Oracle gives $5.4 mn for IT training in Karnataka

Oracle India has announced an in-kind grant of $5.4 million to provide specialised training in information technology to students in 100 polytechnic institutes in Karnataka under its Oracle Academy programme.

The company has signed an MoU with the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Government of Karnataka, in this regard.

As per the agreement, the Oracle Academy will provide the polytechnics with curriculum, software and professional development over the next two years.

Krishan Dhawan, managing director, Oracle India, said the programme was a step towards making the students of polytechnics industry-ready by providing them specialised training in IT infrastructure management and making them fit for the requirements of the IT industry.

"Traditionally our focus was on engineering colleges. Now, by joining hands with the Karnataka government to provide training and curriculums for the polytechnic institutes in the state, we believe that a large human resources produced by this effort can be used in the fullest potential and contribute to the economic development of the country," he added.

The Oracle Academy has so far made in-kind software grants of $255 million to the higher education institutions in India. The partnership with the DTE, Karnataka, will extend its reach to more than 30,000 students from over 200 education institutions in the country, according to company sources.

In the first phase, 50 polytechnic institutes will commence teaching the Oracle Academy course curriculum during the next academic semester, starting in early 2007.

Of this, faculty from 41 institutes have already been given training and the government is taking steps to identify the remaining 50 institutes to start the programme at the earliest, said Mohammad Ali, DTE.