Bhagwant Mann: Punjab’s education department is rewriting its playbook, replacing classroom-only learning with industry-embedded training through a string of fresh MoUs signed under Technical Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains.
A B.Tech Programme Built Inside a Factory
The centrepiece is a first-of-its-kind MoU between Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Technical University, Bathinda, and Victura Technologies of Faridabad. Under the deal, a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering (Industry Integrated) will see students spend the last three semesters training directly at the company, which is now a deemed campus of the university. Bains called it a promise that education would move beyond theory into real-world application, starting with a focused batch of 30 students.
New Courses Aimed at Curbing Brain Drain
Sardar Beant Singh State University, Gurdaspur, is rolling out five new industry-aligned courses from the 2026-27 session, including B.Tech in AI and Machine Learning, B.Tech in Robotics and AI, and B.Pharmacy. Bains framed the move as an effort to stop Punjab families from sending children out of state for quality technical or pharma education, calling the state’s universities “future-ready” by design.
Going Global Too
The state has also looked abroad, with I.K. Gujral Punjab Technical University signing an international MoU with Universal Business School Sydney to give students cross-border exposure and research collaboration opportunities.
Entrepreneurship Now Compulsory
Bhagwant Mann: Rounding out the shift, entrepreneurship has been made a mandatory subject for Classes 11 and 12, alongside BBA, BCom, BTech and BVoc programmes, reflecting Bains’s push for what he calls a “flipped classroom” model, where students spend limited time on theory and the rest earning and learning inside real industry settings.
Together, these MoUs signal a structural bet by the Mann government: that tying degrees directly to industry floors, not just placement cells, is the surer route to jobs and to keeping Punjab’s talent within the state.
