INDIA EDITION MUST WATCH
ENGINEERING
Connecta
COLLEGES IN INDIA
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Education for Social Good: Nine Ways to Teach Kids about Community Involvement Meenal Arora, Founder Director, Shemford & Shemrock Group of Schools
India Requires Entrepreneurship Education to Strengthen Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Dr. Lalit Sharma, Faculty, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India
SSN
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
THE DREAM
CAMPUS
The Process of Making ‘New Engineers’ Dr. Yajulu Medury, Director, Mahindra Ecole Centrale
Adaptive Learning: A Cost-effective Alternative to Tuitions 1 in India Beas Dev Ralhan, Co-Founder and CEO, Next Education India
Indian Students Can Rejoice as Brexit Opens Up More Opportunities for Their Higher Education in the UK Rohit Sethi, Director, ESS Global-Study Abroad Consultant
JULY 2019
Higher Education Digest July 2019
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Higher Education Digest July 2019
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Higher Education Digest July 2019
Connecta
July 2019
Vol - 1 Issue - 4
Engineering Colleges Special (India Edition) Chief Editor
Dr. Manoj Varghese
Managing Editor Sarath Shyam
Consultant Editors
Dr. Johny Andrews Anjana K Rose M
Jessica Jo Stanly Lui Emma James
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Higher Education Digest July 2019 March 2019
CHIEF EDITOR’S NOTE
Faculty Shortage in Engineering Education and it’s Challenges
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ndia talks a lot about the Industry readiness of its engineering graduates. Most of the experts in the higher education would bring issues such as outdated curriculum, lack of research, in adequate infrastructure and many more as the reasons for the unemployability of engineering students in India. A very few among them have noticed that, more than a curriculum or infrastructure, India faces a severe shortage of qualified faculty members. Unfortunately, being present for so many years now, faculty shortage has apparently become a permanent feature of Indian Universities. Recently, University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), one of the most sought-after government institute that admits students through Common Entrance Test (CET), reported to have lost 10 percent of its seats due to a shortage of teachers. This reduction will hurt the students looking to get admission to the undergrad engineering courses through CET during 2019-20. Country’s elite engineering colleges in the public sector are not an exception. As per the reports available in public platforms, India’s 23 IITs collectively have a faculty shortage of 34 percent as for March 2018.
It is true that, with the exponential growth in the number of higher education institutions and the college-going population, the successive governments did not take adequate measures to fill the vacancies of faculty members. Private sector on the other hand has been doing a decent job when it comes to brining excellent faculty members to the classroom by offering attractive salaries and other facilities that are needed for quality teachers to stay at an institution. As a result, many private engineering colleges are now able to conduct cutting-edge research and adapt innovative teaching practices, which automatically translate to the production of employable engineering graduates. In this issue of Higher Education Digest, we have identified ‘50 Must Watch Engineering Colleges in India’ that are performing exceptionally well to create engineering graduates who can meet the challenges of tomorrow. We hope that the hard work we have done to feature the premier engineering institutions in India will help students and faculty members from all over the country in their journey. Happy Reading.
Dr. Manoj Varghese
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ADVISORY BOARD
Dr. Ajay Shukla, Ph.D, MBA, BE. Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Higher Education UAE
Dr. Kuldeep Nagi, Ph.D, MBA, BSc. Program Director of Ph.D, Recipient of Fulbright Fellowship Award & Dan Evans Award for Excellence and Writer columnist.
Dr.Varughese K.John, PhD, MBA, MPhil, MCom, LLB. Researcher and Data Analyst in Social Science
6 Mr. Sreedhar Bevara, MBA, B.Com Senior General Manager: Panasonic Middle East & Africa, Thought Leader, Speaker & Author of ‘Moment of Signal’ (Amazon’s International Bestseller)
Mr. Amulya Sah, PGD PM & IR, PG Diploma in PM&IR (XISS Ranchi) Senior Director HR. Head HR group Samsung R&D Institute India,Transformative HR Leader, Change agent, Digitization facilitator, Engagement architect, Trainer and Diversity champion.
Major General (Rtd.) Dr. Sunil Chandra, VSM (Vishishta Seva Medal), Ph.D, M. Phil, MA, M.Ed, PGBDA Ex-M D Army Welfare Education Society, ExCOO GEMS Education - India, Ex- Addl Dir Gen - Army Education, Mentor - Adventure-Pulse
Asst. Prof. Dr. Suramya Mathai, Ph.D,M.Ed,MA,BA. Teachers Training Expert, Writer, Author, Speaker & Social Worker
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Higher Education Digest July 2019
MANAGING EDITOR’S NOTE
Make the Right Choice
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O
ne day, a student asked his father permission to join engineering and said, “Papa, I want to do engineering and I have found a good college. They are giving a lap-top free with admission and my friends are also joining in the same college.” The poor farmer was unaware about the marketing strategies used in the education sector and the word ‘free’ coerced him to think that the college that his son chose was a big institute. He sent his son there happily. After the four years of engineering, the student stood in a job queue with one more certificate. However, nobody was ready to give him a good job. This is the story of many in our country who have blindly taken decisions before joining a vital course like engineering. Majority of engineering colleges in India are running on ‘admissions-classes-syllabus-examsdegree’ philosophy that are quite similar to many
undergraduate degree colleges with no serious industry interaction, no real case study-based teaching, no fieldwork, and no focus on quality of students admitted. The inflated data on placements by various engineering colleges makes students truly confused while choosing the best B-School that can serve them a career with fast – track growth. With plenty of options available in the present scenario of higher education sector, the question that arises is ‘how can a student find the right college from these countless institutions? In this issue, we have come up with ‘50 Must Watch Engineering Colleges in India’ to help the admission aspirants in India. On the cover, we feature, SSN College of Engineering, which was founded in 1996 by Shiv Nadar, a great industrialist, philanthropist, and the Chairman of HCL Technologies. Enjoy Reading.
Sarath Shyam
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CONTENTS
36 - 39 DHANALAKSHMI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
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The Southern Marvel of Engineering Education
40 - 46 D.K.T.E. SOCIETY’S TEXTILE AND ENGINEERING INSTITUTE
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Knitting the Future Talents
52 - 57 MALLA REDDY ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Fostering Practical Innovation
58 - 61 M.S. ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Making Socially Responsible Engineers
66 - 71 RNS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
A World-Class Institution in Making Higher Education Digest July 2019
40
COVER STO
RY
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11
52 58
66
SSN
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
THE DREAM
CAMPUS Higher Education Digest July 2019
MENTOR’S MANTRA
INDUSTRY PERCPECTIVE
COUNSELLOR’S TAKE
14 - 16
62 - 64
72 - 74
The Process of Making ‘New Engineers’
Adaptive Learning: A Costeffective Alternative to Tuitions in India
Indian students can rejoice as Brexit opens up more opportunities for their higher education in the UK
Dr. Yajulu Medury, Director, Mahindra Ecole Centrale
Beas Dev Ralhan, Co-Founder and CEO, Next Education India
Rohit Sethi, Director, ESS Global-Study Abroad Consultant
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ACADEMIC VIEW
26 - 28
48 - 51
Education for Social Good: Nine Ways to Teach Kids about Community Involvement
India Requires Entrepreneurship Education to Strengthen Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
Meenal Arora, Founder Director, Shemford & Shemrock Group of Schools
Dr. Lalit Sharma, Faculty, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India
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Higher Education Digest July 2019
MENTOR’S MANTRA
The Process of Making ‘New Engineers’ Dr. Yajulu Medury, Director, Mahindra Ecole Centrale
Dr. Yajulu Medury is an acclaimed academician and a seasoned professional with more than three decades of opulent Academic and Administrative experience. Before joining MEC, Dr. Medury was the Vice Chancellor of Bennett University at Greater Noida, U.P. While in Bennett University, Dr. Medury developed academic partnerships with Georgia Tech for Engineering, Johnson Business Cornell University for Management, Cornell Law School for Law, Babson College USA for Entrepreneurship and others. Dr. Medury has a BTech Honours degree from IIT, Kharagpur and did his MS as well as PhD in Engineering Mechanics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA.
