‘A Critical Study of the Course in Communication Skills Offered in the Engineering Colleges Affiliated to Gujarat Technological University (GTU)’ by Pushpendra C. Sinora
Abstract
In this rapidly changing globalized world, proficiency in English is considered as one of the crucial employability skills. It is considered life skill or ‘survival skill’ in the 21st century. Students of professional courses especially Engineering need to be able to think critically, solve problems, communicate clearly, be creative and work in a team in order to get placed in a reputed company. The need for the students of engineering to be trained in a multitude of transferable skills is high (Hatakka, 2005). While the demand for talented engineers is high in MNCs, there is a huge skills shortage in the country. Employers complain about fresh recruits from engineering colleges not being ‘industry ready’. The urgent need to improve technical students’ communication skills has been emphasized by educationists as well as employers. Narayanan, Chairman, NASSCOM, (Warrier, 2007) said “The industry has moved forward rapidly and technology also has changed but the educational institutions and the curriculum have not changed that rapidly. There is a dire need to bridge the gap by providing additional training to the people who are coming out of colleges so as to make them industry-ready.” This perceived problem of lack of communication skills among engineering students makes the researcher raise a key question whether there is a gap between the course of Communication Skills taught in the Engineering colleges affiliated to Gujarat Technological University (GTU), Gujarat and the academic and professional needs of the students and whether there is a need to revise the course of so as to meet language needs of the budding engineers for proper application in the workplace context and also in real- life situations. The study involves a survey conducted by administering questionnaires upon 60 students and 30 English teachers of various engineering colleges affiliated to GTU. The evaluation of the course has necessitated the urgency of implementing Course-Book to enhance teaching-learning process of Communication. (more…)