Bhubaneswar: More than 2.25 lakh students across Odisha are set to benefit from new skill development and artificial intelligence initiatives as the Higher Education Department signed three MoUs and launched a series of digital platforms aimed at improving employability, academic assessment and learning outcomes.
The initiatives were unveiled at the Tennis Centre Auditorium of Kalinga Stadium in the presence of Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj, who said the government was working towards making higher education more inclusive while equipping students and faculty with skills required for a changing job market.
Under an MoU between the Higher Education Department and IBM–CSRBOX, more than 1.25 lakh students from Arts, Science and Commerce streams will receive training in Artificial Intelligence, digital literacy, enterprise design thinking and project management. The programme will combine online courses, workshops and project-based learning.
Students from 107 higher education institutions in remote and aspirational districts will receive special attention under the initiative. AI skill development for faculty members will also form part of the programme.
Another MoU with the Nandi Foundation will provide offline training to final-year female undergraduate and postgraduate students. The programme will focus on financial literacy, critical thinking, public speaking and communication skills to improve their preparedness for employment.
Through the MoU with OKCL, students will receive 30 hours of communication skills training and 10 hours of AI-based courses through digital platforms. Teachers will also undergo a five-hour AI orientation programme.
The department has also launched the ‘AI Course for All’ programme in collaboration with NASSCOM. The initiative will provide online AI learning opportunities to students and working faculty members of higher education institutions, with a target of reaching more than one lakh students across the state.
To strengthen entrepreneurship education, the department will collaborate with the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad, to organise a Faculty Mentor Development Programme. Forty faculty members from Odisha will undergo a six-day training programme at EDII covering entrepreneurship, mentoring and enterprise development tools.
The department also launched two digital platforms aimed at improving academic governance and examination standards.
The Academic Performance Assessment Portal, developed by the Odisha State Higher Education Council in collaboration with the Higher Education Department, will assess the performance of higher education institutions using 52 key performance indicators (KPIs).
The newly launched Question Bank Portal will use a two-tier mechanism to improve the quality of question papers for college and university examinations. It will also support preparation of question papers aligned with the National Credit Framework and facilitate assessment of students’ learning outcomes and competencies.
Speaking at the programme, Minister Suryabanshi Suraj said the government was focusing on developing the skills of students and faculty, promoting quality research and strengthening the startup ecosystem in higher education institutions.
He said the new partnerships would provide students with exposure to AI and other emerging technologies, while faculty development programmes and exposure visits would help strengthen entrepreneurship and innovation on campuses.
“Education for all, higher education for all is our goal,” the Minister said, emphasising the government’s focus on building an inclusive higher education system.
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 Dharanidhar Nanda and other senior officials attended the programme.
