The new sustainable development center will focus on improvements in energy, transportation, clean water, waste management and agriculture which were identified at the conference as the current most pressing needs in the country.

India has close to 1.2 billion people and is expected to grow by another 300 million within the next couple of decades, according to the United Nations. Cities will generate two-thirds of the country’s economic output and there exists significant migration from rural areas of India to major urban centers as people seek out more stable employment opportunities. As a result, urban infrastructure including water, sewage and power supplies as well as transportation systems, educational centers and medical services will be challenged. Planning for this growth using sustainable practices is critical.

“The International conference provided an opportunity for the community of researchers and students to showcase their research findings from projects and studies completed in the field of technology for sustainable development,” said Father Adolph Furtado, rector of the Don Bosco Center for Learning, during the conference’s closing ceremony. “The new center will provide a mechanism for industry partnership and ongoing research and work for long-term change in this field.”

Don Bosco Institute of Technology is part of the Don Bosco Center for Learning, a Salesian network of educational institutions located on an eco-friendly six-acre campus in Kurla. The Don Bosco Center for Learning’s network encompasses four other educational institutions including St. Joseph’s Industrial Training Institution, Don Bosco Maritime Academy, Don Bosco College for Hospitality Studies, Mass Media and Management Studies and Don Bosco Institute of Management & Research for Masters in Management. In addition, the Center’s campus has a center for social change.

Through its educational institutions, Don Bosco Center for Learning provides vocational, technical and advanced degree education for poor youth in India. The goal is to provide students the employment skills necessary to find and retain stable employment. Hosting the international conference and the creation of the sustainable development center lends additional support to the Center’s growing academic programs and research capacity. International corporations such as GROHE Germany, IBM, Volkswagen, Toyota and Ford, among others have been supporting ongoing educational projects on the campus for many years.

India is home to more than 400 million poor people or one third of the world’s poor, according to UNICEF. Although more than 53 million people escaped poverty between 2005 and 2010, most remain vulnerable to falling back below the poverty line.

There is a lack of educational opportunities in the country often due to issues of caste, class and gender and with 44 percent of the workforce illiterate, there is much work to be done. Less than 10 percent of the working-age population has completed a secondary education and too many secondary graduates do not have the knowledge and skills to compete in today’s changing job market.

Sources

Daijiworld.com – New research centre for sustainable development to be set at Don Bosco

Don Bosco Center for Learning

UNICEF – India

The post INDIA: Don Bosco Institute of Technology Develops New Center for Sustainability Development first appeared on MissionNewswire.

With more than 1.2 billion people, India has the world’s fourth largest economy and according to UNICEF, is home to one-third of the world’s poor. Close to 217 million of India’s poor are children. Although more than 53 million people escaped poverty between 2005 and 2010, most remain vulnerable to falling back below the poverty line.

India’s youth face a lack of educational opportunities due to issues of caste, class and gender. Almost 44 percent of the workforce is illiterate and less than 10 percent of the working-age population has completed a secondary education. In addition, too many secondary school graduates do not have the knowledge and skills to compete in today’s changing job market.

To address the need for skills training and workforce development for India’s poor youth, Salesian missionaries at the Don Bosco Center for Learning located in Kurla, a suburb just north of Mumbai, have recently inaugurated an Automotive Student Service Educational Training (ASSET) center in collaboration with Ford India at the Center’s St. Joseph’s Industrial Training Institute. This is the fourth ASSET training center Ford India has set up in the country aimed at creating a pool of talented and skilled professionals for the automotive industry.

“Collaborations such as these are essential in order to provide youth the necessary skills training to help them break the cycle of poverty and gain meaningful employment,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, “It’s a win-win for both Ford India and the students. Ford India gains a highly trained workforce and the students become contributing members of their communities.”

Ford India has set up an exclusive technical training area at St. Joseph’s Industrial Training Institute where students will be trained in Ford technology as part of the Institute’s motor mechanic vehicle curriculum. To ensure sustainability of the project, Ford’s technical training collaboration includes exclusive train-the-trainer sessions for the Institute’s lecturers.

The ASSET training facility is a collaborative project involving Ford India, Bhavna Ford, Mumbai (a local Ford dealership) and the Institute. Ford India will provide world-class technical know-how, training materials and trained instructors. The local Ford dealership will provide on-the-job training opportunities for students as well as special training sessions at the Institute by master technician trainers to help improve the student’s hands-on skills.

The goal of the program is to provide multiple learning avenues for students enabling them to correctly service Ford cars and become eligible to work in the Ford service network across the country.

The ASSET training facility was inaugurated by P.K. Umashankar, vice-president of customer service operations at Ford India and the director and executive director of the Don Bosco Center for Learning, Father Adolph Furtado and Father Colbert da Silva, among others.

“After the successful launch in Pune last week, we are delighted to come to Mumbai to provide world class automotive training to students in the state of Maharashtra,” says P.K. Umashankar, in a recent India Education diary article about the inauguration. “We are focused to make Ford ASSET program the primary source of trained pool of technicians for Ford dealers and look to expand to more cities in the coming year. With the launch of the program, we have truly created a real asset that will not only help students with better growth and employment prospects but also the automobile industry with skilled workforce.”

###

Sources:

India Education Diary – Ford India Partners with Don Bosco Centre of Learning to Launch Automotive Student Service Educational Training (ASSET)

International Labour Organization – Global Employment Trends 2014 Report

UNICEF – India

The post INDIA: Don Bosco Center for Learning Develops Collaborative Training Partnership with Ford India first appeared on MissionNewswire.