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Presented by


S. Sadulla, Santosh Philip Ahraham and T.Ramasami of Central Leather Research Institute, at the 25th IULTS congress held in January 1999 in Chennai

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Design of the Courses
The dictionary defines curriculum as 'a series of studies required' and the origin of the word is from Latin meaning 'a course tip be pursued'. In its broadest sense, the term signifies what the content of the process assisting students towards desired learning should be and what forms or form it should take. Curriculum design, development, implementation and evaluation are all important aspects of any process involving education and training. At CLRI these aspects are given a lot of thought and planning. Considering how industry intensive the course is, adequate thought is given to the design of the course, keeping in mind the relevant needs of the industry. In principle, the nature of the academy linked courses and the industry linked courses are different and these differences are also reflected in the design of the courses

A. Programmes with academic linkages.
The under-graduate programme has been structured to present a broad and balanced perspective to the students. Emphasis has been laid to ensure that the students of the programme are adequately exposed to not only the professional Subjects but also to general subjects and subjects of basic and engineering sciences. The distribution of subjects in the curriculum and the emphasis on strengthening the theoretical base of the students are represented by Fig 2.1 and Fig. 2.2. The curriculum of these courses are planned and designed not only by the academy, but also with adequate consultation and representation of the views and Suggestions from the Industry. This aspect thus effectively symbolises the advantage of close Academy-Institute-Industry interaction. Constant revision Of the curriculum is vital if the recent advances in the area of interest are to be kept abreast. There are mechanisms in the Academy Set up to take into account such needs. Once in every five years or as and when need arises, a committee revises the syllabus and this committee has representations "Of Only from the academy but also from the industry. In addition, the system has the facility to revise a syllabus as and when a need arises. This helps to incorporate the latest trends and to include subjects on emerging technologies. Built in mechanisms keep check on the implementation and evaluation procedures. A national body, the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) periodically evaluates the complete system and rates the courses based on various parameters set. This helps in not only improving standards but acts also gives an indication of the quality of the education provided. CLRI is participating in this accreditation process and at the time of writing this paper, is awaiting the arrival of the evaluation team. The Master's Programmes in Leather Technology and Footwear Science and Engineering, have been structured to reinforce the strengths developed by the students in their undergraduate programme. The wide ranging subjects offered to the students help them develop a foundation on which a strong structure can be built, be it an academic need or a need to face the diverse situations faced in the Industry. The subjects are dealt with an emphasis on greater detail. Subjects relating to fundamental science are also offered to the students, in order that they understand and appreciate the impact of basic science on technology and vice versa. A full semester is allotted for the project work with a view to nurture the innovative ideas in the students. This develops in students the ability of problem solving and innovative thinking, so important for meeting the goals of the programme. The distribution of subjects in the curriculum of the post graduate programmes are indicated in Fig 3.1 and Fig 3.2. Other aspects of the development, implementation and evaluation of the curriculum discussed with respect to the under-graduate programmes are relevant in this context also.

Research activities in CLRI are unique in that work is carried out not only in the field of leather technology and footwear science and engineering, but also in wide ranging areas of applied and fundamental science and technology. These areas include bacteriology, biochemistry, bio inorganic chemistry, biotechnology, biophysics, various branches of chemistry, chemical engineering, chemical physics, economics, environmental engineering, leather garments and leather goods and many other disciplines. This diversity in research strengths provides a wealth of talent for the conduct of the various training programmes at CLRI.

B. Training programmes with industry linkages:
These training programmes have been designed by keeping the vocational training requirements in mind. All these courses are tailor made to meet specific requirements and are practical intensive courses. These courses can be classified based on the duration of the courses. As seen in Table 3a the courses that are of shorter duration are either introductory in nature or have very specific perspectives. The courses of longer duration as seen in Table 3b vary from 6 months to about a year. These long term courses while demanding greater inputs in terms of practical exposure, also provide adequate theoretical inputs, which play an important role in independent problem solving capabilities of the individual especially while at work. The emphasis on the practical inputs provided in one such course, a post-graduate diploma in leather processing is highlighted in Fig. 4.

When compared with the academic courses (Figs 2.2, 3.2) the onus has clearly shifted to strengthening the practical skills of the trainee. A cursory glance of Table 3a and 3b would reveal that these courses cater to a very wide target group. Many of the long term courses are modular in nature with multi level entry and exit points. These courses are designed on the French model AFPIC (the French acronym for Association for Vocational Training in Leather Industries) and AFPA (the French acronym for the Association for Adult Vocational Training. The manufacture of leather garment for example would involve skills in cutting and clicking, assembling and stitching and of course pattern making. Training in each of these skills are imparted in the form of a specific modular training programmes that deal in detail independently with aspects of cutting and clicking or assembling and stitching or with pattern making. A trainee may choose a module of his choice and when a module is mastered, the student may either leave with a certificate or he may move up to the next module. In the event that the student desires to acquire training in all the aspects of leather garment manufacture, he has the choice of going through all the modules or taking a diploma programme as a full capsule. This system provides the flexibility required to meet a specific need of an individual.

A dynamic archetype of HRD in the leather scenario
The case study presented above reflects an archetype that has reflected the intricacies involved in the area of HRD with reference to the leather scenario. The success of the model is illustrated by Table 4 which lists the details of the manpower trained at CLRI in the past 5 years. About 85% of the top management positions in the Industry in the country are manned by personnel trained at CLRI. This model by closely interacting with the academy has established a symbiotic relationship wherein the expertise of the Institute is made available to the academy. In this arrangement, the technological information is very efficiently delivered as it evolves. Motivational factors for the scientists of the Institute, delivering the training is productive in the challenge of their research profession. So also, the industry benefits not only from the large trained manpower but also from the Research and Development activities of the Institute. Thus this trinity comprising of the Academy, Institute and Industry is a vital component of the dynamics involved in this model.

Conclusion
The above paper discusses a specific model involved in Human Resource Development in the Leather scenario. The various aspects contributing to the success of the model have been highlighted. The synergetic interaction between the academy, industry and the institute has been described and its importance on the success of the model has been emphasised.


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