For a long time, educational institutes and industries have been operating in separate domains. The complex nature of business and fresh challenges in the new economy have compelled both the parties to come closer, work together and create synergies. This article discusses the importance of industry-academia interface, objectives and various gateways to strengthen the relationship.

Industry-academia interface—a concept that has been widely discussed across the boardroom, educational institutes and even state bodies. This can possibly give to birth another public-private sector success story. The result of this interface is manifold—a secured future for aspirants, proper grooming of the students and financial backing by the industry. A parameter for success of any B-School is its ability to offer a strong corporate interface for its students which ultimately enhances their practical knowledge preparing them to face the corporate challenges. Many tier-1 business schools have taken the initiative to strengthen the link and succeeded, but many more are yet to follow. Many ways to increase the interface have been discussed in this article, which will serve the purpose for all B-Schools in their efforts to bridge this gap.

Industry always looks forward for industry-ready people. Employment opportunities are huge but many management graduates are not employable. Industry has drastically reduced the training period for new incumbent from traditional 6-12 months to a few weeks. It expects that candidates should perform from day-1. Thus, it is a real challenge for the B-Schools to make the students industry-savvy. The concept of finishing school is becoming so popular now. There is a huge gap between what the industry expects from the students and classroom teaching-learning process. Students are too theoretical and they lack the fundamental knowledge of the subject. In recent times, most of the B-Schools are trying to reduce this gap to make the teaching-learning process more practical, realistic and real-time. The application of case study, role play, management games, simulation exercises are all initiatives towards development of analytical and conceptual skills among the students. At the same time, the industry is also taking initiatives to reduce this gap. This is a win-win situation for both. Industry-academia interface is a critical requirement in present knowledge economy. It is all about knowledge transfer and experience-technology transfer.

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