19th October 2023 University of Lincoln hosted a panel discussion, titled “Creating Employable Graduates: A Sector Panel Talk on Developing Graduates for the Future” that invited leading figures from across the education field and academia. The one-of-a-kind panel event took place at the British Council’s headquarters in New Delhi, India. This event aimed at the important discussion of graduate employability in the contemporary world.
Drawing on key themes from the fourth edition of the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, the event delved into a number of emerging trends and topics ranging from AI and digitization in the workplace to the importance of developing a global mindset. The event was graced by the presence of representatives from industry, and the higher education sector in India.
Neal Juster, Vice Chancellor, University of Lincoln added “University of Lincoln has strong relationships with many industries. Providing the example of health services, he added that University of Lincoln has a number of allied health courses working together with National Health Services (NHS) to produce and provide graduates, adding to not just Lincolnshire, but the entirety of the UK. A notable number of Pharmacists were created with the introduction of several new courses. With the help of this, the University of Lincoln is successfully creating 60-70 Pharmacists each year.”
Deeksha Teri, who is an alumna of University of Lincoln and a senior sub-editor at the Indian Express highlighted the importance of hands-on experience and enhancing life skills holds more importance than acquiring a degree in today’s day and age. It further led to the discussion with Jamie Arrowsmith of UUKi adding that Critical thinking and the ability to do independent research are also very important for certain job roles.
The panelists unanimously agreed on the fact that adaptability and skill development are the keys to excelling in the rapidly changing landscape of employment. The discussion highlighted the importance of higher education institutions having industrial liaisons to promote the absorption of students for internships, periodic soft skills development, and, building alumni networks.
One of the statements that stayed with the audience was of the Panelist Kapil Dua, CEO and Co-founder of Sannams4 group, “AI will not replace managers, it will replace managers that do not use AI”. The employment rates in India along with the several government initiatives to promote employment and entrepreneurial initiatives in India like Skill India and Make In India were also discussed as commendable initiatives.
The session concluded by analyzing that apart from AI, health sciences, other sectors such as global logistics, creative industries, and fintech are also some of the upcoming domains and India as a country is growing and Indian students are moving in the right direction in the global perspective to attain the right skills and become more employable.