STPI likely to set up more finishing schools

Bangalore: With the success of finishing schools in Chennai, the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) plans to set up more finishing schools at 50 other centers across the country. Started as a pilot in Chennai with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), the finishing school provides training in soft skills, communication and embedded systems to engineering students fresh from colleges, said Dr. Omkar Rai, Senior Director, STPI, to Business Line.

According to Rai, about 1,000 companies have been incubated so far at the STPI's centers since the launch in 1991. A company remains in the incubation center for about two years. The plug-n-play centers offer ready to use incubation space for start-up organizations, aspiring entrepreneurs and multinational companies.

STPI has set up two additional training facilities for the finishing school. According to J. Parthasarathy, Director, STPI, infrastructure and mentoring is provided by STPI, while content is provided by C-DAC. He added that there are 12 companies in Chennai involved in embedded systems, and STPI is in talks with four of them to send their employees to the finishing school.

Toshiba Embedded Systems India became the first customer for the finishing school. Around 25 new engineering graduates from various colleges recruited by Toshiba are currently undergoing a six month-training programme in soft skills and communication abilities. They will also undergo an internship in embedded systems at the STPI facility in Chennai, said Parthasarathy.