Page - 1

The technology is constantly changing and brings with it a need for constantly updating and upgrading skills and knowledge. History has shown it is the countries, which have embraced the proactive approach towards technology that have managed to stay ahead. The Asian countries like India and China with their untapped potential - HUMAN RESOURCES - need to ensure that investment in higher education and developing the knowledge base is the only way to make the optimum utilization of their strength.

There is an increasing trend towards Knowledge and Business Outsourcing. To tap this, we require skilled knowledge workers. This is possible only through a planned and systematic investment in the fields of Research and Development and also in Higher Education.

Hence, in this paper, we have discussed some of the emerging issues that will pose a challenge to the national governments of the Asian region in terms of their macro-economic development indicators. In this paper, we have discussed that the way ahead is to forge and develop an attitude of self-reliance in technological advances. The advanced nations of today were built and they became powerful in terms of economy, military, etc., mainly due to their internal capabilities.

For the Asian Nations to achieve this, we require massive and continuous investments in the fields of research and development and education. Above all, we need to create world-class research institutes. By such institutes, we do not refer to stand-alone institutes, but to monolithic university structures, which can offer expert knowledge in varied fields that range from the Liberal Arts to Advanced Sciences. Thus, the way forward is by enhancing our capabilities internally, so that we can stay agile to run the race towards victory.

The Capability Model: In economic terms University Education can be regarded "as some mixture of current consumption, the formation of consumption capital (i.e., the development of more sophisticated standards of taste and more discriminatory capacity for choice among consumption alternatives later) and the formation of production capital (i.e., the capacity to contribute more productive services to the economy, and hence to earn more future income, than would be possible in the absence of university education)." (Johnson, 1974)

Next

* Contributed by -
Raamakrishnan M. & Aparna Renganathan,
PGP1 Students,
BIM, Trichy,
Published in KRIYA, February 2006 Issue, the monthly magazine of the institute.