A National Conference on the theme “Enhancing Quality in Higher Education through Industry Integration, Innovation, and Employability: The Indian Advantage” was jointly organized by Smt. Hiraben Nanavati Institute of Management and Research for Women (HNIMR) and the School of Fashion Technology (SOFT) of MKSSS at the institution’s auditorium in Pune. The objective of the conference was to bring together academic institutions, industry experts, researchers, and policymakers to deliberate on the current needs of higher education, explore ways to integrate industry with curricula, and identify solutions to improve employability.
The conference was inaugurated at the hands of Dr. Abhay Jere (Vice Chairman, AICTE), Dr. Nitin Karmalkar (Former Vice Chancellor, Pune University), Dr. Cynthia Menezes (Vice Chancellor, Bangalore University), Dr. Ujjwala Chakradeo (Vice Chancellor, SNDT Women’s University – via video), and Mrs. Vidya Kulkarni. At the inauguration, the conference proceedings of the abstracts of 70 research papers received was released at the hands of the dignitaries.
The conference featured four panel discussions on topics like Industry-Institution Collaboration and Curriculum Improvement, Career Readiness and Competency-Based Training, Flexible, Interdisciplinary, and Modular Learning and AI, Digital Tools, and Emerging Technologies. Industry and Corporate heads and academicians like Pratimatai Kirloskar (President, Innovations Society), Dr. Karmalkar, Mr. Hrishikesh Dhande (TCS), Mrs. Kanchan Satpute (Deputy Secretary – MKSSS) , Dr. Shilpa Kulkarni (Founder Secretary – Matrix Educational Society), Shailendra Goswami (Chairman and Managing Director, Pushkraj Group), Mr. Siddharth Desai (Jt. Managing Director – Kishor Pumps), Mr. Suhas Deshmukh (Director – National Council for Vocational Education and Training), Dr. Manju Hundekar (Director – Development Cell, MKSSS) Major Rahul More (Leadership Mentor & Financial Consultant), Mr. Milind Mutalik (Consultant – Manufacturing, IT &ITES Services), Dr. Ajit Thete (Director, First Foundation and Director Centre for Development of Leadership in Education), Dr. Bhooshan Kelkar (Director – Neuflex Talent Solutions), Dr. Madhuri Khambete (Principal – MKSSS’S Cummins College of Engineering for Women) Mrs. Sharmistha Kendrekar (Head AI & Innovation-Retail UK, Benelux and France, TCS) and Dr. Parag Kalkar (Pro Vice Chancellor, Savitribai Phule University) contributed their expert views in the panel discussion.
The Conference was concluded with Dr. Anil Sahasrabudhe (Chairman, NAAC) who provided guidance online, emphasizing the importance of embracing continuous changes in education and maintaining dialogue between industry and academic institutions and Mr. Rajendra Jog (Trustee Member, MKSSS) who very crisply mentioned the importance of quality enhancement in higher education.
The conference was organized under the leadership of Dr. Mihika Kulkarni, Dr. Sonali Parchure, and Dr. Pranita Sonar, with the guidance of Director Dr. Priyanka Singh.
