TOI’s Mission Admission 2026 offers insights into higher education, smart careers

Bengaluru: Hundreds of students at the threshold of higher education participated in The Times of India’s Mission Admission 2026, held at Jnana Jyoti Auditorium in central Bengaluru Saturday, to gain valuable insights before making one of the most important and career-shaping choices of their lives. Educationists, academicians and industry experts spoke to students, parents and teachers in panel discussions and presentations on the hot topics of higher education.

Additional chief secretary to the department of medical education Mohammed Mohsin, who inaugurated the event, urged students to make use of the resources and guidance available now. He advised students to assess their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis) before choosing their career paths. “Do not go behind fancy titles. Choose a career path according to your natural talents and understanding the schedules and style of functioning that the job demands,” he added.

“Studies show that just one notification on your mobile phone can ruin three minutes of your focus,” he said, advising students to limit the use of gadgets. Mohsin also advised students to read newspapers for at least 30 minutes every day irrespective of the field they choose.

Experts urge students to become AI creators, not just users

The panel discussion on ‘How industry-ready is engineering education in Karnataka’ saw former director of International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore Prof S Sadagopan moderating a panel of four senior academicians in the field of engineering. Sadagopan advised students not to outsource decision-making to their parents, but to ask questions, explore, and engage in peer learning before making a choice. On the other hand, he urged parents to give their children space and avoid living their own dreams through their children.

With Artificial Intelligence (AI) being the buzzword in every field, experts at Mission Admission analysed how AI could be integrated into education, especially in the field of engineering. Students were advised not to see AI as a threat, but to treat it as an engineering collaborator.

Udayakumar Reddy, dean, school of engineering, Dayananda Sagar University, said: “Students need to move from being AI users to becoming builders of AI systems. Every student should learn to work with AI, know where it fails, and learn to evaluate it.” He added that since AI was not the final decision-maker, engineers should learn to challenge it.

The principal of RV College of Engineering, KN Subramanya, responded to queries on changes to engineering curriculum in response to the advent of AI and changing industry needs. “Though we have new branches like AI and ML, core branches also need attention. By providing minors and other courses, we have enabled students across branches to be AI-educated. There is also an AI component in every course,” he said, adding that problem statements from companies are introduced for students to solve and be industry-ready.

Kiran Kumari Patil, director of innovations and deputy director, CMR School of Engineering and Technology, said the AI framework is getting integrated in all streams. “Conventional streams are in for transformation. In future, we may start using terms like intelligent structures for civil engineering or intelligent systems for electrical and electronic branches,” she said.

Seshachalam D, professor and vice-principal (admin), BMS College of Engineering, termed AI a big disruption. “We must gear up for AI as it has penetrated every branch of engineering and even fields like medicine. IT has reached every field. Since AI has disrupted IT itself, it has also reached every field,” he said.

Combined entry option not happening, says KEA

Following the recent cancellation of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) will be unable to go ahead with the combined option entry like it did every year, Manjunatha R, joint controller of examinations and PRO, KEA, said at Mission Admission. “As we cannot wait for NEET results, we will start option entry for engineering and take up medical option entry later,” he said. However, he assured students that there will still be a couple of rounds left by the time NEET results are out. “Students who have opted for engineering, but wish to switch to medical, might still be able to do so as the rounds will still be in progress,” he said.

‘Interdisciplinary learning should complement, not replace, strong core expertise'

Even as inter-disciplinary learning is the trend of the day, strengthening one’s core discipline is crucial, experts at Mission Admission 2026 said. They pointed out that a trans-disciplinary approach should not replace core disciplines and that the ideal inter-disciplinary approach is when learners are well-versed in their own discipline and can collaborate naturally with others.

A panel on ‘Smart degree choices: How to match your degree with the current industry demand’ saw five experts from varied disciplines share their insights on how the latest trends in education, especially in non-engineering fields, are demanding a different personality in professionals. The session was moderated by Nilisha Mohapatra, head of growth and partnerships at Teamlease, who successfully elicited unique views and insights from the panel.

Chanakya University professor Nisshanth Kumar M deliberated on the kind of worker that the current industrial setup needs. “The techno-humanist, who has the ability to interpret, contextualise, form judgments, and is culturally rooted, can manage to ride the tsunami of AI,” he said. Kumar also underlined the opportunities in Indian languages. “If data is the new gold, Indian language data is diamond. There is a huge opportunity in this space,” he said.

Product management expert at BITS Pilani Digital, Harold Fernandes, emphasised the importance of AI education. “AI is not just technology, it is like literacy. It is now ubiquitous. Everyone needs to be educated to use AI at least as a tool,” he said, also pointing out AI’s role in blurring the borders between disciplines.

Dinesh Nilkant, provost, Presidency University, revealed that the revision of syllabi in universities is happening at a far lower pace compared with changes in industry. “We must develop our capabilities of teaching AI and ML, and managements must invest in this,” he said.

AV Arun Kumar, professor and director, IFIM institutions, pointed out that the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector is one of the top employers. He stressed the importance of continuing to acquire skills throughout one’s career. “A simple degree is insufficient. What determines one’s career today are the skills acquired and demonstrated continually,” he said.

Harold Andrew Patrick, professor and director, Alliance University, said the choice of career path is about which fields are becoming future relevant, and not about which degrees are in demand. “As AI becomes more powerful, human-centric skills are becoming more crucial. Graduates in disciplines like psychology, economics, political science, public policy, and communication are being employed on a greater scale,” he said.

On the inter-disciplinary approach, Patrick said more successful careers will belong to people who can connect disciplines.

Key ComedK aspects highlighted

Joint secretary of ComedK Gururaj Bhat explained the features of the ComedK route to engineering and medical admissions. He said a total of 43,071 applications to ComedK 2026 were received from Karnataka-based students, and 87,549 from students outside the state. “Unlike K-CET, ComedK will not be considering 12th or PU exam scores in calculating ranks,” he said. However, the NEET exam will be the only basis for merit determination for medical and dental admission, he added.