Soon, it will be a mandate for Karnataka's college students to learn about cybersecurity before graduating from their three-year undergraduate programmes since cybercrimes are on the rise and Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat has made a note of it too.
In an interaction with The New Indian Express, Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan went on to say that all institutes, especially the non-STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) ones, will be initiating this. In the first year of their college, data analytics and the Internet of Things will be taught to the students; in the second year, they will learn about Artificial Intelligence and in the third year, the students will pursue a course on cyber security. Ashwath Narayan said that the course is mandatory and not a part of the open electives. Students will be trained and it will be part of their examinations as well.
The Higher Education Minister said that training is given by NASSCOM for trainers/teachers in government, aided and unaided colleges. The training of trainers and trainees will be free of cost and will be offered both online and offline, he added.
While agreeing that there has been a dip in the number of takers for engineering seats in the state, as travelling has become difficult for students from outside Karnataka, Ashwath Narayan said that demand for Computer Science, Information Science, Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics has gone up and all seats have been taken.
Ashwath Narayan said that all universities — public, private, deemed and even VTU — have been asked to come forward for institutional collaboration and facilitate the establishment of start-ups in non-STEM universities too. "We are insisting that they take all possible measures because there is scope for start-ups in all sectors. And most of the start-ups are from non-STEM areas hence, we need to tap that potential." Students are also allowed to take up internships anywhere, he added.
Talking about the increasing presence of consulates in Bengaluru that have been in touch with innovators and their role to potentially facilitate investments with their deeper knowledge, the Higher Education Minister said, "Going ten steps ahead now, we are asking them (consulates) to collaborate at the institutional level."
