on AI skill development for faculty members.
The department has also signed an MoU with Nandi Foundation to provide offline training to final-year girl students pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
The training will cover Financial Literacy, Critical Thinking, Public Speaking and Communication Skills. The initiative aims to improve students’ preparedness for employment opportunities.
Under the MoU with OKCL, students will receive 30 hours of Communication Skills training and 10 hours of AI-based courses through digital mode.
Teachers will also receive five hours of an AI Orientation Course under the initiative.
The department will further collaborate with the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad, to organise a Faculty Mentor Development Programme.
As part of the programme, 40 faculty members from Odisha will undergo six days of training at EDII, Ahmedabad. The training will cover Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship Mentoring and Enterprise Development Tools.
The initiative is aimed at strengthening the startup and entrepreneurship ecosystem in higher education institutions across Odisha.
The ‘AI Course for All’ programme, launched in collaboration with NASSCOM, will provide students and working faculty members in higher education institutions with opportunities to develop their skills in Artificial Intelligence.
The programme will offer online AI courses and aims to benefit more than one lakh students across the state.
The Odisha State Higher Education Council, in collaboration with the Higher Education Department, also launched the Academic Performance Assessment Portal.
The portal will facilitate the assessment of academic performance of higher education institutions across Odisha. The assessment will be based on 52 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
The Question Bank Portal was also launched during the programme.
The portal will follow a two-tier mechanism to ensure the quality of question papers for college and university examinations. It will also facilitate the preparation of question papers in accordance with the standards of the National Credit Framework.
The initiative is intended to support effective assessment of students’ learning outcomes and competencies.
Speaking at the programme, Suraj said the government is working to develop the skills of students and faculty members, promote quality research in higher education institutions and strengthen the startup ecosystem.
He said the MoUs signed with various institutions would help enhance students’ skills in AI and other emerging technologies.
He also said exposure visits and training for faculty members would contribute to strengthening the startup ecosystem in higher education institutions.
“Education for all, higher education for all is our goal,” the minister said.
He added that steps are being taken to empower students and ensure an inclusive higher education system in Odisha.
Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the Higher Education Department Aravind Agrawal, Director of Higher Education Kali Prasanna Mahapatra, Executive Member of the Odisha State Higher Education Council Professor Atanu Kumar Pati, Additional Secretary to Government Dharanidhar Nanda, Prativa Sahu, Mousumi Nayak and other senior officials were present at the programme.
