According to a report by Nasscom, the country's IT industry is expected to grow at the rate of 12-14 per cent. This sector has facilitated social mobility and has become an integral part of daily lives.Information technology education needs to be promoted in a big way as its multiplier effect is immense.It enhances learning in a dynamic way and minimises cost and efforts associated with the delivery of traditional instruction methods at each level. This also has the potential of making our lives simpler, faster and more exciting.

But what is IT? This is the use of any computer, storage, networking and other physical devices, infrastructure and processes to create, process, store, secure and exchange all forms of electronic data.

Does India have adequately qualified people who can catapult the country into an IT advanced nation? Who will spread awareness about ed-tech and new ways of learning? The world is today a global village of convergence. To be part of it, we need more people who are educated and qualified about the core aspects of information technology.

In 1960s, the technically proficient had to look for job opportunities abroad. Today the scenario is entirely different. It is considered as one of the most promising career choices. With cities like Bangalore, Delhi-NCR and Kolkata emerging as IT hubs, new-age technologies offer never-ending gamut of opportunities for IT professionals in the county. It is undoubtedly the most popular and the fastest growing industry and across the world.

IT is not only about software.Social,Mobility, Analytics and Cloud are collectively expected to offer huge opportunities in the next few years. Add to this, the recent boom in e-commerce portals and innovations in cloud computing,big data analytics and cyber security offer interesting avenues for aspirants to cater to tremendous growth in the consumer segment. Some of the world's IT giants such as Google, Accenture, Genpact, Cognizant, Tata Consultancy Services , Wipro, Infosys, HCL and Godrej Infotech are now adopting a policy of periodic campus placements across the length and breadth of the country.

This segment operates at a much faster pace as compared to other industries. It is the reason why there is a significant demand for skilled and technically sound professionals. The Information Technology & Information Technology Enabled sector in India consists of software and hardware development, technology consultancies, software management, online service providers and business process outsourcing units. This section has vast potential, but at the same time, there are acute concerns on the widening demandsupply gap. In the last decade, our country has seen a steady rise in the number of institutions providing IT education and of students opting to specialise in this filed. There are internship opportunities for them with corporate giants.

Curiosity and creative problem-solving abilities are the fundamental requirements for an IT professional. While there’s no set career trajectory,one might enter as an entrylevel computer programmer or software engineer and end up as the chief information officer with a multinational. In addition to programming and coding an appetite for creativity helps.It is important to have a sense of logical thinking and the ability to concentrate and deliver accurate results. Selfconfidence, scientific-mindedness and ability to take quick decisions also help in the long run. Professional courses facilitate strengthening of technical fundamentals of computer science and programming languages and also focus on real-life application. Over the long term, these technically exhaustive courses also help in in telecommunication, software development and design, mobile commerce and knowledge process outsourcing. India is expected to have the most number of software developers in the world by 2018 and is 12th largest country in terms of broadband Internet users.

While providing employment to a significant number of the country’s workforce, practical understanding of emerging technologies in IT is necessary to carve out a successful career in this domain, and this is where institutional education plays an important role.The advent of global economic competition has compelled the government to give priority to educational quality and opportunities in the knowledge economy.With Digital India spreading its wings, excellence in IT education has become the need of the hour and it looks like there are brighter days ahead for aspirants.

(THE WRITER IS DEAN, ACADEMIC AFFAIRS, INDRAPRASTHA INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DELHI)