HYSEA launches Project Drona in collaboration with TASK to train teachers

HYDERABAD: On the befitting occasion of Teachers' Day, Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association (HYSEA) launched "Project Drona" in collaboration with Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge (TASK), a faculty immersive learning programme , powered by Infosys Springboard platform.

It was launched on September 5 with an aspiration to produce best-in-class faculty. The program was led by practicing industry experts from HYSEA member companies who would mentor the faculty in emerging technology skills and industry-centric approaches.

Faculty in the State of Telangana teaching Computer Science, IT or related subjects in Engineering, BCA, MCA, B.Sc., Polytechnic institutions would be eligible to enrol for the program. The 8-12 weeks programme would help faculty members get hands on with what Industry needs, including Program Management with focus on Professional Skills Development, Emerging Technologies - hands on ability to code, Exposure to nuances of IT Industry, Business Sense and Customer Centricity.

The key technology tracks that the intervention includes are: FullStack - Angular/React, AI & ML, and Digital Transformation. At the end of 12 week course work, the faculty will be presented with a certificate "HYSEA Certified Faculty" and invited to the Industry for an immersive experience.

Initially more than 500 faculty members from 250 plus colleges in the state were expected to be covered by Project Drona. The program was designed to scale to 4x faculty and 4x colleges as it unfolds.

Commissioner, Collegiate Education & Technical Education at Government of Telangana Navin Mittal said, "It is a praise worthy program that is targeting capacity building of the faculty in emerging technologies and industry requirements. The acquired skill by the Faculty will also help institutions update curriculum with what industry wants." He mentioned that "Project Drona will be considered as a prerequisite for promotions and career advancements." He assured complete support of the Collegiate & Technical Education Department in helping "Project Drona" reach maximum faculty members in the educational institutions of Telangana."

President at HYSEA, Manisha Saboo, addressing at the launch event emphasised that "Talent availability will play a decisive role in shaping the future of IT in Hyderabad and Telangana. HYSEA's strategic theme "Talent Transformation" is aimed at developing the workforce for the future and the first step towards this is preparing teachers. Project Drona is an intervention to equip faculty with the industry needs who will in turn nurture the student community. It is an immersive faculty development program with a DIFFERENCE. It provides faculty the industry/practitioner's point of view to build students employability quotient. Project Drona provides faculty a unique opportunity to access & learn from well curated world class content."

Speaking on Teacher's Day launch of Project Drona, CEO, TASK, Shrikant Sinha said, "This is the first time in the country that emphasis is being given to the immersive industry exposure to the faculty. The belief is that success of Telangana youth largely depends on the skill of the faculty. He urged the faculty community to make the best of this unique initiative".

Mr. Sairam Vedam, Program Chair, Project Drona, and CMO at Cigniti said, "Project Drona is designed to enrich and enthuse faculty members to be equipped with globally relevant digital technology skills with an impetus on hands-on expertise, industry immersion and real-world application. The mentorship from the IT industry coupled with the world-class content to access will help them add a new chapter to their own careers as well as to the students being taught. We believe in the next 2 years this can scale up to a model, where it can be an industry-leading program that can be a new benchmark in bridging the industry-academia-skill gap."

More than 250+ Faculty members from educational institutions joined the launch event and evinced keen interest to be part of the program.