Mumbai: TeamLease EdTech hosted an industry roundtable on “Talent Creation for Viksit Bharat: Building Future-Ready Capabilities through Stronger Academia-Industry Collaboration” at The Orchid, Vile Parle, Mumbai. The two-hour discussion brought together around 25 CHROs, HR Heads, CSR Heads and business leaders.
Chaired by Prof. Rajiv Prakash, Director, IIT Bhilai, the roundtable focused on the capabilities India’s workforce will require as AI, automation, digitalisation and emerging technologies continue to reshape industries and job roles.
The discussion examined how academia and industry can move beyond a largely recruitment-led relationship towards a model where employers participate more actively in talent creation. Key areas included industry inputs into curriculum, live projects, internships, mentorship, applied research and greater workplace exposure for students.
Participants also discussed the need for graduates to combine strong academic foundations with problem-solving ability, digital fluency, adaptability and exposure to real business environments.
Shantanu Rooj, Founder and CEO, TeamLease EdTech, said, “India cannot build the workforce required for Viksit Bharat by treating education and employment as two separate stages. Industry needs to become a participant in talent creation, not merely a consumer of talent at the end of the education process. Curriculum inputs, projects, mentorship and workplace exposure can create a much deeper connection between universities and employers.”
The roundtable also explored how academia-industry partnerships can become more structured, scalable and outcome-oriented, particularly around experiential learning, emerging skills, faculty-industry engagement and sustained employer participation in higher education.
Prof. Rajiv Prakash, Director, IIT Bhilai, said, “Higher Education Institutions must provide strong conceptual foundations, but those foundations become more valuable when students can apply them to real-world problems. Meaningful academia-industry engagement can bring contemporary context into education while enabling industry to contribute to the capabilities it will need in the future.”
Insights from the discussion will contribute to a forthcoming TeamLease EdTech whitepaper titled “Talent Creation for Viksit Bharat”, which will capture industry priorities and recommendations for strengthening industry readiness, employment outcomes and innovation.
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