Bengaluru, Jul 16 (IANS): In a move aimed at improving the employment potential of engineering diploma students in Karnataka, and also to equip them with entrepreneurial skills, the Department of Technical Education (DTE) and the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) inked an MoU on Friday.

Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan, who also holds the higher education portfolio, said that establishing a DTE-BCIC Case Centre will help DTE students learn from real-world case studies and also provide them with opportunities to plan their career path, leading to employment, entrepreneurship, research and higher education.

The MoU will enable the development of a joint online portal for the seamless offering of internships, industry visits, projects, and placements for diploma students across the state, besides facilitating the use of the learning management system (LMS) effectively, he pointed out.

The agreement will also support the upgrading of laboratory infrastructure across polytechnics, and provide training to maintain the equipment to industry standards besides enabling training the faculty in the latest subjects, topics and tools, Narayan explained.

Pointing out that the diploma curriculum has been revamped to make the students more employable as needed by the industry, the minister said, "The industry has a very important role in providing inputs to the curriculum, including real-world case studies, and the industry-academia partnership is key to ensure the success of both."