Government mediated program on intensifying industry- academia linkages for human resource development; Experiences of an innovative model from TIFAC

The importance of academia- industry linkages for development of an economy is well recognized. With a view to make the higher technical education relevant, by forging and catalyzing functional linkages between industry and academia, an innovative model was conceived by TIFAC in the shape of Center of Relevance & Excellence (CORE). These TIFAC-COREs were to be established in academic institutions across the country- with financial stakes of industry, academia and government and also ensuring their participation. The paper describes experiences from two TIFAC-COREs established in SASTRA University & Amrita University, both located in rural India. The achievements are redolent of intensive industry- academia interaction, bringing out the catalytic role played by TIFAC.