Data science is going to be the key driver in engineering field: Official

Coimbatore: Data science is going to be the key driver in the engineering field, principal secretary to the state government (special programme implementation) T Udhayachandran said here on Friday.
Speaking at the regional orientation conference on upskilling under the Naan Mudhalvan scheme at PSG Tech in the city, he said in government too, data science help to reach out to the right audience while rolling out a scheme and saving several crores of rupees. Principals and faculty members of engineering colleges from Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode and Nilgiris participated in the conference.
It will be difficult to generate employment for engineers unless we equip them in niche areas, he said.
“Our mission will be accomplished only when engineering colleges change their course from discussing only CGPA to additional qualifications of students. This is an era of specialization,” he said.
Studying a foreign language along with an engineering course will help in getting placements abroad. For instance, mechanical engineering along with the German language and technological courses along with the Japanese language will help get jobs in those countries, he added.
Students should be encouraged to take risks and start businesses. An environment must be created where failures are appreciated, he added. Principal secretary to higher education department D Karthikeyan, managing director of skill development corporation J Innocent Divya, district collector G S Sameeran, corporation commissioner M Prathap and Bharathiar University vice-chancellor P Kaliraj also took part in the conference.