IBM will have its fifth software training institute at Salt Lake in Calcutta. The institution, which will be owned and managed by Globsyn Technologies, is expected to launch its first session with a batch of 50 students in July.
The Rs 11.3 crore project the Technocampus-Centre of IBM Software Excellence will have contribution from IBM in the form of mainframe computer and software worth Rs 2 crore, which is being made available at a subsidised price.
The managing director of Webel, Nandan Bhattacharya, who was present at a function on Tuesday to announce the project, said: What the advent of Texas Instruments did to Bangalore, the arrival of IBM will do to Calcutta. I am sure world infotech majors will pour into Calcutta in the next 3 to 5 years.
Globsyn, which is the co-promoter with Webel of the countrys first intelligent city in Calcutta, got six years licence from IBM to run the institution using the IBM name. The licence will be renewed after every three years. The six-month courses will cost around Rs 80,000 per student. IBM has promised to sponsor five students in each semester.
The Indian software industry, Globsyn chairman Bikram Dasgupta said, expects to increase its export turnover to $5 billion from $ 1 billion by the turn of the century.
Software development companies fulfil 40 to 45 per cent of their personnel requirement via freshers, spend about 180 to 210 days to convert them into software specialists. The Technocampus, Dasgupta said, will be developed on the lines of a finishing school with the learners coming out with all-round skills in not only software engineering but also technology management.
The input quality at the institute will be controlled through a national-level test. IBM will monitor the tests personally to ensure quality.
The certificate will be awarded according to IBM norms.
