TeamLease EdTech, the Indian Institute of Technology Patna, and NSDC recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalize their collaboration and accelerate the development of employability-focused, large-scale, innovative learning programmes. This partnership aims to provide every student who aspires to graduate from this country’s premier institution with the option of Work-linked Hybrid Degree Programmes while also improving their employer signalling value.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between TeamLease EdTech, IIT Patna, and NSDC will strengthen joint advocacy and support efforts to create an alternative higher education format that integrates high-quality formal education, skill development, and employer connectivity.
These new sets of Work-linked Hybrid Degree Programmes have five unique attributes:
- Learning by Doing: The students shall be offered the opportunity to intern with an employer to gain practical hands-on skills.
- Learning while Earning – Every interning student shall be able to earn a monthly stipend.
- Learning with Flexibility: The programmes have been uniquely crafted to blend online learning, skills training, on-the-job training, and on-campus learning experiences.
- Learning with Modularity – The programmes shall provide the option of credit mobility to the learners in due course of time.
- Learning with Employer Signalling – This new category of programmes shall signal skill building alongside academic prudence.
Through the programmes, every learner in the country can obtain an IIT Degree and an experience certificate from the employer. Graduating students can enrol in these programmes to earn their Dual Degrees. With the help of an integrated technology platform, every student in the country can enrol in the programme through their smartphones once they have registered. Enrollment processes for these programmes will begin in January 2024.
Speaking on the collaboration, Founder & CEO of TeamLease EdTech, Shantanu Rooj, said:
TeamLease EdTech’s sole vision is to help improve graduate employability across the country by creating accessible learning and education solutions while tackling the difficult trinity of cost, quality and scale. Through our collaboration with IIT Patna and NSDC, we are all set to launch these transformative programs to make higher education in India more employable and purposeful.
TeamLease EdTech helps universities launch, run, and manage their Online Programmes, Institutes improve their students’ employability through apprenticeship programmes, and corporations build talent supply chains. The company has exclusive partnerships with 60 of India’s most prominent universities across 16 Indian states, trains 6.5 lakh students on their platform in 9 Indian languages, and works with 1500 corporations on upskilling/skilling initiatives. Its Digivarsity platform is India’s first multi-university Career and Degree discovery platform.
Prof. T. N. Singh, Director of IIT Patna, stated:
IIT Patna is taking several path-breaking initiatives to improve graduate employability in the country. Our partnership with TeamLease EdTech and NSDC will help us design, develop and deliver a new category of immersive hybrid programs that help provide learners with high-quality academics and the necessary work experience.
Ved Mani Tiwari, CEO of NSDC, also commented on the partnership, saying:
NSDC has been taking several steps to improve employability and skill building. Our partnership with IIT Patna and TeamLease EdTech is a milestone event – this new category of work-embedded programs shall go a long way in improving the employability of the country’s youth by bringing IIT brand excellence to workplaces.
The National Skill Development Corporation aims to catalyze the development of a large and high-quality vocational training ecosystem in India. Since its inception, the organization has played a vital role in enabling International Workforce Mobility through strategic engagements with foreign governments, dedicated training programmes, and inclusive digital and on-ground initiatives.
