Blend Of Degree & Skill

A degree and skills are two fundamental pillars of personal and professional development, each playing a vital role in shaping an individual's career trajectory. A degree serves as a formal recognition of knowledge and expertise in a specific field. However, in today's dynamic and rapidly evolving world, skills are equally, if not more, important.

Dr Praveen Kumar S, Dean, School of Commerce and Management, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, said, "Any disruption is going to cause displacements. From industrial revolution, we have seen this where machines replaced us. We see disruptions practically in everything. These self-educated entrepreneurs have always made us think, what degree did Dhirubhai Ambani earn? How did he build this empire? This cannot be taught in a B School. The degree can't give you this."

On the importance of a degree and skill, Dr Mahima Gupta, Dean - Academics and Programmes, IIM Amritsar, said, "It depends on the trajectory of the career a person is, a person who is thinking of educational degree, they are looking for a strong foundation. Whereas, if we compare it with the persons who have already done one degree, then they look for opportunities where the skill enhancement can happen."

"A few years back, the kind of skills that would have been valued is no longer valued, as things are changing and some of the jobs that were there, those are no longer going to be there. So, ji if we are just going to focus on skills, which is devoid of other aspects of education, then we're not going to be able to build our citizens," said Partha Chatterjee, Dean - Academics, Shiv Nadar University.

Col Soumyabrata Chakraborty (Retd), Registrar, BITS Pilani, said, 'It should be a perfect blend degree as well as skill. There is nothing like imparting the skill while you are giving the degree. "You can't step into that world without a degree and you can't have a degree without the skill. So, that blend is perhaps what we are looking in."

On the role of degree in providing employment opportunities Pawan Kumar Singh, Director, IIM Tiruchirappalli, said, "If we teach something for the sake of employability, it will automatically be less. Further, if we teach anything it should lead to employability."

Himanshu Kumar Ojha

BW Reporters Himanshu Kumar Ojha