Volkswagen India signed a MoU with Symbiosis Skills and Open University (SSOU), Pune today to donate a Vento to the students of the university. The Vento will be used in SSOU lab for educating students enrolled in the automobile stream. Dr. Andreas Lauermann, President and Managing Director, Volkswagen India Private Limited and Dr. Swati Majumdar, Pro-Chancellor, Symbiosis Skills and Open University were present for the signing ceremony.
Volkswagen India runs the Volkswagen Academy with the intention of creating skilled workforce in various areas of manufacturing. The Academy works towards creating highly employable workforce through several programmes that it runs within the Volkswagen Pune Plant and through various tie-ups it has with different educational institutes.
Symbiosis Skills and Open University is Maharashtra’s first skill development university to offer different courses in skill development sector. Skill gap is a reality for companies across sectors in India and it is all the more prevalent in the manufacturing sector. It is to address this gap that Volkswagen India Academy takes a step forward by handing over the modern Vento to SSOU for its students to have hands-on learning. The Vento will be used to impart training and understanding of car technicalities like electrical systems, vehicle dynamics, safety engineering, strength of material etc.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Andreas Lauermann, President and MD, Volkswagen India Private Limited said, “We are glad to associate again with the Symbiosis family. In order to take the next step towards becoming a global hub for the automobile sector, India needs to acknowledge this skill gap issue and take collective measures by involving all relevant stakeholders. As corporates we are more attuned to the changing market dynamics and have therefore taken this initiative to do our bit to ensure India’s young are prepared with the right set of skills to face new challenges in the auto industry. I hope that they directly benefit from this hands-on learning.”
The Vento handed over to SSOU was branded in the Think Blue. Factory. colours – a programme that is concerned with efficiency improvements in production and the expansion of environmentally aware energy supplies addressing all employees at the production facilities of Volkswagen worldwide. As a part of the Think Blue. Factory program, Volkswagen Pune plant have already applied several eco-friendly processes and have achieved more than 30% reduction by end of last year. The target of the plant is to achieve 45% reduction in the impact on environment due to manufacturing processes by 2025.
Dr. Swati Majumdar, Pro-Chancellor, Symbiosis Skills and Open University said, “We are pleased to have got an opportunity to associate with Volkswagen again. Through this association with Volkswagen India, the students will get an opportunity to learn and get further knowledge on the automotive industry. We would like to thank the Volkswagen team for giving us and the students at SSOU an opportunity to be associated with the Volkswagen Academy. We look forward to such academic-industry partnerships.”
Volkswagen Academy and SSOU had collaborated earlier this year to create a unique module for Volkswagen workmen who have been promoted as front level supervisors with the aim to mould them into future team leaders. The focus of the module will revolve around bridging the gap between formal diploma education and actual competency possessing of the participants by developing business communication skills, better in-depth understanding of organizational and manufacturing systems etc. This MoU is a further development to the earlier collaboration. The company wishes to strengthen their commitment towards the Skilling India program progressively going forward.