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Global collaborations, Research, Faculty focus and Industry connect will help the educators to bring in Industry ready curriculum and lead to up-skilling the engineering students.
esearch is a focus area across the globe, but not so much in India. It is not because institutions do not want to, but because of archaic government regulations that require a large number of courses that engineering students need to take to graduate. This leaves very little time to focus on research. However, things are changing and most private institutions, including Mahindra Ecole Centrale. We are paying due regard to including research as a part of the curriculum itself. To ensure that we do not lag behind, we need to be innovative in our curriculum, focus on research and incentivize learning. Once we can do these - which hopefully the new Higher Education Bill will look at - I see no reason why we will not witness a much larger focus on research. When your focus is research, the issue of lack of quality faculty does not arise. Naturally, as a head start, you need to recruit faculty with excellent background and proven track record in research at reputed institutions – both in India and abroad. Faculty development is an integral part of any education system and we firmly believe that the quality of education can only improve if more faculty are encouraged to pursue research besides teaching through the likes of modest seed research funding and help in their applying for research funding from external funding agencies. We at MEC have this system already in place and since we want only the best. We continue to periodically review their progress in research. Our students are encouraged even at the undergraduate level to participate in the research projects that our faculty pursues. We are looking at possibility of setting up MTech and PhD programs soon to enable the goal to focus on research and high-quality training therein. This should hopefully also add to the available talent pool. Our research focus ensures that we have live projects for the faculty and students to work on and therefore handson experience is a given. With the large number of research projects come along a larger number of research scholars who grow from subject matter experts, to researchers and transform to specialists in academics. In addition, industry-connect helps in getting the best practitioners together who can teach, mentor and guide. Faculty grants and a mandatory focus on producing quality research papers in peer reviewed journals also help. Getting good quality research projects to work on can be a deterrent for other institutions to focus on research. We have been lucky that our constant focused approach to research and putting in place the requisite infrastructure and labs have reaped us great dividends. We are proud to be working with local and global Government and Corporate Research projects. Participation in local and global seminars, research papers and events can also help in building a marketable and visible brand.
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Once the institutions are a brand, their intellectual capital will obviously be sought after and can prove to be an asset to brand building exercises as well.
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Addressing the Wave of Industry 4.0 Deep Industry connections and outreach on reporting quality research are the key elements to become a recognizable entity. Industry connect can be deepened only when you have a proven track record of delivering on your promises within a given defined time period. Academic institutions need to have more industry events across themes that bring in global peers, specialists and corporates to the same platform. The key takeaways need to be implemented to ensure that this becomes not just a one-off event, but an ongoing activity. Now, the core of Industry 4.0 is automation and digital technology. This is evolving rapidly and we at Mahindra Ecole Centrale have been focusing on this for quite some time by now. Most quality educational institutes have also started to focus on developing new skill sets in emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Machine and Deep Learning, Robotics, Automation, Cloud Computing, Block Chain & IoT and so on for students and engaging with industry experts for teaching and research. Global collaborations, Research, Faculty focus and Industry connect will help the educators to bring in Industry ready curriculum and lead to up-skilling the engineering students. However, a major issue is lack of flexibility in setting up curriculum that is vibrant and topical. I believe this is the major challenge faced by most academic institutions. We need to have an industry ready curriculum and focus on research and collaborations amongst students. In our move towards a high level of digitalization and automation, we need to create virtual learning environments for our students and develop competencies in them to help them in their professional lives. The biggest challenge for academicians in India is to keep themselves abreast of the rapidly evolving ecosystem. Global collaborations and close connections with the industry can help in this. The traditional method of teaching is no longer relevant. The academicians need to constantly innovate to keep the students engaged. We at Mahindra Ecole Centrale focus on flip education, where our pedagogy is more discussion oriented than discourse
Higher Education Digest July 2019
oriented. The focus must be on providing collaborative learning to the students. For Students Subject matter focus, hard work, excellent communication skills and willingness to learn are the key skill sets that every student should have to get a job of their choice. Since change is the new constant, what we as academics can do is to arm students with the relevant skillsets to help them keep learning through their career. We focus on a well-designed blend of Basic and Engineering Sciences and Social Sciences to provide holistic education and create a well-rounded professional. Development of creative and critical thinking skills and applying these to complex engineering problems is also something that we focus on. At MEC, we are committed to making the “New Engineer”. Our Vision is to train engineers, both men and women, to be entrepreneurial and innovative as well as technically trained, so that they can meet the greatest challenges of their era, globally. No man is an island. I firmly believe that the millennial generation knows this better than anyone else. And, they are “connected” more than ever before. They are also aware of what they want and what is happening around them. My only advice to them would be to be responsible citizens, both of the country and Mother Earth, and excel in whatever their chosen field is. And, they just need to remember, collaboration is the key. (As told to the Editor) More about the Author Between 2001 and 2003, Dr. Medury successfully established 3 Universities (2 State and 1 Deemed). Prior to that, Dr. Medury was the Vice Chancellor of Jaypee University of IT, Himachal Pradesh and Founding Vice Chancellor of VIT University, Vellore. Immediately before that, he was the Chairman & Managing Director of Educational Consultants of India Limited, a Public Sector Undertaking of the Government of India. He has proficiently held many senior positions in varied Companies/Institutes besides being Member of several Academic Committees/Governing Councils throughout his distinguished career. His contributions to the field of academics have been widely acknowledged. He has more than 40 publications to his credit which have been extensively circulated in national and international journals and conferences.
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COVER
SSN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
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By Sarath Shyam
Founded in 1996 by Shiv Nadar, a great industrialist, philanthropist, and the Chairman of HCL Technologies, SSN College of Engineering has been focusing on seamlessly integrating research in teaching right since its inception. The institutions, with their diverse and dynamic community of students offer a distinctive combination of some of the finest graduate, undergraduate and research programs, accomplished faculty, world class facilities and a residential campus set on a sprawling 250 acres of sylvan surroundings. Higher Education Digest July 2019
STORY
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Dr. SK Mahapatra, Director
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esearch is the buzzword of SSN College of Engineering, Chennai. The last three years have seen faculty members of SSN publishing more than 1500 papers in reputed journals. “Research should be one of the key cornerstones of educational institutions. Effective teaching can only take place when there is new knowledge creation and effective dissemination of this knowledge. Institutions should not only encourage research activities among its faculty, but also should strive to give a flavor of research to its students at all levels.” opines Kala Vijayakumar, President, SSN Institutions. Be it in academics, research, sports, cocurricular or extra-curricular activities, SSN students are well rounded with holistic development and shine across various fields. “In research alone, over 220 students from SSN published 198 papers in reputed international journals in the year 2017-18. In the last three years over 600 papers have been published by our undergraduate students in various reputed international journals. Nowhere in the Indian context are such large number of papers being published by undergraduate students,” says Kala Vijayakumar. One of the outcomes of focusing on research is the performance of SSN students in the in the Smart India Hackathon, the world’s biggest Hackathon organized by the Ministry of Human Resource Department. SSN students have won first prize in this contest for the past three years. In 2018-19, as many as 7 teams won the first prize from across 48 centers in the country.
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While students at SSN immerse themselves in academics, the college has a lot in store for them outside the classroom.
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Kala Vijayakumar, President Kala Vijayakumar obtained her Master of Science degree with specialization in Mathematics with honors from Stella Maris College, Mad ras University. She has a mix of Entrepreneur, IT profession and Academic Management experience. She worked in the software development projects in HCL technologies, playing roles like programmer and team leader.
