Bits & bytes
Intel to develop 10 institutes into centres of excellence

IN an effort to bridge the gap between academic education and changing industry demands, Intel India has announced the selection of 10 tier-two institutes to be cultivated as centres of excellence to prepare university professors and students for a new paradigm of software development.

This initiative is part of Intel's world-ahead programme aimed to transform life in developing communities through technology access, Internet connectivity and education to give experience and training to students for adapting to real-world applications.

College of Engineering (Chennai), Harcourt Butler Technological Institute (Kanpur), International Institute of Information Technology (Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune), Kailasalingham University (Tamil Nadu), PSG College of Technology (Coimbatore), Shanmugha Arts, Science Technology and Research Academy (Sastra) and Thiagarajar College of Engineering (Madurai) would benefit from the programme.

HCL Infosystems Ltd has opened its first career-development centre here to create skilled IT professionals in the country. It has ventured into this at the national level with an objective to meet the increasing demand of skilled resources in the sectors.

HCL Infosystems executive vice-president Rajendra Kumar said since India was emerging as a leading IT country in the global market, it was lacking high-skilled ICT engineers.

Taking cue from a NASSCOM report, he said by 2010 there would be a potential shortage of five lakh ICT professionals and added that the HCL centres would be training the employable youth to overcome the crisis.

Kumar said the company also aimed to make the state among the top three IT states.

Initially, about 10 such centres would be opened in the state, mainly in the district headquarters, including Siliguri, Durgapur, Kharagpur and Haldia, and later about 100 such centres would come up across the country, Kumar said. — UNI