In the recent Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted the significance of the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) sector, announcing measures to support its growth. To facilitate this, an AVGC Promotion Task Force was established in April 2022, tasked with developing strategies and policy recommendations aimed at enhancing the AVGC-XR sector. The task force indicated that this sector is projected to generate substantial employment, with an anticipated need for two million skilled workers by 2030 within AVGC-XR and related fields.
Ajjay Parge, a member of the task force’s skills committee based in Pune, emphasizes that the primary challenge to achieving this goal lies within the educational system. He notes, “While technology is advancing rapidly, educational methodologies have not kept pace. This issue is particularly evident in fields like architecture, animation, gaming, and XR, where tools and techniques are in constant flux. On a scale from one to ten, the problem is a ten in industries driven by technology.” Parge highlights that the real issue is not the preparedness of students, but rather the outdated knowledge of the trainers.
A critical insight emerging from the industry is the necessity to first educate the educators to effectively prepare students for the future. Engaging with industry experts is essential for educational institutions to stay abreast of the latest technological advancements. Unfortunately, many institutions only seek input from industry professionals for occasional guest lectures, failing to incorporate their expertise into the curriculum.
In response, Parge founded Quibit Global, a startup focused on implementing the “Train the Trainers” concept within the AVGC-XR domain. He recently led a two-day faculty development workshop at KLS Gogte Institute of Technology (GIT) in Belagavi, concentrating on the application of augmented and virtual reality in architecture. Parge asserts, “Industry professionals should be involved in drafting government policies. They possess valuable insights on how students can transition seamlessly into the workforce post-graduation.”
However, Parge questions why more industry experts are not actively involved in mentoring college students. He attributes this to a lack of motivation, stating, “From a business perspective, allocating our top talent to train educators results in lost productive hours. Currently, we are driven by passion, but for this initiative to grow, there needs to be some form of government support or compensation.”
Parge is collaborating with the government to address this issue and has proposed tax incentives or policy measures to foster deeper partnerships between industry and academia. He is also advocating for a model where industry professionals periodically engage in teaching roles, which could benefit both the educators and the students. “A professional under pressure from project deadlines for six months could spend a month teaching. This would allow them a break while providing students with genuine industry insights,” he explains.
Parge remains optimistic that the government is receptive to these recommendations. He believes that without addressing the educational gap, India’s ambition of becoming a leader in the AVGC-XR sector may face significant hurdles.