Higher Education Digest July 2019
At SSN, faculty members and students have filed for 11 patents in the last one year and over 41 patents in the last three years. Kala Vijayakumar proudly adds, “Till date our faculty members have received external funding of Rs. 28 crores from various reputed agencies for their research projects for over 100 projects.” The institute has established a dedicated and independent SSN Research Centre helmed by senior scientists and doyens in their field to work on cutting edge research programs. In addition to that, six centers of excellence have been set up in SSN College of Engineering to encourage interdepartmental research and collaborations. Eleven departments of SSN have also been recognized as research centres to offer PhD degrees.
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At present, SSN has around 275 faculty members and among them 225 are PhD holders. “Prototype of a Bionic Arm developed by the researchers from Biomedical department and a unique Solar charging vehicle by using DC converter developed by researchers from the Electrical department are a few examples of popular products we have developed are. Both are in advanced stages of commercialization now,” says Kala Vijayakumar. SSN provides seed money to its faculty for innovative research proposals and around Rs. 1 crore funding was provided to them in the year 2018-19. “For students, we have unique schemes to encourage them to undertake research projects. One such scheme is STIRS (Stimuli for
Technological Innovation & Research for Students),” shares Kala Vijayakumar. Under the STIRS scheme, SSN funds students’ potential research projects, which are over and beyond the academic projects that the students must complete. While, the students’ projects are expected to either result in a publication in an international journal or a prototype which can be patented, in 2018-19 over 197 such projects were funded by SSN amounting to Rs. 30 lakhs under the STIRS scheme. “We also have an Innovation Centre dedicated to creating prototypes by encouraging students to work on their ideas. The motto of the center is “Walk-in with an idea and Walk-out with a product.” This is a space open 24X7 for students to give shape to their ideas and creativity,” says Kala Vijayakumar. To support the entrepreneurial spirit of the students further, SSN has collaborated with the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium
SSN has a 250 acre state-ofthe-art campus with world class infrastructure and excellent student amenities.
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SSN follows an admission policy that strongly favors merit, even as it enables access to education for students from all strata of society through appropriate scholarships.
Higher Education Digest July 2019
Enterprises, Government of India. The institute also has dedicated Incubation Centre inside the campus to provide facility and mentorship to the students. “Till date four projects have applied for entrepreneurship support from MSME for incubation. These include such varied areas as Sigh Language to Speech Device for hearing impaired, Ozonized water processing, Biofuels from waste plastics, Degradable bags from Shrimp waste among others,” shares Kala Vijayakumar. On the other side, SSN has made strong collaborations with industry players as well as universities across the globe. Kala Vijayakumar pinpoints, “Global partnerships are essential to bring in international best practices and perspectives to Indian educational institutions. We have actively sought out collaborations with reputed global institutions in India and abroad. In fact, SSN is the longest international partner of Carnegie Mellon University. The collaboration was firmed up way back in 2001. Apart from offering a joint program for students, this collaboration has been immensely beneficial in shaping various aspects of SSN. Among other important global collaboration of SSN include the Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, Sri Ramachandra Medical College among others. “We have also tied up with various industries for mutually beneficial activities in research and innovation. Till date we have signed research collaborations with over 52 industry partners,” adds Kala Vijayakumar. The areas of collaborations include joint research, projects and contests for students, research internships for postgraduate students, product development, consulting and training, setting up joint research labs and many more. Some of the very successful collaborations of SSN have been with Danfoss, Caterpillar, Intel, Cognizant, Redington, HCL among others. Today, every graduate coming out SSN campus is well rounded and multifaceted individuals, who are also aware of their responsibilities to the society and nation. SSN alumni are now at top positions in corporate world, civil services, entrepreneurship, sports, music, film industry, are reputed authors and are contributing back to the society and their Alma Mater. “We will continue to offer innovative and unique programs to create active, lifelong learners and encourage its faculty to keep working on cutting edge research technologies,” pinpoints Kala Vijayakumar. The immediate goal of the institution is to strengthen the research, innovation and incubation ecosystem to create and commercialize new knowledge, nurture entrepreneurs and encourage them to build companies and create jobs for the betterment of society and the nation.
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Higher Education Digest July 2019
ACADEMIC VIEW
Education for Social Good: Nine Ways to Teach Kids about Community Involvement By Meenal Arora, Founder Director, Shemford & Shemrock Group of Schools
Meenal Arora is a Management Postgraduate from the reputed Shri Ram College of Commerce (Delhi University). Founder Director of SHEMFORD Futuristic Schools & Executive Director of SHEMROCK Preschools, she is the primary force behind the development of the ShemEduMAX (TM) School System & Curriculum which is based on the latest research findings and changing needs and is implemented across all SHEMROCK & SHEMFORD branches. Mrs. Arora has been honoured with several prestigious awards like ‘100 Women Achievers Award’, by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Govt. of India, the ‘Indo Global Exemplary Educationist Award’ at the International Education and Leadership Summit Awards 2016, the “Award for Outstanding Contribution to Education” at South Asia Education Summit Awards 2015 and many more. An enthusiastic writer as well, she has been consistently providing articles on parenting and many more topics related to children, which are regularly published in leading newspapers and monthly magazines.
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xperiences in the real world can teach children a lot more than what a conventional classroom set up entails. For them to experience well-rounded education, it is important to go beyond the text books and familiarize them to social situations. While society is a common part of a child’s life, incorporating conscious efforts at maximising his/ her involvement in it can reap long term benefits. A community activity can be anything that is done for the good of communities or society in general. It could range from initiating cleanliness programmes to distributing relief to the homeless. When you involve the child early in community activities, he/ she develops a more contextualized understanding of fellow humans and their perceptions. For impactful learning, parents and teachers must introduce and demonstrate real-life situations that are simple to understand and execute, yet impactful in imparting life lessons to children. According to child development experts, following are the nine ways to teach kids about community involvement:
For impactful learning, parents and teachers must introduce and demonstrate real-life situations that are simple to understand and execute, yet impactful in imparting life lessons to children.
1. Curate a list of problems in the world that one can help solve The UN’s sustainable development goals, covering issues like quality education, gender equality and climate action gives a very relevant list of ideas for services to work on. Go through the goals with children and see which ones pique their interest. Together with the children, you can brainstorm, take up a goal, formulate a linear project and apply it in your community. Find organizations or NGOs in the area that specialize in the issue and see if you can collaborate with them to further their cause. 2. Expose them to different causes and concerns Give children a wide variety of options to select the causes or volunteer activities that they want to indulge in. While they participate in the cause, they come to discover their strengths and acquire industry-relevant skills and interests. Even when working on one cause, each child acquires a unique skill set, which he/ she is uniquely good at. For instance, within a cleanliness campaign, while some students can be on the frontline of the task, others could be better at executing tasks behind the scenes. 3. Evoke empathy by enlightening them about stakeholders Make sure that you present every aspect of the concerned cause, including different stakeholders and beneficiaries, so that children can look at it with all possible perspectives and empathise with them. This will enable them to apply their understanding and engage in meaningful action that’s outward-focused and balanced. This will make them better equipped to come up with creative solutions.
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Knowingly or unknowingly, parents play an important role in teaching children about community engagement.
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4. Measure quality over quantity It is always wiser to measure the impact rather than counting the number of hours spent on a task. Instead of assigning children with a minimum number of hours of community service per month, it is better to look at the impact of their work. Furthermore, it’s important for children to engage in community involvement that fosters their own learning. The aim is to actually deliver on the stated project and foster sincerity and commitment in children. 5. Parents’ part: discussing community involvement at dinnertime Knowingly or unknowingly, parents play an important role in teaching children about community engagement. If they make conscious efforts at doing so, it can be highly effective in instilling community values in them. By talking with their kids about what concerns the community and how their learning can be employed in furthering people’s interests, they can lead family activities that are in some way directed towards social good, giving the children a live example to live by. 6. Linking project and curriculum To bridge the gap between the academic curriculum and real-world problem solving, you need to integrate social projects and academic content. This leads to the formation of the greatest synergy of community engagement and learning experiences and aligns learning goals and community engagement goals. Without this integration, student learning and community impact can be limited.
