Industry–academia meet held at FICCI

Kolkata: The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) convened the 4th FICCI industry–academia conference on the theme ‘Innovation, Employability, and Impact: Reinventing India’s Education–Industry Interface’ on Friday in Kolkata. The conference served as a national platform bringing together senior policymakers, academic leaders, industry captains, international representatives, and innovation ecosystem stakeholders to deliberate on the future of education, research, and workforce readiness in India.

Addressing the gathering, Jaydip Mukhopadhyay, Senior Special Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Government of West Bengal, highlighted the state’s sustained reforms in higher education. He outlined progress in the expansion of universities and institutions, improvement in enrolment ratios, enhanced public investment, student scholarship schemes, and digital governance initiatives such as the unified admission portal.

Ishikawa Yoshihisa, Consul General of Japan, Kolkata, emphasised that education must extend beyond degree attainment to nurture character, responsibility, and workforce readiness. Drawing from Japan’s experience, he underscored the importance of practice-oriented learning, vocational education, apprenticeships, and continuous improvement philosophies, highlighting the strong potential for India–Japan collaboration in skills development, innovation, and talent creation.

Simarpreet Singh, Director, JIS Group, mentioned about the evolving role of universities in shaping ethical and socially responsible citizens in an era of rapid technological change.