Survey indicates that most young people consider the CLT regime as the ideal job for the coming years

Professor Indranil Manna, former Vice-Chancellor of BIT Mesra and Director of IIT Kanpur from 2012 to 2017, has called for a revision of workforce training methods to align with the changing needs of the country's labor market.

Professor Manna, a former chairman of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, noted in an exclusive interview with 'India Today' that while short courses and periodic upskilling help employees acquire skills for specific roles, it is crucial that the foundation of education always remains based on fundamental principles.

Since artificial intelligence (AI) is impacting professions across all sectors, Professor Manna believes the main question is not whether the era of diploma programs has ended, but whether the country's youth and professionals can adapt when their current skills prove insufficient.

He posits that if people are given a strong grasp of fundamentals, they can be quickly trained in skills relevant to technological changes. Thus, the key question is whether one should simply take countless upskilling courses, or if educational institutions can create clear learning pathways that allow people to absorb knowledge, apply it in practice, and move into specific career fields.

Professor Manna clearly distinguished between training for a specific task and education that enables a person to start a new job. He explained that a diploma or certificate course may suffice to master the operation or maintenance of a particular machine.

He cites an example from the large manufacturing industry, particularly the equipment sector, where the workforce structure typically includes about 5-6 diploma holders and 10-12 certificate holders per engineer.

However, those who wish to deeply understand the system, design it, or adapt to changes in its design require a solid conceptual base. For those seeking specific skills, he says a short-term training program is suitable. Nevertheless, he warns that such training should never be considered a substitute for a degree.

In Professor Manna's view, one cannot expect any skill to remain relevant throughout a person's working life. As industries change, employees must have the opportunity to return to learning and update their knowledge.

He emphasized: 'There is no guarantee that what you learn today will remain relevant forever.' He added that continuous updating is necessary. Furthermore, he noted that such training should not be limited only to technical skills. Since one discipline rapidly learns another, basic knowledge must be reviewed periodically.

As an alumnus of IIT himself, Professor Manna explained why specialists need to go beyond their traditional disciplines, citing the growing link between physics and biology. He stated, 'Physics now understands biology better,' and added that 'both physicists and biologists need to integrate these two sciences or at least maintain contact.'

He provided medical practice as another example of this interaction. He noted that modern doctors use numerous technologies, and healthcare workers may need training in areas unknown to them during formal education. He argued that this exchange must happen in reverse as well: people trained in technology must also understand how 'physiological or any biological systems' work.

Explaining the necessity of updating engineers' knowledge amid technological changes, Professor Manna gave an example: 'When we transition from internal combustion engines to hybrid or electric drives, the vehicle design remains the same. Only the power generation and transmission design changes.'

He continued that training an engineer in only one type of vehicle limits their effectiveness. 'If you train someone only for a hybrid car, that person can only service a hybrid car, not others.'

Professor Manna believes that the impact of AI will not be limited to engineering but will extend to medicine, sports, music, literature, and creative fields.

The speed of artificial intelligence (AI) development has changed the pace of life worldwide. After AI attracted the attention of software developers and researchers, concerns about AI have now reached young mathematicians globally. Many young specialists are forced to question whether they should continue working in this complex field.

A recent and highly interesting study conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) presented data that could shock any academic specialist. These findings explain why young mathematicians live in the shadow of AI today.

Researchers from MIT—Anna Brandenberger, Hanna Mülarzik, and Dora Wooderff—surveyed graduates of mathematics departments and postdocs to gauge their attitude toward the growing influence of AI in mathematics. The study involved 268 young mathematicians from approximately sixty institutions across five countries, including India. Among those surveyed were about 85 percent graduates and about 15 percent postdocs, but the responses received were far from encouraging.

The study's statistics show that young researchers are experiencing disillusionment in the academic environment due to AI. Approximately 70 percent of the surveyed young mathematicians stated that the probability of continuing in academic mathematics for them has significantly decreased. Conversely, only 9 percent believe that their chances of remaining in this field have increased.