Higher Education Digest July 2019
7. Use schools’ annual celebrations to create engagement Schools can use big annual events to encourage students to celebrate in a way to contribute to a larger cause, like planting trees or sweeping streets on a cleaning campaign or a simple visit to an old age home. When you replace meaningless and lavish celebrations with such social practices, students successfully learn community engagement. 8. Inculcate gratefulness in students Children should also be reminded to be grateful for what people around them do for their community. Simple acts of kindness that make the service members-like policemen or gatekeepers feel appreciated, can form an active component in teaching community involvement. 9. Take the classroom outdoors, nearer to the community Build two-way partnerships between the school and the wider community, including local organizations and business, by taking the classroom outdoors. Use the local environment and community as practical learning resources, and encourage parents and community organizations to participate in solving common issues. Make the school a model for a sustainable community to act as a learning hub and role model for children. Active learning through daily practical applications is what makes for a wholesome learning experience. If implemented effectively, it goes on to bringing the best out of children to develop them into good citizens that drive sustainability tomorrow.
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ne of the mega trends of the century that can hold the potential to drastically transform various industries and production technique is automation, which also defined as digitization of the manufacturing sector, with embedded sensors in virtually all product components and manufacturing equipment, ubiquitous cyberphysical systems, and analysis of all relevant data. This new trend, call it Industry 4.0 or Fourth Industrial Revolution, has instigated considerable changes in the physical world. Now the virtual facilitation enabled by digital connect helps us in shrinking the distances, removing differences, and conducting real time transfer knowledge and material transfer globally. However, the era of Industry 4.0 requires new cross-functional roles with different knowledge and skills. To fulfill this need, our engineering institutions must define new education requirements and focus on transforming technical education in a similar manner to the Industry 4.0 vision. Unfortunately, as per the opinions of several industry veterans, engineering colleges in India still teach the students principles that are rarely used in the real world of software or product development.
Important aspects like work-based learning, multidisciplinary programs and a dual emphasis on engineering design and selfreflection are still not addressed many Indian engineering institutes. To take the fourth industrial revolution by the horns and to support the aspiration of 1.3 billion people, majority of the young and rapidly urbanizing, the country needs to reimagine its engineering education, rather than expecting an incremental improvement in the current framework. The need of the our is new age colleges with a socially relevant and outward facing engineering curricula, which will facilitate the emergence of a new generation who can handle the challenges of Industry 4.0. In this issue, we have come up with a list of ’50 Must Watch Engineering Colleges in India’ that have been producing generations of students who can create in impact in the physical world by solving grand challenges and lead change through Innovation and Entrepreneurship. We sincerely hope that our efforts will help the engineering aspirants in India to take informed decisions about their study destination.
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Institute Name
City
State
Adichunchanagiri Institute of Technology
Chikmagalur
Karnataka
Amrita Institute of Technology & Science
Coimbatore
Tamil Nadu
Bellary
Karnataka
Bangalore Institute of Technology
Bengaluru
Karnataka
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Sardar Patel College of Engineering
Mumbai
Maharashtra
Birla Institute of Technology
Ranchi
Jharkhand
Birla Institute of Technology and Science
Pilani
Rajasthan
BMS College of Engineering
Bengaluru
Karnataka
Chitkara University, College of Engineering
Chandigarh
Punjab
Bhubaneswar
Odisha
Chennai
Tamil Nadu
Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology
Gandhinagar
Gujarat
DKTE Society’s Textile & Engineering Institute
Ichalkaranji
Maharashtra
Ballari Institute of Technology & Management
C. V. Raman College of Engineering Dhanalakshmi College of Engineering
Higher Education Digest July 2019
Institute Name Federal Institute of Science And Technology
City Angamaly
State Kerala
GMR Institute of Technology
Rajam
Andhra Pradesh
Heritage Institute of Technology
Kolkata
West Bengal
International Institute of Information Technology
Hyderabad
Telangana
Mysore
Karnataka
Bhubaneswar
Odisha
Coimbatore
Tamil Nadu
KLE Dr. M.S. Sheshgiri College of Engineering and Technology
Belgaum
Karnataka
Malla Reddy Engineering College
Hyderabad
Telangana
Manipal
Karnataka
MIT WPU - Faculty of Engineering and Technology
Pune
Maharashtra
M.Kumarasamy College of Engineering
Karur
Tamil Nadu
JSS Science and Technology University Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology Karunya Institute of Technology
Manipal Institute of Technology
Higher Education Digest July 2019
Institute Name
City
State
M. S. Engineering College
Bengaluru
Karnataka
MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology
Bengaluru
Karnataka
New Horizon College of Engineering
Bengaluru
Karnataka
Ahmedabad
Gujarat
PES Institute of Technology
Bengaluru
Karnataka
PSG College of Technology
Coimbatore
Tamil Nadu
Rajagiri School of Engineering & Technology
Cochin
Kerala
RMK Engineering College
Gummidipoondi
Tamil Nadu
RNS Institute of Technology
Bengaluru
Karnataka
Royal School of Engineering and Technology
Guwahati
Assam
RV College of Engineering
Bengaluru
Karnataka
Bhimavaram
Andhra Pradesh
Thanjavur
Tamil Nadu
Nirma University Institute of Technology
Sagi Ramakrishnam Raju Engineering College
SASTRA Deemed to be University
Higher Education Digest July 2019
Institute Name
City
State
Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology
Chennai
Tamil Nadu
SCMS School of Engineering and Technology
Cochin
Kerala
Pune
Maharashtra
Surampalem
Andhra Pradesh
SRM Institute of Science and Technology
Chennai
Tamil Nadu
SSN College of Engineering
Chennai
Tamil Nadu
Patiala
Punjab
Madurai
Tamil Nadu
Vasavi College of Engineering
Hyderabad
Telangana
Velammal Engineering College
Chennai
Tamil Nadu
Vellore Institute of Technology
Vellore
Tamil Nadu
Pune
Maharashtra
SCTR’S Pune Institute of Computer Technology Sri Aditya Engineering College
Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology Thyagaraja College of Engineering
Vishwakarma Institute of Technology
Higher Education Digest July 2019
DHANALAKSHMI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
The Southern Marvel of Engineering Education
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any experts in the Industry and education sector believe that India has one of the hostile environments in the world for driving innovation. Indeed, India, Asia’s third-largest economy, could only achieve 54th rank in a recent ranking of 56 countries on the basis of how their domestic policies support global innovation. Dr. S. Suyambazhahan, Principal of Dhanalakshmi College of Engineering, says, “We Indians are not lacking behind knowledge, we are lagging behind facilities and economically. Excellent research requires a positive research culture that supports all individuals involved. Lack of sufficient exposure to proper research practices and models at school and UG level are one of the chief reasons.” It is true that research in India is viewed as a worthwhile activity only at PG level. However, the situation has been gradually improving and many institutions including Dhanalakshmi College of Engineering (DCE) are encouraging students to undertake projects and research activities. “Being one of the most reputed Engineering colleges in the country, we have instituted several measures to foster research. Our department like Electronics & Communication Engineering, Physics and Chemistry have been recognized as Anna University Research centers. We have also established a Research, Development & Consultancy Cell to promote research among the faculty and students,” shares Dr. Suyambazhahan. Located in Chennai, DCE has taken several initiatives of significance in furthering research environment in the campus. Recruiting faculty with PhD qualification, motivating non-PhD holders to take up PhD programs, encouraging staffs pursuing PhD with incentives such as on duty allowance, financial support such as paying up to Rs. 5000/- (management is providing money for pursuing research activities) per published paper for Scopus, SCI, and Web of Science indexed journals are few to mention among them. Dr. Suyambazhahan adds, “ISRO sanctioned the Major Research Project for the worth of Rs. 13 Lakhs. The project was completed by ECE Dept and submitted to find the project report. TNSCST sanctioned seven funds for conferences and seminars conducted. We have submitted five research projects for the evaluation worth of Rs. 1.5 Crore to various funding agencies like DST-FIST, SERB and many more. We are waiting for the approval.”
