How Industry-Academia Partnerships are Redefining Online Education

How Industry-Academia Partnerships are Redefining Online Education

#MBA
Atul AdeUpdated on 21 May 2025, 12:24 PM IST

Technology has changed the landscape of education. We can now get a degree sitting at our home or from any location from top-tier universities. Online degree courses are not just providing an academic curriculum beyond on-campus classrooms but also made industry-based learning possible.

How Industry-Academia Partnerships are Redefining Online Education
How Industry-Academia Partnerships are Redefining Online Education

Many top universities like IIT Madras, Amity Online, and Manipal Online are providing market-relevant online degree courses in collaboration with industry leaders and global universities.

For instance, Amity Online offers new specialisations in collaboration with HCL Technologies for industry-based experience. Manipal Online allows students to choose from 10,000+ courses and professional certifications from global universities while pursuing their online degree. These industry collaborations help students bridge their skills gap and enhance their knowledge while providing them with practical exposure.

Why Industry-Academia Partnerships Matter in Online Education

Employers these days are giving more importance to skills compared to just having academic excellence. The academic knowledge is not enough to thrive in a competitive market, and this has made industry-academia collaborations very important.

The World Economic Forum's 2023 Future of Jobs Report projects that by 2025, automation will replace 85 million jobs and that workers' core competencies will shift by 40 per cent. Another report from the World Economic Forum highlights the importance of upskilling for staying competitive in the job market.

The "India's Graduate Skill Index: 2023" report found that only 45 per cent of graduates in India who apply for jobs are employable, with the skills to meet the industry’s rapidly-changing demands. Additionally, the ‘Coursera Learner Outcomes Report 2023’ revealed that more than 87 per cent of candidates in industry-integrated programmes found them more effective, making them well prepared for job hunting.

These and other studies show how important industry-academic partnerships are in today’s job market. Industry-academia collaborations provide industry-relevant curriculum that help learners to stay up-to-date with industry trends. It also provides hands-on experience to candidates via live sessions, real-world business projects, internships, and case studies.

Also Read: How Do Online Degrees Shape the Digital Leaders of Tomorrow?

Advantages of Industry-Academia Collaboration in Online Programs

Industry-academia collaboration helps create a more dynamic, relevant, and skill-oriented education system. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasises the importance of industry-academia collaboration for skill-based education, collaborative research, practical exposure, and global competitiveness.

Here are the advantages of industry-academia collaboration in online programs:

  • Skill Enhancement
    Online degree programmes with industry-academia partnerships provide an industry-aligned curriculum. Candidates will learn the latest technological tools and gain skills to keep pace with rapidly changing industry needs..

  • Mentorship & Networking
    Candidates get the opportunity to interact with diverse peer groups, global faculty, and industry experts. They receive personalised mentorship from alumni, faculty and experts and enhance their networking at a global level.

  • Industry Certifications
    Alongside their degree programmes, learners can pursue courses and professional certifications from leading global universities.

  • Practical Learning
    Industry-academia collaboration helps graduates get practical learning with real-world business scenarios. They can gain hands-on experience through internships, industry projects, and capstone projects.

  • Internships & Job Readiness
    Candidates can get internship opportunities, apprenticeships, and hands-on training with real-world experience that enhance their employability.

Also Read: Online Learning in 2025: What to Expect?

The Role of Industry-Academia Partnership Model in Online Education

Industry-academia partnerships provide industry-relevant online programmes. These programmes majorly focus on market-based learning, providing practical exposure. Here is how industry-academia partnership model works in online education:

Co-creation of curriculum design: Faculty and Industry experts collaboratively design curriculum, ensuring both theoretical rigor and practical relevance.

Technology infrastructure collaboration: Universities partner with technology companies for advanced platforms, tools, and training to enhance the online learning experience.

Integrated Internship Models: Several universities offering online programmes collaborate with top companies to provide internships to their students. The internship model is embedded within the curriculum.

Enterprise employee education programs: Companies partner with universities to develop customised online programmes for their employees to meet specific organisational needs.

Also Check: New To Online Learning? What Beginners Should Know

Industry-academia partnerships serve a crucial purpose to enhance the effectiveness of online degree courses. These collaborations provide learners with in-demand skills and hands-on experience with real-world business problems, enhancing their employability through personalised mentoring.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What is the impact of industry-academia collaboration for students?
A:

The industry-academia collaboration has numerous benefits for students, including skill development, collaborative research, global competitiveness, continuous learning, and increased career opportunities.

Q: Is there any government policy for industry-academia partnership in online education?
A:

Yes, the NEP 2020 emphasises the importance of industry-academia collaboration to create a skill-oriented education system. UGC has also introduced the Professor of Practice (PoP) initiative to bring industry professionals into academic institutions.

Q: What are the examples of industry-academia partnerships in online education?
A:

Some major examples include industry-led projects, workshops and webinars, co-creation of online programmes, and internship and placement programs.

