Genesis of U-I Congress

It was in May 2007 that CII created a platform for industry to interact with universities for knowledge sharing and catalyzing joint activities either collectively or bilaterally by setting up the University-Industry Council (U-I Council). The aim of the Council was to facilitate fruitful cooperation between universities and industry, essential for building and strengthening the human capital of India. The University-Industry Council had representation from heads of universities -- Central, state, deemed and open; senior members of industry; eminent educationists; education bodies such as UGC, AICTE and CII. In 2011, the U-I Council was enlarged into a University-Industry Congress.

U-I Council Symposiums

Since 2007 nine in the series of University-Industry Council symposiums have been held in different parts of the country.

• New Delhi
• Mumbai
• Pondicherry University, Pondicherry
• Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU, now called Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology), Shibpur
• Nagaland University
• Bangalore
• Shivaji University, Kolhapur
• Jammu University
• Jadavpur University, Kolkata

The aim of these symposiums has been to:

• Create a platform for industry-academic collaboration
• Promote creation of innovation centres to act as a bridge between universities and industry
• Provide a conducive environment for both sides to discuss their issues and concerns
• Raise awareness level about the need to interact on a proactive basis
• Make academia understand that interaction with industry goes beyond placements

University-Industry Congress

As an industry organization working closely with the government and academia to address their issues and concerns, in 2011, CII enlarged the scope of the University-Industry Council into AICTE-CII University-Industry Congress (referred to as U-I Congress) as a step in the direction of bridging the gap between academia and industry which is at the root of the employability problem. Both AICTE and CII have been undertaking various initiatives to improve academia-industry relations under the U-I Congress. U-I Congress strives to stimulate industry-academia collaborations through organization of workshops, global & national conferences, and regional seminars.