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Established in 2001, DCE has now grown into a ‘distinguished centre for engineering and technological studies’, providing a serene environment and congenial atmosphere for learning. The college has initiated the student to do project work from the beginning of college. “Every year, we organiz “28th February as Science Day” to bring out the new ideas and talents of young researchers of our campus. On this occasion our students are given an opportunity to exhibit their innovative projects and participate in debugging challenges. As the students from other colleges are also permitted to participate there is a great scope for healthy competition among the student fraternity,” explains Dr. Suyambazhahan. DCE attracts a large number of reputed recruiters every year. The Placement and Training Cell of DEC is working untiringly to provide employment to the students. “We are proud of our excellent placement record. Many students have received higher pay and multiple offers from leading recruiters,” says Dr. Suyambazhahan. The Placement and Training Cell continuously works to identify requirements of companies and co-ordinates with the training cell and the career development cell to train the students. The Team maps the right talent to the right industry. “The cell has been working meticulously to achieve 100 percent placements year after year. They placement cell focuses more on giving opportunities in core industries to the students,” pinpoints Dr. Suyambazhahan. Till date, the institute has recorded 1075+ job offers from various companies for the year 2016 – 19 with Rs. 10 Lakhs as highest salary package.
Dr. V. P. Ramamurthi, the founder of DCE, with his wife.
Founder of Dhanalakshmi College of Engineering, Dr. V. P. Ramamurthi is passionate about teaching and is dedicated to train worldclass engineers who would shape technological innovations of the future. He leads a dynamic team comprising eminent academicians, technocrats, and engineers to form the backbone of DCE management.
The infrastructure facilities of DCE include magnificent buildings with a unique blend of both oriental and architectural marvels.
Higher Education Digest July 2019
All the laboratories of DCE are well-equipped and established with the state-of-the-art technologies.
Dr. S. Suyambazhahan, Principal
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Dr. S. Suyambazhahan has completed Doctoral degree (Ph.D.) from Indian premier institution, Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM). He has 30 years of Teaching, Research and Administration experience out of which he is continuously working as Principal in reputed institution from 10.09.2004 to till date. He is multi-talented person with humanitarian, academic, administrative and research excellence. He has received the award from Dr. A P J Abdul kalam, former president of India for his service and academic excellence in higher education for the welfare of the society. He is good in pedagogy, communication, candidness, research and delegation.
“We welcome all industry partners who seek practicable and pragmatic solutions, and who share and celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit that brings new ideas to life. We are interested in developing good relationship with the industry for exchanging knowledge and practical experience,” opines Dr. Suyambazhahan. DCE has strong industry- institute collaboration, which helps its academic staff to visit the industry and learn the current skills used by the industry. Dr. Suyambazhahan adds, “This experience gained by the faculty will be transmitted to the students. Also, the students will be trained by the experts in the industry. The students will be sent for internship to the companies so that they can gain industry exposure.” Catering to the higher education needs of over 1800 students, DCE and industry together can make great progress in creating new knowledge, in shaping new leaders and in making important gains against the challenges of our generation.
Higher Education Digest July 2019
D.K.T.E. SOCIETY’S TEXTILE AND ENGINEERING INSTITUTE
Knitting the Future Talents 40
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he history of Ichalkaranji, a small town located about 45 kms south of Kolhapur in the state of Maharashtra, is a fascinating one. Known as the ‘Manchester of Maharashtra,’ Ichalkaranji could be deemed as one of the premier textile hubs in the country, knitting the fabric not the just for the domestic market, but for Italian and French companies. The textile industry in Ichalkaranji was started with a mere single unit in 1904 and today the city hosts over one lakh power looms, giving employment opportunities to around 1.2 lakhs people directly and another one lakh in ancillary industries. However, till 1980, Ichalkaranji lacked educational institutes that can produce technically trained manpower, despite the phenomenal growth of its textile industry. That was the time when different co-operation organizations from Ichalkaranji decided to collaborate under the leadership of Mr. K.B. Awade (Ex. M.P.) to form an educational society with a view to start colleges to cater to education in the field of Textiles, Engineering, Management, Medicines and others so as to provide education facilities in various fields to students of this rural area and also to support the growth of industry by providing technically qualified professionals. The education society thus formed was named after Late Shri. Dattajirao Kadam, an ardent social worker and veteran co-operator of this town. The Dattajirao Kadam Education society as its first step established the Textile
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Dr. P.V. Kadole, Director Joined in 1990 as the Professor of Textile Technologies, Dr. Kadole has been working
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with D.K.T.E. Society’s Textile and Engineering Institute for the past 29 years. Strong information technology professional with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) focused in Engineering from Shivaji University, Dr. Kadole became the Director of D.K.T.E. Society’s Textile and Engineering Institute in 2011. A skilled professional in Academic Administration, Negotiation, Planning & Execution, Analytical Skills, and Textiles, Dr. Kadole holds Fellowship Member of The Textile Institute, UK and is also a member of the Global Engineering Deans Council (GEBC), USA.
and Engineering Institute in 1982, which now known as D.K.T.E. Society’s Textile and Engineering Institute. “Since its humble inception, the institute has grown multi-folds and has branched into various disciplines. Now, we offer 11 Degree Programs namely Textile Technology, Man Made Textile Technology, Textile Plant Engineering, Textile Chemistry, Fashion Technology, Electronics Engineering, Mechanical engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunication, Civil Engineering and Electrical Engineering. We also offer six Post Graduate programmers in Textile Engineering, Textile Chemistry, Technical textiles, Electronics Engineering, Mechanical engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Master of Business
Higher Education Digest July 2019
Administration (MBA) in general and in Textiles,” shares Dr. P.V. Kadole, Director, D.K.T.E. Society’s Textile and Engineering Institute. Today, the institute is a recognized research center for Ph.D. in Textile Engineering, Electronics Engineering and Mechanical engineering and Computer Science & Engineering. It has over 3700 students studying in various courses and about 215 highly qualified and experienced faculty members and 13000 alumni are the strength of the institute. An ‘Autonomous Institution’ since the academic year 2016-2017, D.K.T.E. Society’s Textile and Engineering Institute has accredited with A+ Grade (3.53 CGPA) by National Assessment and Accreditation Council. The Institute is also holding a prestigious ISO 9001-2015
certification and has emerged as the Winner of ‘Best Industry-Linked Engineering Institute’ for the year 2015 and 2017 in a nation-wide survey conducted jointly by All India Council for Technical Education and Confederation of Indian Industries. “Our institute has been identified to act as “Mentor Institution” under AICTE’s Margdarshak Scheme and as a “Potential Mentor” by UGC under PARAMARSH scheme to promote Quality and Accreditation. We have also been honored as ‘The Best Educational Institute for Textile Engineering’ by Ministry of Textiles, GoI, in 2013,” proudly shares Dr. Kadole.
An Institute of Difference D.K.T.E. Society’s Textile and Engineering Institute may not be a metro-based college, but it has managed to collaborate with 21 Foreign Universities from the US, Germany, Italy, China, Czech Republic, South Korea, Africa, Bangladesh and many more. These MoUs help the institute to carry out activities like Student Exchange programs, Faculty Exchange Programs and Joint Researches. As a result, the institute conducts many prestigious R&D projects worth Rs.55 crores and it is equipped with excellent infrastructure in terms of spacious buildings, ultra-modern machinery
MREC Final Year U.G engineering students group winning ‘Gold Trophy’ of the ‘Mitsubishi Electric Cup2019’ Competition conducted by Mitsubishi Electric, Japan held at Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies (MRIIRS) at Faridabad campus from 14th to 16th February 2019.