Q: What are the benefits of industry-academia partnerships in online education?
A:

Some of the benefits of industry-academia partnerships are industry-aligned curriculum, access to industry expertise, real-world learning experience, and enhanced employability.

Q: What is an industry-academia partnership in online education?
A:

An industry-academia partnership in online education is a collaboration between educational institutions and businesses or industries to enhance the relevance and practical application of online learning.

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Questions related to MBA

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to MBA ?

Yes, with an 89 percentile in CAT, your daughter has a good chance of securing admission in several reputed MBA colleges in India, though top IIMs may be difficult unless she has strong academic diversity, category reservation, or exceptional profile factors. At this percentile range, many well-known Tier-2 and upper Tier-3 management institutes consider candidates for their flagship MBA/PGDM programs.

Institutes such as IMI New Delhi, IMT Hyderabad, XIMB HRM, GIM Goa (certain programs), FORE School of Management, LBSIM Delhi, TAPMI Manipal (borderline), IFMR GSB, Great Lakes (PGDM) and several reputed university MBA programs actively shortlist candidates around the 85–90 percentile range. Final selection does not depend on CAT score alone; academic background, work experience, diversity, performance in GD/PI/WAT also play a significant role.

To maximise chances, she should apply to a balanced mix of colleges, prepare well for interviews, and highlight strengths such as internships, certifications, leadership roles, or work experience. If her profile is average and she aims for higher-ranked institutes, she may also consider repeating CAT with focused preparation to push her percentile above 95.

With 71.52 percentile in CAT as an SC category candidate, getting admission to NIT Trichy (DOMS) for MBA is possible but not guaranteed. NIT Trichy generally has lower CAT cut-offs for reserved categories, and in recent years, the SC cut-off has ranged approximately between 65–75 percentile, depending on the applicant pool and seat availability. Since your score falls within this range, you may get shortlisted for the PI round, especially if you have decent academic consistency and meet the minimum eligibility criteria. However, final admission will depend on performance in the personal interview, academic background, and availability of SC category seats. You should definitely apply to NIT Trichy, but also keep options open by applying to other NITs like NIT Warangal, NIT Surathkal, NIT Calicut, and central universities, where your percentile gives you a better conversion probability. Preparing well for the interview can significantly improve your chances of securing a seat.

With an overall CAT percentile of around 80 and belonging to the NC-OBC category, you do have a fair set of MBA college options in India, including some IITs, though the top IIMs and older IIT MBA programs will be difficult at this score.

At the IITs, you can realistically consider the newer and mid-tier MBA programs. IIT Jodhpur (MBA), IIT Bhilai, IIT Jammu, and IIT Dharwad are among the IITs where candidates with 75–85 percentile in CAT and category reservation like NC-OBC have received calls in previous admission cycles. These institutes generally place more weight on CAT score combined with academic background, work experience, and performance in the personal interview. However, IIT Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Kharagpur, Kanpur, and Roorkee usually require much higher percentiles, even for reserved categories, so chances there are quite low at 80 percentile.

Apart from IITs, several good government and semi-government MBA institutes are strong options at your percentile. You should definitely consider colleges like NIT Trichy (DOMS), NIT Warangal (SOM), NIT Calicut (SOM), and NIT Durgapur, as NITs often have slightly lower CAT cutoffs for NC-OBC candidates compared to IIMs. Universities such as Jamia Millia Islamia (MBA), Aligarh Muslim University, University of Hyderabad, and Delhi School of Management (DTU) can also be explored, depending on sectional cutoffs and your academic profile.

In the private institute space, there are many reputed B-schools where 80 percentile with NC-OBC reservation gives you a reasonable chance. These include IMT Nagpur and Hyderabad, GIM Goa (for some programs), TAPMI Manipal, FORE School of Management, K J Somaiya (Mumbai), BIMTECH Greater Noida, IRMA Anand (depending on profile), and IFMR GSB Krea University. These colleges focus strongly on interviews, SOPs, and overall profile, so good communication skills and clarity of goals can significantly improve your chances.

Overall, your strategy should be to apply broadly. Prioritise newer IITs and NITs first, then reputed private B-schools with consistent placement records. Make sure you prepare well for the personal interview and group discussion rounds, as at this percentile, final selection depends heavily on how well you perform beyond CAT.

https://bschool.careers360.com/cat-college-predictor

Hello,

Both Bengal Institute of Business Studies (BIBS) and United World School of Business (UWSB) have strong placement records in Kolkata. with specific data suggesting BIBS has a slightly higher potential higher salary package. While the UWSB provides a higher placement rate.

I hope it will clear your query!!

Hello

With an NMAT score of 205, you have decent chances in good mid-tier MBA colleges.
You may get calls from NMIMS Hyderabad or Indore, but the Mumbai core is usually slightly higher.
Colleges like SDA Bocconi Asia Centre, BML Munjal, and IBS Hyderabad are realistic options.
Some reputed private B-schools may also consider you if sectional cutoffs are clear. Overall, 205 is a fair score that can lead to a solid MBA college with good planning.

You can refer to the link I am attaching for more details: CLICK HERE