India's EV mission and the talent crisis

India's EV mission and the talent crisis

Fig.1 source DH news

               Electric vehicles are the talk of the town today. As we all know that Electric vehicles are eco-friendly and pollution-free. They are not only environmentally advantageous but also when it comes to the performance of the vehicles, IC engines can’t match the electric motors. Electric motors are efficient, easier to control, and best suited for traction applications. 

                                                   Electric vehicles are not a discovery of this century, It was discovered and was popular more than 100 years ago. In 1832 the first crude electric vehicle was developed. Because of the invention of an electric starter that eliminated the need for a hand crank, Henry ford’s Model T (IC engine ) was acclaimed over electric vehicles as it was very cheap.

                                     But EVs are the current vogue and the government is also encouraging automotive industries to switch to a cleaner and sustainable alternative (that is an electric vehicle) and supporting EV start-ups. 

   Indian Electric vehicle industry.

 

Fig.2 source power-technology.com

      The Indian government aims to achieve 30% e-mobility by 2030. NITI Ayog has proposed 100% electric vehicle sales from 2030.

Many automotive giants in India like Mahindra, Hyundai, TVS Motors, Maruthi, and many others are working on EVs extensively. Not only big automotive giants but also startups like  Ather energy, Ultraviolette, Emflux Motors, yulu bikes, pureEv, etc... are also involved in EVs, chargers, and battery technology development. 

                       One of the major problems that the Indian EV sector facing is that the skill gap between newly graduated students and the EV industry. The Indian EV industry is facing a talent crisis. The electric vehicle is not just a mechanical body, an electric motor, and a battery. A lot of engineering goes into the body design, motor design, and battery management to get the best performance.

The skillset required for the EV industry…

                                            EV industries need mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, electronics engineers, software developers, machine learning, deep learning engineers, and Data science engineers. In India, thousands of engineering colleges are there and every year the number of engineers getting graduated is in terms of lakhs. But graduates aren’t equipped to enter the EV space. The industry is expecting engineers who have a good understanding of basics, who can come up with an optimized mechanical design, and electrical architecture such that overall vehicle performance increases, improve battery efficiency, decrease the charging time can work in a multidisciplinary team, etc…

Students at college…

 

                           There is no problem with the basic concepts, AICTE, UGC approved courses that make students learn all basic and advanced topics. But students are not sure of the field that they want to work in in the future. Students are confused among many fields. Many engineering colleges don’t offer courses dedicated to electric vehicle study. Even if they do offer the course, it’s just a theoretical one. Electric vehicle courses are also available online )NPTEL courses). NPTEL is an educational initiative by seven IITs (Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, Roorkee) and IISc Bangalore to promote quality ONLINE education. But students aren’t getting practical hands-on experience. A good blend of theory and practice helps students to understand the concepts and provokes them to think uniquely. 

Students aren’t sitting quiet...

 

                                              Some students are not only just into academics but also involved in many extra curricula like doing internships with EV companies, working in racing bike or Car, Formula E-Car, Mobile Robot, Solar vehicle teams. These students are kind of outstanding other students in terms of practical experience, time management and they are aware of industry standards and needs. But it is not true with all teams, Some student teams are extremely hardworking, they do research, they optimize, they increase the efficiency and they build things from scratch. They do take support and feedback from industries that are a good opportunity for students to interact with industry persons and visit companies and get to know about industry requirements and challenges.

Formula E - Team Ojas

Team roverx - Electrically driven rover



Internship 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Internships are great opportunities for students to get industry exposure and to improve their skill sets. Students who have figured out that they have an interest in the EV domain they opt for doing internships in EV development OEMs and also in companies who are working on EV chargers, Battery, Battery management system.  

‘ Utkarsh’ is a program offered by TVS motors that aim at giving internship to engineering students that way students get industry exposure, gain skill sets required by automotive industries (Electric vehicles), and also best-performing interns get placement offers.

‘Ather energy’ had organized FSEV concept challenge to encourage students to design power train and battery pack design. Students actively participate, showcase their talent, and some grab internship opportunities.

Training institutes.

                                    There are a bunch of training institutes outside who are providing certification courses on Electric vehicle fundaments, battery pack design, Battery management systems, etc. And some institutes are also offering nano degree programs with placement assistance. Some of the big OEMs are trying to get their employees trained from these institute’s resourceful persons. As most of the automotive players like Mahindra, Tata, Bosch, Hyundai Tvs, etc .. are vowing to switch to electric. Some of the engineering institutes are having tie-ups with these training institutes to setup Electric vehicle labs in their college.

                            In conclusion, the EV industry is facing a talent crisis but they are giving training to their employees and interns. The engineering institutes are also not quite, they are coming up with courses, workshops, guest lectures to train their college students and get them ready for the EV industry. Some students, with their self-interests, are taking up EV certification courses. All of these signs of progress help the Indian government to achieve its 2030 EV goal, reduce pollution drastically, and reduce the dependency on oil-producing countries.