“If education and skills do not lead to employability or entrepreneurship, they serve little purpose.”– Dr Swati Mujumdar, Chancellor SSPU
India stands at a defining moment. With one of the world’s largest youth populations, the country has an unprecedented demographic opportunity. Yet rising youth aspirations, rapid technological change, skill gaps between academia and industry, and the underrepresentation of women in the workforce present significant challenges. The central question for higher education is therefore no longer simply how many students we educate, but whether education equips them to participate meaningfully in the economy and society.
Artificial intelligence, automation, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, green technologies and defence technologies are transforming the nature of work. Many of the jobs that today’s students will undertake are still evolving. In this environment, a conventional degree, while valuable, cannot by itself guarantee relevance. Learners need the ability to apply knowledge, solve unfamiliar problems, adapt to new technologies and continuously acquire new skills.
This requires a fundamental shift in higher education—from a degree-centric system to an employability- and capability-centric system.
Bringing industry into the learning ecosystem
The traditional relationship between universities and industry has often centred on recruitment at the end of a student’s academic journey. That model is no longer adequate. Industry requirements are changing too quickly, and employers increasingly need graduates who can contribute from their first day at work. Students, in turn, need meaningful exposure to workplaces much before graduation.
At Symbiosis Skills & Professional University (SSPU), industry integration has therefore been embedded across the learning journey. With more than 100 industry partners, collaborations extend beyond recruitment to curriculum design, specialised laboratories, mentoring, internships, live projects and workplace internships. Approximately 70% of learning is delivered through practical and experiential methods.
The objective is not simply to make students employable at graduation, but to design employability into education itself.
Students undertake structured yearly internships from the early stages of their programmes, enabling them to understand workplace expectations, develop professional competencies and engage with real business challenges. This also helps them identify opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship.
The outcomes demonstrate the potential of this approach. More than 10,000 young people have graduated with skill-based degrees from SSPU, while nearly 25% have chosen entrepreneurship, becoming job creators rather than only job seekers. The university’s recognition as the No. 1 institution in the NIRF Skill Universities category for two consecutive years further reinforces the potential of industry-integrated, competency-based education.
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| Future-Ready Education |
| 70% practical and experiential learning |
| 100+ corporate collaborations |
| 1,500+ recruiter network |
| ₹30–32 lakh highest undergraduate compensation packages |
| 20%+ students pursuing entrepreneurship |
| WorldSkills Skills CoLab participant among institutions from 21 countries |
Taking skills to those who need them most
India’s demographic dividend will remain incomplete if technological and economic opportunities do not reach women, rural youth and underserved communities. Access to relevant skills is the foundation for economic participation, and economic participation is a powerful pathway to empowerment.
Women provide one of the clearest examples of this opportunity. India has made considerable progress in female participation in STEM education, but this has not translated proportionately into women’s participation in the STEM workforce. The persistent gap represents both a social challenge and a major untapped economic opportunity.
SSPU has responded by developing an ecosystem that combines financial assistance, industry-aligned training, mentorship, internships, career counselling and placement support. These Industry-supported initiatives have enabled more than 5,000 underprivileged girls and semi-literate women to pursue careers in STEM.
The impact extends beyond training a woman. It can transform household incomes, strengthen local economies, diversify industry talent and influence the aspirations of the next generation.
From institutional success to systemic change
The next phase of India’s skills transformation requires policy and institutional systems that enable such models to scale. Skill-based education must become a mainstream pillar of higher education rather than an alternative pathway. Quality frameworks like NAAC must recognise competency-based learning, industry engagement, employability and industry collaboration as measures of institutional excellence.
Faculty structures must also evolve. If industry is to be brought into classrooms, universities need greater flexibility to integrate experienced practitioners into their academic ecosystems. Industry experts should not merely appear as occasional guest speakers; they should contribute meaningfully to curriculum, teaching, mentoring, assessment and applied learning.
Equally important is the need for stronger partnerships among government, industry, academia and communities. Industry can provide technology, expertise, workplace exposure and employment pathways. Universities can provide pedagogy, infrastructure, assessment and certification. Government can create enabling policy and financing frameworks. Communities can help identify and support learners who are otherwise excluded.
This four-way partnership can transform skilling from a training intervention into an economic development ecosystem.
The measure of education must be the lives it enables
The future of education cannot be prepared for by universities alone. Industry must help shape talent; policymakers must enable flexible and responsive learning systems; institutions must design curricula around capability rather than content accumulation; and society must encourage young people—especially girls and first-generation learners—to enter emerging fields.
India’s aspiration for Viksit Bharat 2047 demands nothing less.
The Symbiosis Skills University experience demonstrates that when industry integration, competency-based education, social inclusion and entrepreneurship come together, education can become a powerful engine of economic transformation. The opportunity now is to take these lessons beyond individual programmes and build a scalable model of future-ready, inclusive and industry-responsive education—one that does not merely prepare young people for the jobs of today, but gives them the skills, confidence and adaptability to create the opportunities of tomorrow.
Dr Swati Mujumdar serves as the Chancellor of Symbiosis Skills and Professional University (SSPU).
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETEDUCATION does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETEDUCATION will not be responsible for any damage caused to any person or organisation directly or indirectly.
