Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Guwahati: A special review mission from the Asian Development Bank recently wrapped up its evaluation of the Assam Skills University project. The team met from August 24 to September 3 to set a new trajectory for the institution. They want the campus to function as a thematic capacity multiplier. This means the school will act as a hub for existing polytechnics, ITIs, colleges, and government vocational programs instead of trying to replace them.
Official data shows 21.15 lakh youth received certification through PMKVY and DDUGKY since 2023. Roughly 45 per cent of those people found work. ASU officials plan to improve those odds by offering stackable programs covering NSQF Levels 4 through 8. These courses allow students to turn credits into degrees. ASU currently manages 36 of these stack-based programs across nine sectors. Twenty-four of them follow international standards. An application to serve as an NCVET Awarding Body is also in the works to broaden their reach.
Industry ties drive the current strategy. The university holds 82 memorandums of understanding with corporate partners like IBM, L&T, and C-DAC. Six degree programs are already running with these companies. Students have finished 239 internships and picked up four India Skills medals in just six months. The school also hosts specialized labs for electric vehicles, CNC, and metrology to keep training relevant.
The university plans to leverage its Food Analytics and Food Microbiology labs for an applied research initiative. This project connects Tezpur University and GKCIET with a recommended three-year budget of Rs 52.52 lakh. The Assam government promised to align job profiles and eligibility rules to support these efforts. The institution aims to hit 5,047 learners by 2027, growing to 78,033 students by 2035.
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