Can Western Universities Learn from India’s IITs—and Should They, in the Age of AI?
Can Western Universities Learn from India’s IITs—and Should They, in the Age of AI?
The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are widely regarded as elite incubators of engineering and technology talent. Their graduates go on to lead major corporations, launch global start-ups, and populate the highest ranks of Silicon Valley. This success is no accident. The IITs are built on a model of intense competition, deep industry engagement, and highly structured graduate recruitment pipelines. As universities around the world grapple with the future of work shaped by AI, automation, and economic precarity, many are asking whether this kind of employer-centric model is not just effective, but necessary.
This question is especially urgent for today’s graduates. Across sectors, entry-level jobs which were the traditional gateway for fresh graduates, are rapidly disappearing. AI has rendered many such roles redundant. In fields from HR and IT to finance and law, tasks once carried out by junior staff are now completed in seconds by AI tools. A job description that previously took a team of assistants to refine might now be drafted in seconds by a CEO using ChatGPT. While efficient, this cuts out opportunities for junior staff to learn on the job and prove their value.
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