Karnataka to Set Up ₹2,500 Cr CoE Focused on Skill Development Spurring Innovation

The Karnataka government has announced plans to set up a Centre of Excellence at a cost of ₹2,500 crore (approximately $296 million USD. This initiative aims to enhance higher education in line with new innovations and emerging technologies.

The project will be funded with a World Bank loan of ₹1,750 crore, while the state government will contribute ₹750 crore.

The Centre of Excellence will focus on skill development in higher education, updating curricula to meet industry needs, and fostering entrepreneurship. It will benefit polytechnic, engineering, and humanities students, with a portion of the curriculum dedicated to emerging technology innovation and start-ups.

M.C. Sudhakar, Minister for Higher Education, said:

The Center of Excellence is mainly related to higher education, and skill development will be given high priority. In addition, the curriculum will be implemented on the basis of skill development and a credit system will be adopted to provide space for serious study by students. Instead of implementing skill development in the internship model, it will be implemented as part of the curriculum from the first semester itself, as per the needs of the industries. 

The project is expected to be implemented within four years. The center will provide a platform for students to engage in serious study and practical application of skills from the first semester itself.

The curriculum will be designed to incorporate emerging technology innovations and start-ups. About 60% of the standard templates will be used for all departments, with the remaining 40% dedicated to emerging technology innovation and start-ups.

The center aims to make engineering and other courses more relevant and attractive to students by adapting new skills according to industry development and new innovations.