Around 76.3 percent believe that obtaining a permanent teaching or research position at a university (the so-called 'tenure track' position) will become extremely difficult in the future due to AI. Furthermore, the influence of AI is affecting not only work but also the morale of researchers. About 76.5 percent of young mathematicians noted a decrease in their desire to tackle complex mathematical problems after the advent of AI.

Interestingly, these same individuals stated that if AI solves a problem they have been working on for months or years, they will feel no joy. Many researchers fear that AI will solve the puzzle they have worked on all night, making them feel less significant. Because of this fear, some researchers have become reluctant to share their unfinished work.

Sixty-nine percent of the youth deeply fear that research funding in the future will be taken away from universities and transferred directly to private AI companies. Moreover, 59 percent of researchers worry whether mathematics will remain an interesting and meaningful career for them over the next decade.

However, many of these researchers themselves use AI in their daily work, such as searching for scientific articles, editing texts, or checking mathematical errors. Nevertheless, 54.8 percent openly admitted that they strongly dislike using AI for their research.

This survey was conducted at a time when tension was brewing in the global mathematical community due to AI-assisted research. In September of the same year, OpenAI announced that one of its AI models had found a solution to the Newell-Stokes problem. This well-known problem related to fluid dynamics had been a headache for mathematicians for a whole century.

According to the company, its system found this solution by launching about 10,000 AI agents over 88 hours. Following this announcement, dissatisfaction spread among mathematicians worldwide. Two mathematicians from New York University, who were working on this problem, expressed concern about whether OpenAI had used their unpublished research. Although OpenAI categorically denies this, even the 'Clay Mathematics Institute,' which awards a $1 million prize for solving this problem, has not recognized the solution claimed by OpenAI.

The career of a technical specialist went through many difficulties, including losing his first job and disappointment over low salary, but he managed to achieve significant growth by receiving a job offer in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with an annual package of about 15 million rupees.

This professional shared his experience, emphasizing that lack of success at the beginning of the journey is not an obstacle to further career growth. He started his career with an annual salary of 2.9 lakh rupees, but thanks to constant efforts, learning new technologies, and waiting for the right moment, he reached impressive heights.

In his post published on the social platform Reddit, the specialist recounted that he started working at L&T Infotech as a manual tester. He had to lose this job because he failed to pass the company's necessary internal exams. At that time, his annual income was about 2.9 lakh rupees. However, he did not give up; following a friend's advice, he applied to IBM and got a job there approximately 15 days later.

At IBM, he was assigned tasks related to JD Edwards, but his real interest was in Big Data. He began studying this field independently, but due to a lack of experience, he could not get into the desired projects. Nevertheless, after many attempts, in May 2020, he managed to get the opportunity to work on a big data project.

He noted that to master new responsibilities and understand the work, he had to work 14–15 hours daily. Despite these efforts, his annual salary remained around 3.78 lakh rupees until January 2022. Since the salary increase was not substantial, he began looking for new career and financial opportunities in other companies, which subsequently led to an increase in his income.

According to the report, he then joined Airbus, where his annual package was about 23 lakh rupees, plus he received a signing bonus of 5 lakh rupees. There, he worked with Palantir Foundry and participated in major projects. However, he experienced disappointment due to receiving a low performance rating after some time, as he stated that he contributed to the projects but did not receive the expected recognition.

After that, he started applying for other vacancies again. The specialist reported that during this period, he received about 15 offers and chose a job at Thoughtworks with an annual package of 48 lakh rupees. Approximately two months later, he received another offer from another organization—62 lakh rupees per year plus a 5 lakh rupee signing bonus. In this last case, he was also given the option to work from home.

After almost 9.5 years of career ups and downs, this technical specialist was presented with the opportunity to work with a consulting firm in the UAE. According to the report, the annual package associated with this opportunity is estimated at about 15 million rupees. However, for him, this decision is driven not only by the desire to earn more money; he also considers gaining international work experience, facing new challenges, and professional development important.