Omar Wani
Three important aspects mark the end of this week: the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the first snow fall of the season and the Tech 2010 seminar organized by the Engineering and IT faculties of the Islamic University of Science & Technology (IUST). How do they connect? The last ten years have seen us enter the age of cloud computing, web 2.0, 3G Telephony (and in some countries 4G), the introduction of several airlines, and emergence of airport terminals that compete with the world’s best.
In Kashmir, we saw the introduction of an international airport, two progressive governments that have been relatively stable, the increasing habit of train travel between two large districts, the boom of construction industry (like never before!), the end of division-wide night curfews, the investment of national private banks and telcos and the rebuilding of confidence of the FDI’s of which J&K Bank’s shareholding pattern is an indicator.
This decade also saw the evolution of social networking and the disappearance of people’s stubbornness to get tangibly engaged in all ‘high involvement decisions’ – ranging from buying a house to financial planning.
Globally, the thin line between an enterprise being a ‘goods’ or a ‘services’ company has vanished. Goods produced need now be backed by great service, and services have transitioned to adding tangible value for stakeholders. And each year, when snow blankets Kashmir, it is a reminder of how beautiful and unique this region is. Beauty in the sense of people, our warm culture and unique in the sense of challenges that we face geographically.
This was brought up for discussion in the packed auditorium of the IUST, that sits on a beautiful karewa in Awantipora during an annual forum where I had the opportunity to interact with a cross section of future industry leaders in Engineering and IT.
The minds in the room were very forward looking, open to new ideas and looked out for opportunities to grow as employees, entrepreneurs and innovators. One can’t help but connect this to the overall culture that IUST demonstrates.
The campus has no ‘towers’ and surely no ‘ivory’, the staff and students are extremely humble and open to newer ways of teaching. If you ask for directions, the probability of a student escorting you throughout the way is quite high. The few buildings that are ready and operational are anything but imposing- their simplicity welcomes you with a sense of respect… a sense of purpose that the new academia collectively believe in and are delivering here.
Corridor murmurs tell you that the teaching is on ‘Harvard lines’. The Chancellery is in the first building you see, you may well ease into the highest office without being huddled by armed guards.
A fellow industry colleague is already conducting a workshop talking about latest innovation in another building. An interaction that lasted a little over two hours helped visualize the new standards that are being set. The message delivered was clear – ‘take what you have, add where you want to be and you’ll have the power to shape your destiny’.
The Dean was keen to organize industrial visits around all IT companies within Kashmir to allow students to choose their career path in a well-informed manner. The placement and counseling teams form an integral part of this institution… where they commence education with the career in mind.
The audience agreed to work with multiple industries and look into a curriculum that engages with IT as a service to other fields than simply being a course on technology – to club tourism, agriculture, manufacturing modules in a IT finishing course will provide students a broader perspective how they can take this service to people and offer them a service that can be understood in simple terms.
Unfortunately, offering of specialized services in our State calls for a limited appetite as IT comes with a preconceived notion that ‘it is expensive’ to invest in or ‘difficult to adapt’.
As Tech 2010 shed some light on this, the graduates of IUST go into the field with more than just a ray of hope- they go with industry links, humility to persevere and deliver and the comfort of knowing that the next ten years belong to them.