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The institute regularly conducts Textvision and Fashionova, national level events that help and extend the students’ skills in strategic thinking as well as creating, coordinating and leading fashion and design concept processes.
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The institute has strong linkages with industries and this is acknowledged by both AICTE and CII by awarding prestigious award” Best Industry Linked Engineering Institute” two times
Higher Education Digest July 2019
and equipment in laboratories, cozy and library. “The philosophy of our institute is teaching and learning through research. Therefore, since the inception of this institute, research is strongly encouraged,” opines Dr. Kadole. The institute has been deputing its faculty members to reputed institutes to pursue higher qualification. So far, 40 faculty members have completed their Ph.D and rest of the faculty are pursuing their Ph.D. “Our faculty members have filed many patents and regularly publishing their research in reputed journals. State-ofthe-art equipment, centre of excellence in Nonwovens, funded projects from government and industry, and industry supported laboratories are available here for undertaking research,” shares Dr. Kadole. At D.K.T.E. Society’s Textile and Engineering Institute, faculty members and students are closely working together on many projects. They also regularly participate in the national and international seminars/conferences to understand the latest happenings. Dr. Kadole pinpoints, “An institute cannot separate itself from research, as the teaching and research go hand-in-hand. We always support the students’ activities leading to innovation and creativity.” D.K.T.E. Society’s Textile and Engineering Institute
All Labs and workshops of MREC’s Textile Department have state-of-theart equipments and machines worth Rs. 50 crores.
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The institute has signed MoU with two leading South Korean Universities, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, South Korea and Chonnam National University, Gwanju, South Korea, to conducts activities like Internship for students and Student Exchange Programs, Training of Faculty, Joint Research Projects and Joint Publications.
Higher Education Digest July 2019
encourages students to participate in all the cocurricular and extracurricular events in the institute and outside the institute. Students have bagged numerous prizes and awards in these events and are felicitated by the management. Recently, final year U.G engineering students group won ‘Gold Trophy’ of the ‘Mitsubishi Electric Cup-2019’ Competition. “It was euphoric moment for our students who grabbed first prize which includes a cash prize of Rs.1,00,000 along with fully sponsored Plant Visit to Mitsubishi Electric, Japan for the team of students and faculty members,” proudly shares Dr. Kadole. Today, a significant number of D.K.T.E alumni are entrepreneurs and are also successful in their ventures. To promote entrepreneurship skills in students, the institute has established a separate Entrepreneurship Development cell, organizes expert lectures/seminars and workshops for students. The institute also has a Technology Business incubation center with all the facilities to support students to start their ventures. “Our curriculum has entrepreneurship component and imparts necessary knowledge required for entrepreneurship,” states Dr. Kadole. Khator Technical Textiles, Mumbai, S.K. Fabrics, Ahmedabad, U.P Processors, Malegaon, Jain Textiles, Bhiwandi, Tara Rani Processors, Ichalkaranji and Sangamesh Exports, Erode are some of the ventures started by the D.K.T.E. students. “Lifelong learning ability, Self-motivated, Analytical and problem-solving skills, Leader and team member and Societal responsibility are the qualities of our graduates. In the coming years, we would like to strengthen partnership with premier national and global universities. We would also be working on to strengthen research and development in our institute,” conclude Dr. Kadole.
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ACADEMIC VIEW
India Requires Entrepreneurship Education to Strengthen Entrepreneurial Ecosystem By Dr. Lalit Sharma, Faculty, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India Dr. Lalit Sharma is an academician, researcher and trainer in the field of entrepreneurship. His area of expertise is youth entrepreneurship development and training. The other areas of interest include women entrepreneurship, HRM & Organizational Behaviour. He guides FPM scholars, teaches post-graduate students, grooms budding entrepreneurs and conducts research in the areas of youth entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education. Dr. Sharma specializes in Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Entrepreneurial Lab, Creativity & Innovations and Entrepreneurial Effectiveness. He is actively engaged in the national research projects of the Government of India on entrepreneurship development. He is also well-recognized as a corporate trainer by industrial associations like BIA. His research articles on entrepreneurship have been widely published in several reputed international journals.
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ntrepreneurship is regarded as the ultimate determining factor for the industrial growth of any country or region. India is in the midst of an entrepreneurial wave as it is emerging as one of the most exciting entrepreneurial societies in the world. Various government initiatives like Make in India, Startup India, and Skill India are intended to transform the Indian economy into an ‘entrepreneurial’ from the ‘managerial’ one. Though India is witnessing several initiatives in this direction, it requires yet more sustained efforts in the domain of entrepreneurship education. There are a few institutes which offer entrepreneurship education as a discipline, and there are some that offer it as a part of their wider syllabus. But the question remains whether these initiatives are enough to push entrepreneurship to a scale that India desires. On hindsight, it is good to note that society is waking up to the charms of entrepreneurship and holds the discipline in high esteem. Having said that let me add, while entrepreneurship has become easy
In the developing world, entrepreneurship is picking up gradually and the orientation towards secure, salaried jobs still predominates.
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to pursue, the inhibitions associated with the discipline have not got wiped out completely. Studies reveal that a majority of the youth in our country is still interested in securing a well-paying job; very few take the conscious decision to pursue entrepreneurship as career. A few examples of failure further discourage potential entrepreneurs. Education strengthens the most important part of an entrepreneurial environment viz. culture or value. A recent study by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) revealed that entrepreneurship education in academic curriculum is an important factor in encouraging effective youth entrepreneurship. According to the report, a culture of experiential learning will provide students an opportunity to learn from the professional world and thereby assist them in their entrepreneurial journey. Therefore, the report establishes that entrepreneurs are not necessarily born but could be nurtured and developed through training as well. The GEM report, therefore, suggests introduction of entrepreneurship in school education too.
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Dr. Lalit Sharma
Strengthening entrepreneurship education will impact the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem as it will ensure development of skills required to generate an entrepreneurial mindset and will develop future leaders who solve more complex and integrated problems.
Higher Education Digest July 2019
It is a common observation that in countries where entrepreneurship has been flourishing the most; management and professional institutions play a key role in promoting entrepreneurship and reducing employment dependency. Institutions in these countries design structured entrepreneurship programs and courses to ensure that students give a thought to the charms that accrue out of entrepreneurship. In the developing world, entrepreneurship is picking up gradually and the orientation towards secure, salaried jobs still predominates. However, on the flip side, what needs a mention is that these countries are experiencing a scenario where job opportunities are fast shrinking; thus giving ample reasons to promote entrepreneurship. Let me quote from a study by ASSOCHAM. It says that excluding a few top management institutions, more than five thousand management institutions in our country are producing “unemployable� sub-par graduates, earning less than Rs 10,000 a month if at all they find placements. Most of the well-known corporates pick the best management graduates of the country, leaving a large section to fend for themselves and settle for meagre salaries. Against this backdrop, entrepreneurship appears even more powerful. Various stakeholders like the government, academicians, researchers and the private sector play an important role in enabling an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Government, as a policymaker, lays down path for emerging entrepreneurs to follow while academicians, researchers and private sector, as executors in different value chains, support them for new enterprise creation. Though efforts are being undertaken by academia in promoting entrepreneurship education, a lot is yet to be done in this respect if India wants to resolve the issue of unemployment. The important point here is that entrepreneurship is also guided by knowledge like any other discipline; its intriguing nuances need to be understood in order to succeed, and these can be learnt. Courses on entrepreneurship, like the one Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad offers, develop an individual to constantly analyse
opportunities and take initiatives based on calculated risks. They are trained in creating, developing and nurturing an enterprise by imparting knowledge on procedures, formalities, legal aspects, markets, business environment, skills of managing people, money, material and markets. The emphasis is also on building an aptitude to manage risks appropriately, take quick decisions and face ambiguities successfully. All this is strongly backed by soft skills. So, the curriculum is focussed on creating ownermanagers and family business successors. Strengthening entrepreneurship education will impact the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem as it will ensure development of skills required to generate an entrepreneurial mindset and will develop future leaders who solve more complex and integrated problems. It will also be helpful to most small and medium enterprises (SMEs) who wish their second/ third generation to grow their family businesses. In India, most of the businesses are family-owned and most of these businesses do not have a succession plan. According to PricewaterhouseCooper’s India Family Business Survey 2016, barely 15 per cent of the family businesses in India have a welldocumented succession plan in place. Since entrepreneurship is closely connected to innovation, education in emerging economies will also have to focus on raising the innovation capabilities of budding entrepreneurs/students in order to ensure higher success ratio. The development of any country is directly linked to its innovation potential. More developed economies tend to have higher levels of education and more diverse industry-sector profiles. This, coupled with advanced technologies, encourages new-age entrepreneurs to become more innovative. Government policies are enhancing their potential to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem. However, it is a matter of time before these initiatives translate into a booster dose for entrepreneurship development in India. Apart from improvement in education and training, along with government policies, factors like financial support, economic climate, commercial infrastructure and cultural and social norms play pivotal role in growth of entrepreneurship in India.
