Role of Indian Universities and Colleges Vital in Employment Generation Can they Afford to Ignore? At what Cost? Who Pays? Nations Which Lead in Innovation Take Away Jobs from those who Lag

Abstract

Stanford university in USA has given birth to as many as 3000 hi-tech start-ups, employing millions of educated men and women, each earning high income. Universities in Australia, China. Singapore, New Zealand are not behind. University gets royalty, millions of dollars each year from these companies which is ploughed back in research to create further more companies. Universities in developed countries actively engage themselves in high end research, innovation and entrepreneurship. They obtain patents and huge royalty on commercialised patents. For example in mobiles, the material cost of a mobile is hardly Rs 500 and the rest in thousands is royalty on patents used in mobile. Besides, a phenomenon is observed, world over, that hi-tech industries especially research based companies are flocking around advanced research & innovation centres in universities for brand new ideas, providing plentiful hi-tech, hi- pay jobs, in turn creating further many more downstream low end jobs. Do universities in India have a mission to give birth to companies? Do they engage in high end research? Have they installed innovation infrastructure? Why they do not yet have when universities abroad have from many years? Indians have high capabilities but unfolded. They do not have global vision, no strategic management and planning, no benchmarking with world best counterparts. That is the main reason for low employability of Indian graduates, {only 17%} and consequently India remains a less developed country, in spite of high potential. People are good but systems are not.