Not only programmers, India needs other engineers too: IIT Directors

In a recent IIT Madras panel discussion, five IIT directors warned against the growing "herd mentality" among students and parents who are fixated on Computer Science Engineering (CSE). They highlighted that India urgently needs talent in other areas to stimulate growth and innovation.

It is driven by high-end compensation for IT professionals, opined Shreepad Karmalkar of IITBhubaneswar: "This herd mentality has to be eliminated." He said students take decisions based on seeming economics, rather than national or social needs.

But that focus underinvests and undigitizes strategic areas—semiconductors, batteries, materials, chemicals and sustainability.

CALL FOR A BROADER ENGINEERING VISION

IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti stated, "The country requires toppers in civil services. Then only technology can reach the masses and heal problems." He stressed that India's technological progress will require balanced governance in the administration, and not just programming.

KNSatyanarayana (IITTirupati) believed there is a "huge vacuum" in sunrise technologies like batteries and semiconductors, and chemical and materials engineers are therefore in fact "the need of the hour."

BSMurty of IITHyderabad reminded students to prioritize national interest over personal gain, while VenkappayyaRDesai (IITDharwad) urged innovative research for service to society.

REIMAGINING ENGINEERING EDUCATION

Panelists agreed that 21st-century engineering education needs to transform. They discussed:

More interdisciplinary education, cross-functional with core computer science, engineering, AI and sustainability.

Increased academic industry collaboration for world implementation in practice.

Increased inclusiveness to admit students from various socioeconomic groups.

WHY SKILL DIVERSITY IS IMPORTANT

Only concern about CSE threats misses huge areas of where India must build world capacity—primarily semiconductors, batteries, chemicals and materials science. This can retard the country's capacity to compete in emerging technologies.

The panel's one-hundred-percent agreement message was direct: computer science is needed, but the future of India lies in creating engineers as a whole. Parents and students must decide based on passion and the needs of the nation—not only salaries.