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MALLA REDDY ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Fostering Practical Innovation 52
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ver since the mushrooming of private colleges and universities in India, the academic research and innovation in education has been a widely debated topic. Indeed, India needs to build an ecosystem that endorses quality research and institutes that imparts intelligence. Dr. S. Sudhakara Reddy, Principal of Malla Reddy Engineering College, opines, “It cannot be denied that a culture of research is missing in many Indian institutions for varied reasons. Lack of sufficient exposure to proper research practices and models at school and UG level is one of the chief reasons. Research is viewed as a worthwhile activity only at PG level.” However, Dr. Reddy, a visionary and a dynamic leader who has rich teaching and industrial experience for over three decades, believes that the situation is gradually improving. He adds, “Many institutions are encouraging students to undertake projects and research activities. Both UG and PG students are motivated to take up even live industry projects.” Established in 2002, Malla Reddy Engineering College (MREC) is an epitome of institutes that foster practical innovation inside the campus. Dr. Reddy and him team at MREC have instituted several measures inside the campus to improve research that include the establishment of a Research and Consultancy Cell. “We have put a lot focus on recruiting faculty with PhD qualification, motivating non-PhD holders to take up PhD programs,
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Dr. S. Sudhakara Reddy, Principal
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encouraging the ones pursuing PhD with incentives such as on duty allowance, giving financial support such as paying up to Rs. 10, 000 per published paper for Scopus, SCI, and Web of Science indexed journals,” shares Dr. Reddy. The combination of a well-structured Research and Consultancy Cell and a highly supportive college administration has helped MREC to grab 10 minor research projects worth Rs. 25 lakhs from the UGC. Dr. Reddy adds, “We have applied for new research projects worth nearly Rs. 2 Crore for various funding agencies like DST, FIST, SERB and many more.” Making Meaningful MoUs MREC is perpetually in motion when it comes to collaborating with international universities and industries. MREC is a consortium member of Indo Universal Collaboration for Engineering Education (IUCEE), receiving diversified webinars in the areas of best practices, research and innovation, and outcome-based education. “Forming global partnerships will go a long way in preparing student communities with global character.On the other side, we have given a lot of emphasis on collaborating with industry players,” pinpoints Dr. Reddy. For instance, MREC has signed an MoU with Tech Mahindra, Hyderabad. Under this, Tech Mahindra offers in-house training to the students and also conduct FDP program for faculty members.
Higher Education Digest July 2019
Dr. Reddy has been instrumental in acquiring accreditation status for most of the institutions that he has worked with. He has spearheaded the transformation of the institution from an ordinary engineering college to a ‘Centre of Excellence’ to produce globally competent engineers. A distinguished scholar with lofty ideas, Dr. Reddy has played a significant role in revamping, restructuring and reorganizing the system at Malla Reddy Engineering College (Autonomous). He obtained his B.Tech Degree in Mechanical Engineering (Production) from Kakatiya University, Warangal, M.Tech Degree in Design and Production Engineering (Machine Tools) from N I T, Warangal and M.B.A (Human Resource Management) from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad. He obtained his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from S.V. University Tirupathi. He has authored three textbooks and published 20 technical papers in national, international conferences and journals. He is a life member of various Professional bodies.
Students of MREC were the Runner Up in Formula Kart Design Challenge (FKDC) held at Reva University.
Dr. Reddy shares, “We have signed an MoU with IBM. Under this, the college receives training for faculty and students using IBM Software, orientation and guidance for faculty and students towards free product certification and technology products and services for training programs.” The institute’s MoU with Focus Academy for Career Enhancement (FACE), Chennai helps the final-year students get trained in CRT. SAP, HP Microfocus (First of its kind in the state of Telangana to impart training on DevOps), CISCO, Red Hat Linux, Amazon Web Services, Oracle Academy and National Instruments are some of the other important MoUs MREC has singed till now. “These MoUs help us in providing training for students and staff on emerging areas like Cloud computing, Big data analytics, IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning and so on,” claims Dr. Reddy. Today, there are numerous takers for MREC students in the industry. In addition to that, MREC’s Placement and Training Cell and Entrepreneurship Development Cell work untiringly to provide employment and entrepreneurial abilities to students. “We are proud of our excellent placement record. Many students have received higher pay and multiple offers from leading recruiters,” states Dr. Reddy. MREC has seen over 533 placements in the year 2018 – 19 with Rs. 10 Lakhs as highest salary package from BYJU’s. Impressively, over 100 MREC students got multiple placement offers. Dr. Reddy adds, “We also have 10 students who cleared CLAD (Certified LabView Associate Developer) exam in the first attempt. Two students are offered Advanced training on LabView (worth Rs. 1 lakh) at NIT campus, Bengaluru. Four students from Mining Engineering Department topped a
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MREC has well contended labs, excellent infrastructure and dedicated team of faculty members to impart practical knowledge to the students in better way.
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course ‘Drilling and Blasting Technology in NPTEL and were given an Internship opportunity by the Professor at IIT Kharagpur.” However, MREC is not only focusing on sending its students to industry as employees but also producing entrepreneurs of high quality. Entrepreneurship Development Cell is a flagship initiative of the college that produces a pool of prospective entrepreneurs. The cell operates in association with JNTUH EDC in order to inspire and develop entrepreneurial abilities among the students. Under its wing, several programs and workshops are organized to train students in developing skills and capabilities required for starting small scale businesses. “It encourages students to come up with ideas for setting up of businesses and provides mentoring from real time entrepreneurs. The cell networks with best funding agencies and venture capitalists that could provide requisite financial support and guidance. Our student Kasturi Santoshi Lata has designed and initiated Big Wig Technologies Pvt Ltd, employing 150 people,” explains Dr. Reddy.
Dr. S. Sudhakara Reddy, Principal of MREC receiving ‘Best Private Engineering College in Telangana’ award from Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister, New Delhi during the Better India Education Awards 2019 ceremony organized at The Park Hotel, New Delhi.
Many MREC students participate in online and offline hackathons organized by government and private enterprises. In TASK Telangana State Smart City Hackathon 2018 program, 22 students from MREC were selected and they received hands-on training from industry experts on available technologies and tools for prototype development. Dr. Reddy adds, “Our students from Mechanical Engineering have participated in different Go-Kart events since 2017. They design and fabricate their own cart along with a business plan, which describes how the team can start an enterprise to market the Go-Kart manufactured by them.” With state-of-the-art infrastructure, meaningful tieups and cutting edge research facilities, MREC ensures its graduates to have several qualities when they go out of the campus. It can be summarized into 12 graduate attributes - Knowledge base for engineering, Problem analysis, Investigation, Design, Use of engineering tools, Individual and team work, Communication skills, Professionalism, Impact of engineering on society and the environment, Ethics and equity, Economics and project management, Life-long learning. “Our day to day practices help the students achieve all these graduate attributes. In the coming years, we have plans to establish research centers of excellence in every department, increase tie-ups with industry players and form global partnerships, secure Major research projects and provide training in emerging areas,” concludes Dr. Reddy.
