Finally, I am back to blogging
after days of coaxing and convincing myself that I might still have the
‘blogging’ streak. The last time I wrote
an article was way back in 2009! Two jobs and an MBA degree, I thought I had lost
my naivety and brusqueness!
What triggered me?? This brilliant video:
Most of Indian middle class can closely
relate to my educational and professional background. State board schooling, an engineering degree,
developing software , an MBA and finally a Bank job!
There is one exasperating
question that every MBA is asked again and again – Why MBA? With plenty of time
at hand, I decided to answer this question honestly. Why did I switch from
engineering to MBA? Did I hate engineering? Of course, I did not. I graduated
with good grades; doesn’t that make me a good engineer? No, grades weren’t enough
to make me a good engineer at work. My lecture-centric education hardly helped
me to comprehend the connection between classroom knowledge and professional
practice. Even after four years of learning fascinating concepts and sophisticated
theories, I wasn’t competent to respond to the need for increasingly complex
problem identification and solutions. I felt I was not ‘cut-out’ for a technical
career. Probably I was right!
But every year lakhs of Indian students apply for
admission to engineering colleges. And a large majority of graduating engineers
apply for admission to business schools. Are they all not ‘cut-out’? There
definitely is a missing link. I think it is our education system. I feel we overuse
the lecture format. It is indeed an efficient delivery system to provide
students with large amounts of information in short amounts of time. However, this
passive one-sided talking quickly disengages students.
Another reason would be our outdated syllabus. Our televisions have progressed from plasma to LCD to LED but we are still taught cathode ray tubes! Of course we need to get our basics right but today’s industry is not about routine engineering or age old applications. The 21st century market seeks innovation and demands engineers who can conceive and create new classes of products and services. We, therefore, need to understand the bigger picture of engineering: a systems perspective, an entrepreneurial perspective, and a global perspective.
And, this is not limited to engineering! It applies to every form of education. This makes me wonder are we 'rightly' educated? Do we understand the real meaning of the word 'education'? That word is derived from the Latin word 'educo' meaning to educe, to draw out, to lead and develop from within!
Another reason would be our outdated syllabus. Our televisions have progressed from plasma to LCD to LED but we are still taught cathode ray tubes! Of course we need to get our basics right but today’s industry is not about routine engineering or age old applications. The 21st century market seeks innovation and demands engineers who can conceive and create new classes of products and services. We, therefore, need to understand the bigger picture of engineering: a systems perspective, an entrepreneurial perspective, and a global perspective.
And, this is not limited to engineering! It applies to every form of education. This makes me wonder are we 'rightly' educated? Do we understand the real meaning of the word 'education'? That word is derived from the Latin word 'educo' meaning to educe, to draw out, to lead and develop from within!
What do you think? How can we solve this problem?
