The Directorate of Higher Education (DHE), Government of Goa, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Deshpande Educational Trust (DET) – Deshpande Skilling Institute, Hubballi, Karnataka, to implement the SkillPlus Program across Government Colleges in Goa.
The MoU was signed in the presence of the Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant, and Prasad Lolayekar IAS, Secretary Education; Sagar Gaude, Officiating Director, DHE, Dr. Niyan Marchon, Program Director and Nodal Officer, DHE;
Gururaj Desh Deshpande, Founding Trustee of Deshpande Foundation & Chairman of Sparta Group LLC; Jaishree Deshpande, Founding Trustee of Deshpande Foundation, P N Nayak CEO & Managing Trustee of Deshpande Skilling, Phanindra Sama, Founder of redBus, Chairman of Deshpande Skilling; Ravi Chavan, Director – Deshpande Skilling.
This Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) partnership is being formalised to integrate job-oriented skill training with higher education, ensuring that final-year Arts and Commerce students are equipped with employable skills aligned with current industry requirements. The collaboration aims to complement academic learning with practical training and thereby strengthen the employability ecosystem in Goa’s higher education sector.
One such training will be started for the 30 students (of rural locations) from Govt. College, Khandola from November 2025
Key aspects of MoU:
● Faculty Development: Selected faculty members from Government Colleges will be trained at the Deshpande Skilling Institute to enhance their pedagogical, leadership, and implementation capabilities in skill-based education.
● Student Empowerment: The SkillPlus Program will be introduced as an add-on course for final-year students, focusing on developing their communication, analytical, and workplace readiness skills to make them job-ready.
● Institutional Strengthening: The initiative will build long-term institutional capacity within DHE and participating colleges to independently design, deliver, and sustain skill-oriented programs.
● Industry Linkages: By leveraging DET’s industry partnerships, the program will create pathways for meaningful employment and internships for students.
● Sustainability: The collaboration aims to establish systems within DHE to continue the program beyond the initial three-year period, ensuring long-term benefits to the higher education ecosystem in Goa.
Overall, this MoU will serve as a strategic step towards bridging the gap between academic learning and employability. It will empower students with relevant skills, enable faculty to act as skill mentors, and position Goa’s higher education institutions as catalysts for industry-ready, skilled youth contributing to the State’s socio-economic growth.
