Insync: Industry-Institution Connect Program

Organized by: InUnity & Global HR Community (GHRC) In Partnership with: Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) & VTU Sponsored by: Sahyadri University

Theme: Institution – Industry Readiness: Aligning Competencies with Market Demands

Date: 22nd January 2025

Venue: KDEM, HSR Layout, Bangalore

The Insync Industry-Institution Connect Program, organized by InUnity – Innovation for Community and Global HR Community in collaboration with Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) , Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) and sponsored by Sahyadri College of Engineering & Management , successfully brought together industry leaders, academia, and government representatives to address the pressing need for bridging the skill gap and enhancing institutional readiness to meet market demands. With over 40 institutions and 30 corporates participating, the event witnessed engagement from delegates across Chennai, Hyderabad, Mysore, Mangalore, and even Korea, highlighting its growing relevance and impact.

Keynote Speakers

The event featured insights from an esteemed panel of speakers:

Sreekanth Arimanithaya, CHRO & Entrepreneur in Residence, Machani Group
Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, CEO, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM)
Senthil Indiran, VP-SCM, Oracle Consulting
Prakrithi Shetty, Director & CHRO, TE Connectivity India
Vijay Yellapragada, Director Americas – AI & Data Science, EY GDS
Dr. Putturaj, Ex-VC Mandya University, Academic Director, SJBIT
Johnson Tellis, CEO, Sahyadri College of Engineering & Management & InUnity

Program Highlights

Panel Discussion (Q&A Format) – 50 mins

Opening Remarks

The session began with a welcome note and an insightful introduction by the moderator, setting the stage with thought-provoking questions:

Outcome-based education vs. market dynamics – where do we stand?
How much of the skills gap should institutions bridge, and how much should industries contribute?
The role of academia and industry in powering the nation’s aspirations

The discussion was structured into three key segments:

🔹 Segment 1: Identifying the Gaps – Knowledge, Skill, and Mindset (15 mins)

🔹 Segment 2: Institutional Readiness – Bridging the Gap (15 mins)

🔹 Segment 3: Future Workforce & Industry-Academia Collaboration (15 mins)

Key Takeaways from the Discussion

A Placement Officer in a University or a Campus Hire Head / Recruiter alone cannot create opportunities for employing all the students. It has to be many to many ie. Every student must make efforts to network, reach out to leaders in the industry and build connections and explore employment opportunities.
Mere knowledge is not enough, emphasis must be on applying knowledge (skills) and developing the right mindset(attitude)
Our organisation is bringing Institutions to Industry its not Industry Institution Interaction but Institution in Industry
At the same time organisations are partnering with Universities and setting up Labs in Colleges and training students and leveraging their talent to work on game changing projects
If India has to move from 3.5 trillion $ economy to 10 and later 20 Trillion dollar economy, there is enough opportunities available for employment
Focus should not be on placement or jobs only – it must be on making students employable
A mere 10-15% growth is not sufficient to survive in this disruptive environment. One must adopt a exponential growth mindset and look for 10x growth.
Companies are moving into 2 tier and 3 tier cities and want to hire local talents in these cities. When remote work and work from home is allowed why not hire talents from tier 2 and tier 3 cities and allow them to work from home so that there is no migration to metro cities. It also helps in decongestion of metro cities.
Students must be encouraged to work on used cases and real life projects to help them apply their knowledge on used cases and solve problems. We have enough problems and challenges in this country and therefore enough opportunities to students to test their skills on application of knowledge and solving real world problems. – Hacakthon
Education is not only Engineering and MBA there are other disciplines and similarly employment in Industries is not only in IT/Technology but also in other domains BFSI, Manufacturing, Automotive, FMCG, Pharma etc.
Signature Skills that were defined by the Panelists were : Digital Skills (across domains), Creativitity & Innovation , Problem Solving, Communication (Articulation skills, Story telling)
There are so many initiatives and programs that are being organised and provided by the Government of India and Karnatak thro Departments like KDEM. Universities and Corporates should approach KDEM and seek their help in partnering with them for development of Digital Skills in students and organisations and building a Digital Talent pipe line to fuel the Digital Transformation journey.

GHRC’s Role in Enabling Industry-Institution Collaboration

Ramesh Ranjan, Co-Founder & CEO of GHRC, emphasized how GHRC serves as an ideal platform for continuous Industry-Institution Interaction. It provides a professional networking ecosystem where universities, students, and professionals can Discover, Connect, Learn, Grow & Contribute.

GHRC enables:

Networking and building a Personal & Institutional Brand
Upskilling & knowledge sharingthrough expert sessions and industry insights
Access to job opportunities & talent providers
Application of knowledge to real-world challenges (Hackathons & Industry Projects)
Gamified learning & engagement opportunities

Event Success & Future Plans

The overwhelming response and appreciation from participants reaffirmed the relevance of this initiative. With attendees from across India and even Korea, the event successfully facilitated meaningful discussions and collaborations.

A heartfelt thank you to all the speakers, sponsors, participants, and organizers for making this event a grand success.

Next Steps: InUnity & GHRC will now expand this initiative across multiple cities in India. Stay tuned for more updates!