NAMTECH students put India on the global skills map, secure Bronze at WorldSkills 2024 in Industry 4.0

Gandhinagar, India 24th September 2024: NAMTECH (New Age Makers’ Institute of Technology), a pioneering institute for experiential, hands-on learning in Industry 4.0 technologies, is proud to share that Sathyajith Balakrishnan and Dhrumilkumar Dhirendrakumar Gandhi, mechanical engineers from its inaugural batch, have won the bronze medal in the Industry 4.0 category at the prestigious WorldSkills Competition 2024. The event took place in Lyon, France, from 10th to 15th September 2024.

The WorldSkills Competition, popularly known as the ‘Olympics of Skills’, is held biennially and is the gold standard of skills excellence, inspiring young people to achieve their ambition and help them turn their passion into a profession. This year’s contest saw young professionals from 89 countries compete in various categories over five days in September. India achieved 13th position overall, securing 4 bronze medals and 12 medals of excellence along the way, reinforcing Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of making India the skill capital of the world through initiatives like the Skill India mission.

Balakrishnan and Gandhi, both from NAMTECH’s maiden International Professional Master’s Program (iPMP 2024) cohort, represented India as champions of the India Skills competition, the national chapter of WorldSkills. Their win secured India’s first-ever podium finish on the global stage in the Industry 4.0 category, which tests for skills related to manufacturing execution systems (MES), automation (simulation, digital twin), connectivity (cloud computing, cybersecurity, IIoT) and intelligence (data analytics & visualization, Artificial Intelligence & Machine learning). These skills are essential for companies to thrive in the rapidly evolving, digital first world.

Balakrishnan, 24, from Thrissur, Kerala, joined NAMTECH after completing his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in design and manufacturing. At NAMTECH, he pursued the International Professional Master’s Program in Smart Manufacturing. Commenting on the learning environment at NAMTECH that helped equip him for WorldSkills, Balakrishnan said, “I learned to be more observant and to respond instead of reacting.”

Gandhi, 23, from Sankarda, Vadodara, Gujarat, enrolled in the same program after earning his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering. Reflecting on his experience representing India and NAMTECH at WorldSkills, Gandhi said, “Winning in Lyon taught me to always put in the maximum effort; everything else will follow.”

Mr. Arunkumar Pillai, Director General of NAMTECH, said, “As one of the few institutions in India to offer comprehensive one-year postgraduate program in Industry 4.0, this achievement by our students highlights NAMTECH’s innovative pedagogy. It is a remarkable achievement for our one-year-old institution, showcasing the exceptional quality of our faculty. Through our experiential learning model, students master systems and components, empowering them to design and create solutions independently. Our programs transform graduates into world-class professionals ready to contribute to digital and sustainability initiatives across industries.”

Dishank Upadhaya, Senior Lecturer in Smart Manufacturing at NAMTECH, played a pivotal role in training Balakrishnan and Gandhi, serving as an expert for India. Dishank has also completed the mandatory assessment training to become an assessor at WorldSkills in the Industry 4.0 category.