Talented wont lose jobs: Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary Government of Telangana

Jayesh Ranjan unveiled Qualcomm’s STEM education initiative for underrepresented girls with United Way of Hyderabad and Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement
Hyderabad, June 12 2017: Talented IT folks wont lose IT jobs. There is a buzz around in the city that many IT professionals may lose jobs on account of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. There is no doubt, some may lose jobs, but, talented wont lose jobs, said Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary Government of Telangana

Addressing the media here in city this afternoon at HICC, immediately after unveiling the Qualcomm India’s flagship CSR project “Qualcomm aqriti - promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education among underprivileged girls, Rajesh Ranjan said that yes Artificial Intelligence and Machines are going to steal your jobs, but they will be few in numbers, he assured. Automation and AI may definitely result in the loss of few jobs, but, talented will remain in demand he told the gathering.

Nearly four lakh people work in IT sector in the city. We need to produce ready to work force for future job requirement. That is why we need initiatives like aqriti, he told.

Girl’s representation in higher education is very poor. According to Praveen Kumar of Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, quoting a finding he said out of 2800 students who appeared for 10th class, 114 joined in inter first year of which 49 completed inter second year. In that lot of 49 students, who completed inter, there were just three girls.

Quoting UN survey, Rekha Srinivasan, of United Way, a global NGO said, only 18 per cent of girls steady Bachelor of Science and rest go to other streams such as Commerce, Humanities etc. Only 8 percent girls do Masters and less than 2 per cent do doctorate in Science. There is a less and less focus of the governments and society on why girls are not opting STEM education. There is no enabling environment, no proper guidance, no community responsibility, she lamented. We need to build community support for the STEM education of the girls. We need to produce few role models for them. she said.

Praveen asked why there is a notion that Science is only for boys? Science is costly?. Why girls are not encouraged to pursue STEM Education? Why is this stigma?. We need to change that he told. Surprisingly, there is a trend noticed off-late in government schools in Bangalore that they have more girls than boys for the past few years, he informed.

Appreciating initiative aqriti of Qualcomm, Jayesh Ranajan said, the aims to provide increased access to STEM education and will address community perceptions on gender equality through various outreach programs. Through this collaboration between Qualcomm, United Way and Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, Qualcomm will contribute to building facilities that enable a quality education for girls in schools, he added.

We have 40 mandals in twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Schools in Bahadurpura, Khairatabad and Nampally mandals have shown very poor academic performance. Their pass performance is far less than the average. Their performance in all parameters such as enrolment, pass percentage is very poor. They have more drop outs, more absenteeism and less girls getting enrolled. Deloitte has been working with Bahadurpura School for the past two years and results are very encouraging. Now, Qualcomm with the support of United Way would like to replicate the Bahadurpura performance in schools in Khairatabad and Nampally mandals, Jayesh Ranajan told.

This project will be implemented this year in 86 schools in these two mandals and will continue at least three years, he told.

Qualcomm aqriti has been launched in Hyderabad and Bengaluru in association with United Way of Hyderabad and Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement respectively. The project will focus on providing STEM labs and learning tools which help students to strengthen the concepts in Science and Mathematics. It will also provide technical mentorship and allied activities including special coaching, exposure visits and soft skills training like digital literacy, basic English, robotics. To motivate students and enhance their interest, the initiative will also provide scholarships and rewards for top performing students pursuing higher education in STEM fields informed Shashi Reddy, VP Engineering Qualcomm India.

“At Qualcomm we deeply care for STEM education, and by contributing to initiatives like Qualcomm aqriti we aim at inspiring greater diversity in these fields and expanding opportunities for underrepresented girl students,” said Archana Nirwan, senior director of Human Resources, Qualcomm Incorporated. “We strongly believe that supporting STEM learning and encouraging young women to pursue STEM careers will empower a new generation of great innovators, support women’s and girls’ economic and social advancement and provide technology companies with the diverse skills and perspectives needed to thrive. We will impact 130 schools and 18000 students in the very first year of the project, Archana added.

“United Way of Hyderabad is excited to be associated with this cause. We firmly believe that the solutions we create for communities around the world go beyond short-term welfare of the society. It’s not just the students, but the families as well who benefit from this STEM education program. Through Qualcomm aqriti we are going to encourage young girls in the field of Science and Technology so that they are equipped with to deal with real world problems,” said Ms. Rekha Srinivasan, Executive Director, United Way of Hyderabad.

“Through the years, Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement has made a conscious effort to create experiential and child-centered learning. Along with Qualcomm and United Way of Hyderabad, we are bringing students and educators into a dedicated space to foster problem-solving, creativity and collaboration to help develop critical skills needed for today’s jobs,” said Shri Praveen Kumar S, Joint Secretary and Director Science Education, Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement.

The improvement of STEM infrastructure in schools (co-ed as well as girls schools) as well as on-ground engagement with local communities and families on the importance of education and STEM, will aid in boosting girl child enrolment rates in schools in the long run, reduction in dropout rates of girls and increase in girl students’ enrolment in long term STEM related careers.