Higher education institutions must prioritize skill-based learning to meet the demands of a competitive job market and entrepreneurship. Students are exposed to both real-world issues and academic information, allowing them to become ‘job ready’ or ‘job creators’.
Centurion University of Technology and Management in Odisha is a “hub of industries” with over 30 in-house production units spanning technology, engineering, agribusiness, aerospace, recycling, pharmacy, and other fields.
To promote skill-based education, the Indian government developed many schemes under the Skill India Mission, such as the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, Skill Loan Scheme, and Polytechnic Institute, in line with the National Education Policy 2020.
Dr. Prof Mukti Kanta Mishra, President of CUTM, feels that entrepreneurship is directly related to two terms: enterprise and entrepreneur. “Centurion University is an entrepreneurial space where teaching and learning happen through real-life external labs based on the market trends,” according to the report.
“Instead of being just a job consumer, you need to create job opportunities for others. One should know that an entrepreneur is a person, enterprise is the product and entrepreneurship is the process. You need to understand this concept of the 3 Ps to be an entrepreneur. This is our way of delivering education at CUTM,” he said.
Aside from skill-based education, the university provides indirect financial help to potential entrepreneurs by presenting itself as a “guarantee” to banks, according to the CUTM President.
“We provide free electricity and tools here. I also negotiate loan terms with banks for anyone who wants to start a business here. I’m not an official guarantor, but they acquire bank loans with my guarantee. If they fail to repay, we will stand as a guarantee for them. “We also help local entrepreneurs grow their businesses,” he continued.
