Nepali tech leaders and academics discuss strategies to bridge the IT skills gap through work-integrated learning at the recent IID initiative roundtable.
Nepal's information technology (IT) industry is expanding rapidly, creating thousands of jobs in software engineering, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, cybersecurity, and data engineering. Yet despite producing an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 IT graduates every year, employers continue to face the same challenge: many graduates are not ready for professional work when they leave university.
This growing disconnect between higher education and industry was at the centre of a recent roundtable organized under the Industry-Integrated Degree (IID) initiative.
Technology leaders from Leapfrog Technology Nepal Pvt. Ltd., Guardsix Nepal Pvt. Ltd., Fusemachines Nepal Pvt. Ltd., Maitri Holdings Services Pvt. Ltd., Amnil Technologies Pvt. Ltd., together with representatives from Nepal Open University, discussed why graduates often struggle to transition into the workplace and what needs to change.
A recurring theme throughout the discussion was that technology is evolving much faster than university curricula. With AI transforming software development and businesses rapidly adopting cloud technologies, cybersecurity, and data-driven systems, employers increasingly expect graduates to possess practical skills alongside academic knowledge.
Panelists noted that companies frequently invest six to nine months in training new recruits before they can contribute effectively to production teams. They argued that this places an unnecessary burden on both employers and graduates, highlighting the need for stronger collaboration between universities and industry.
The discussion also explored how work-integrated learning can help address this challenge. By allowing students to gain workplace experience while pursuing their degrees, universities can better prepare graduates for professional careers and reduce the gap between classroom learning and industry expectations.
Participants emphasized that preparing students for today's technology sector requires more than technical knowledge. Communication, teamwork, critical thinking, adaptability, and continuous learning were identified as equally important qualities for future software professionals.
The roundtable forms part of the broader Industry-Integrated Degree (IID) initiative, which seeks to redesign IT education through closer collaboration between academia and industry. The programme combines university education with structured workplace experience, enabling students to develop both academic knowledge and practical skills throughout their studies.
The full discussion is available on the IID Nepal YouTube channel, where students, educators, employers, and policymakers can hear directly from industry and academic leaders about the future of IT education and workforce development in Nepal.
The Industry-Integrated Degree (IID) is an initiative of the Nepal Association for Software and IT Services Companies (NAS-IT) in collaboration with Nepal Open University (NOU), with financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and technical assistance from Swisscontact.
