THE CHALLENGE IS HOW TO MAKE OUR YOUTH COGNITIVELY AMBIDEXTROUS

INTERVIEW Subroto Bagchi co-founder of Mindtree and chairman, Odisha Skill Development Authority

- BY ABHINAV SINGH

After starting out as a clerk in the industries department of the Odisha government in 1976, Subroto Bagchi entered the computer industry in 1981, working in sales, marketing and operations for several companies. His longest stint was at Wipro, where he became chief executive of its global R&D before serving as corporate vice president (mission quality) under chairman Azim Premji. He left Wipro in 1998 to join Lucent Technologies, and, a year later, co-founded Mindtree with nine others, becoming its chief operating officer. He was appointed vice chairman in 2010 and chairman in 2012.

WHERE DIFFERENT AMBITIONS FIND THEIR DIRECTION

From practical learning and experienced faculty to vibrant campus life and career-focused education, Malwanchal University provides the foundation for future success.

In 2016, at the invitation of chief minister Naveen Patnaik, he took on the full-time role of chairman, Odisha Skill Development Authority, with the rank of a cabinet minister. Bagchi talks to THE WEEK about higher education in India. Excerpts:

How should colleges balance academic rigour with the practical demands of a rapidly changing economy?