M Nandakumar: Skilled resources are the need of the hour

As an educator, what have been the three biggest problems you have faced?
Unavailability of print and packaging books on the latest technological developments, lack of passion among students to learn the latest technologies, and the attitudinal shift due to the influence of social media.

How do you think these obstacles could be tackled creatively?
Creating our own resources to eradicate this bottleneck at the diploma level, motivating and inspiring students with successful people in the printing industry and demonstrating the usage of educational apps and social media to adopt in their learning of the latest technologies.

Which is your favourite subject and why is it important?
Packaging technology. It is evergreen and it is always part and parcel of printing technology. 

Today, you are a teacher. Who was your guru, and why so? 
Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. He is a true learner and teacher apart from being a scientist. He is always an inspiration to me.

One innovation you implemented after listening to your student?
Creating 3D printing models to demonstrate for the diploma level printing technology students for easy understanding of printing concepts.

Were you the minister of printing and packaging, how would you tackle the industry's problems creatively?
I feel skilled resources are the need of the hour. Develop skill resources in printing and packaging by introducing courses in ITI and certificate level rather than graduate and post-graduate levels. Finding solutions for eradicating the escalating cost of raw materials. Encouraging green printing will be my next solution.

What ingredient do you seek among your young disciples?
Creativity and smart work, packed with passion for what they do.

An article/listing in a publication that impressed you?
The article was published in PrintWeek honoring an academician Dr Rajendra Kumar Anayath with Viren Chhabra Leadership Award by All India Federation of Master Printers for his exceptional academic achievements.

Your present preoccupation in the field of research?
Smart packaging designs and 3D printing. It offers exciting opportunities.

One project you are excited about?
Green printing. It is the need of the hour as we need to be more responsible and conscious in producing printed materials while reducing the carbon footprint that it leaves. We should target the usage of biodegradable plastics, recycled paper, soy inks, environmentally-friendly packaging, etc, when and wherever possible.  

Assuming you can align with a print or packaging association, what would be the three most important things you would expect from it?
One, sponsoring the latest equipment to educational institutions to train students to serve the print industry. Two, offering internships for the students to earn hands-on experience in state-of-the-art technologies. Three, offering placement to those skilled students with attractive salaries.

The industry needs skilled professionals on the shopfloor, and different printing education institutes have been churning out printing professionals for decades now. Still, there seems to be a disconnect between industry and academia. Why? What do print teachers want from the industry? Read more in this series where PrintWeek asks 13 print gurus.