Engineers Day: STEM courses see significant uptick in enrolments post-Covid

New Delhi: There has been a significant uptick in the number of enrolments in STEM courses post-Covid with the emergence of artificial intelligence and machine learning, according to various platforms that assist students seeking to pursue overseas education.

As India celebrates Engineers Day, companies having significant share of engineering recruits share their outlook on the profession and growth prospects.

UniScholars co-founder Sayantan Biswas said, "In the aftermath of the pandemic, 2020 witnessed a modest decline in the inclination towards overseas education across various academic domains, including STEM programmes. Fortunately, enrolment figures are progressively rising (8-10 pc) on average each successive academic year." Biswas cited a survey carried out during 2021, 2022 and 2023 with a sample size of 6,000, 65,000 and 1,10,000, respectively, which found a rise in the number of students enrolling for STEM courses, with 24 per cent enrolling in 2021, 35 per cent in 2022. The number shot up more than double to 59 per cent in 2023.

Countries like the United States have emerged as prominent destinations for STEM studies, witnessing a significant increase of almost 18 per cent in admissions till August 2023, compared to 11 per cent in 2022 and 4 per cent in 2021, as per UniScholars' internal findings.

The United Kingdom, Biswas pointed, has solidified its stature as a sought-after destination for pursuing STEM studies with a significant increase of 41 per cent in admissions till August 2023, compared to 37 per cent in 2022 and 11 per cent in 2021.

"Its strong affiliations with the science and technology sectors have attracted numerous multinational corporations to establish their presence there," he added.

LeverageEdu & Fly founder & CEO Akshay Chaturvedi also witnessed "immense growth for STEM course" on his platform with 30 per cent increase from where it was 6 months back.

"Over 60 per cent of students are keen to learn more about US and United Kingdom universities. We expect the demand for STEM courses to only increase, especially in the US where such courses award students an extended 3-year post-study work visa (OPT Visa)," Chaturvedi said.

Athena Education co-founder Rahul Subramaniam said, "In the alchemy of education, the fusion of ambition and opportunity has catalyzed an exponential surge in STEM courses. More students each year are allured by US and UK universities' hands-on approach, often requiring students to conduct lab or field research even at the undergraduate level." ESS Global Director Rohit Sethi highlighted that the education landscape has shifted towards AI and STEM programmes in the past six to eight months.

"When it comes to engineering opportunities, certain countries have gained a reputation for offering robust prospects and conducive environments for students pursuing STEM fields. With the integration of AI and emerging technologies, the prominence of STEM courses has risen even as the last decade saw fields like accounting and management holding more prominence." Salesforce India Managing Director - Operations & Site Lead - Technology, Marketing, Product, Sanket Atal said, that the demand for skilled talent is at an all-time high due to the rapidly spreading digital transformation and the fast adoption of emerging technologies like AI/ML, cloud computing, and data analytics across industries.

"We set up our CoE (Centre of Excellence) in 2016 and recently expanded the Centre to support the growing need to drive global innovation from India making India the second largest workforce for Salesforce globally," Atal added.

Thales VP and Country Director for India Ashish Saraf said, "At Thales, we fully believe in the transformative potential of STEM education. We work closely with premier institutions such Central Manufacturing Technology Institute (CMTI) and IIIT-Delhi for open hardware research through our academia connect initiatives, IIT Madras for Carbon Zero Challenge via our CSR efforts, among others – continuously engaging the young talent and pushing the boundaries of research and technology." Wipro Limited Global Head - Engineering Edge Harmeet Chauhan said the future of engineering talent in India is bright, driven by a young workforce, sustained economic momentum, and disruptive technologies.

"New challenges across product development, operations, business, and technology — and the new Generative AI tools to address them — are why this is perhaps the most exciting time for engineers since the dawn of the computer age. To succeed in this fast-changing landscape, employers and engineers must prioritize upskilling, building trust, embrace failure as an opportunity for growth, and using AI responsibly," he added.

Coding Ninjas CEO and co-founder Ankush Singla said there is a growing need for an expanding pool of STEM graduates who possess expertise in areas such as robotics, electronics, statistical modeling, AI, and more.