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M.S. ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Making Socially Responsible Engineers
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T
he average time a child can struggle at the surface before drowning is about 30 seconds. It is about 60 seconds for adults. That means, for a lifeguard or water rescuer, every second counts when it comes to rescuing a panicking victim, as they rush through the heavy waters to a drowning person they mentally urge to hang on. However, due to shortage of manpower, lack of training and professional equipment, body-recovery missions have become a difficult task. Located in Bangalore, M.S. Engineering College (MSEC) is an expert in developing Remotely Operated Vehicle that can travel underwater. In 2014, the institute developed one such device with the fund received from Govt. of Karnataka under VGST scheme. The vehicle was designed to assist Karnataka State Pollution Control Board for retrieving drowned human bodies. MSEC has also developed an Underwater Vehicle Based on 3D Image Processing for Lake Pollution Monitoring. “We focus a lot on research and innovation. Interdisciplinary research in the areas of underwater sensors and communication, human-machine interface and smart systems are pursued under respective centers of excellence with grants from agencies like DST, AICTE, VGST and many more,” says Dr. K. S. Badarinarayan, Principal, M.S. Engineering College. VTU has recognized MSEC as the nodal center for VLSI and Embedded Systems Design for industry relevant training and placement. Lab-to-land success stories of VLSI stimulator, Interactive E – learning, Real Time Virtual Lab and Nanoelectronics simulator demonstrate the capabilities and expertise of Research and Development at MSEC. Dr. Badarinarayan adds, “Our state-ofthe-art lab facilities and collaborations with leading industries and research organizations provide appropriate platform to students in having a life time experience in engineering education.”
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Sudarshan Raju. M, Secretary
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Established in 2002, MSEC has now emerged as one of the leading institutions in India providing engineering education with emphasize on innovation, entrepreneurship, core technical skills and life skills that are of societal importance and industry relevance. The college has established M S Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (MS CIIE), which is envisioned to nurture young scholars to develop industry related knowledge by synergizing and leveraging strands of innovation, incubation and entrepreneurship by facilitating industrial interactions, accelerating creativity and commercialization of products in rural technologies, industrial sectors of agriculture and medical and social impact. The center supports MSEC students, staff members, alumni, faculty, R&D partners and regional innovators. “The innovations, incubation and entrepreneurs developed at MS CIIE will contribute to solving socio-economic development challenges and complement the central and state government’s effort of transforming the national economy through employment and wealth creation,” opines Dr. Badarinarayan. At present, the institute has incubated over 8 companies in the campus. “We have close associations with NEN, Angele investors and other funding agencies, which is a great for students who would like to set up their own ventures after graduation. In fact, a few of our students are already running their ventures inside our incubation center already,” states Dr. Badarinarayan.
Higher Education Digest July 2019
MSEC is equipped with the best of infrastructure and has highly accomplished professionals who form part of the teaching and the administrative staff.
Dr. K. S. Badarinarayan, Principal A PhD holder, Dr. Badarinarayan has over 30 years of teaching experience. Currently working as Principal of MS Engineering College, he has published many research papers in national and international conferences. His areas of research include Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management, Simulation and Quality Management.
Be it entrepreneurship, research or any other activities in the campus, MSEC faculty members are always available to support the students. The team consists of 170 professionals with Master’s degrees and PhDs in their relevant areas drawn from the best technology institutions in the country. “With help of our faculty members and Training and Placement Cell, we identify the areas on which a student needs to be trained, and design suitable training modules which will be delivered effectively by the experts,” explains Dr. Badarinarayan. The well-trained students of MSEC are absorbed by reputed MNCs, Core Industries and other business houses for their human resource needs. The cell regularly conducts personality development and other grooming sections to make students ready for the industry. Last year, MSEC students were placed by grabbing packages ranging from Rs. 3 lakhs to Rs. 8 Lakhs per annum. Today, with the help of its visionary President, Muniswamy Raju, and its young, dynamic Secretary, Sudarshan Raju, MSEC is striving to become one of the best engineering institutions in the country. “Our immediate plan is to prepare ourselves for the accreditation process. In the future, we want to become a university. That is our ultimate goal,” concludes Dr. Badarinarayan.
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INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE
Adaptive Learning: A Cost-effective Alternative to Tuitions in India By Beas Dev Ralhan, Co-Founder and CEO, Next Education India
Beas Dev Ralhan is the Chief Executive Officer of Next Education India Private Limited, a technology-driven education enterprise, headquartered in Hyderabad. Beas cofounded this educational organization in 2007 along with Raveendranath Kamath, an IIT Kharagpur alumnus. Prior to Next Education, Beas worked as an entrepreneur, investment manager and consultant for around a decade in firms such as FreshPixel India Pvt Ltd, Retort Software India Pvt Ltd, PartyGaming LLC, and Infosys. In recognition of his immense contribution to the K–12 education segment, CII (Southern Regional) bestowed upon him the ‘Emerging Entrepreneur’ award in 2015. He also received the Indian Education Leader award at the 7th World Education Summit, 2016. Under Beas’ leadership, Next Education has also begun to secure a foothold in Bangladesh and Middle East and is now looking at expansions in Africa.
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With the help of adaptive tests, teachers can figure out the specific challenges that each student faces, and can work on those to iron out the problematic areas.
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tudents in India have always been exposed to a generalized curriculum. Although the conventional teaching-learning model lacks resources and is not well-equipped with the latest technologies, it is prevalent in schools due to convenience. But the 21st century India has witnessed a lot of transformation in terms of the vision of education. With increasing awareness among parents and educators on the dynamic nature of modern workplace requirements and the ineffectiveness of the factory method of learning in meeting those, the idea of personalized learning is getting gradual acceptance in society. The advent of artificial intelligence is helping us realize this dream. Hence, AI-powered adaptive learning is being considered as one of the finest tools of personalized learning for students. What is Adaptive Learning? Adaptive learning is an educational system tailored to computer-based algorithms to orchestrate the interaction with the learner and deliver customized resources and learning activities to address the unique needs of each learner. The application requires a thorough understanding of a learner’s ability and knowledge state. To attain that understanding, it accurately quantifies the learner’s knowledge of different topics through Computerized Adaptive Tests (CAT). The computerized test starts with asking a learner a mid-level question. Based on the response, the difficulty level of the questions in line gets modified. The application is powered by a large pool of questions drawn from data collected over the years, and the difficulty level is determined by the number of students who have answered the questions correctly. Adaptive assessments are designed in a way that they stop when a certain level of score precision or psychometric degree is met. The entire process is much personalized as different examinees face different number
and variety of questions to reach the precision point. This helps it provide accurate scores in less time than standard fixed tests prevalent in India. Learners get to focus more on in-class activities peer learning and interaction. Furthermore, examinees can continue practicing and get questions of varying difficulty levels every time they take the test. In terms of self-learning, AI-powered adaptive tests give a thorough understanding of a learner and their skill level and accurately quantify their knowledge on different topics. Based on the feedback, the machine can automatically direct the learner to a learning path that is most suitable for them. Apart from helping students, adaptive test reports enable teachers to analyze class performance with respect to global test-takers and identify gaps in learning. It helps them to compare students’ scores on the basis of previously recorded statistics. Instructors can receive detailed insight on a student’s mastery across grade levels, rather than within a specific grade level which can help them design personalized learning paths for every learner. Next Education India Pvt. Ltd., India’s leading education solutions provider, offers Adaptive Assessments for chapter-wise and full syllabus tests for CBSE Maths and Science for grades 6–10. Students can test their ability to solve chapterlevel problems and all-around knowledge state via this test. The assessments are also available for a free trial on LearnNext, a self-learning solution by Next Education. A cost-effective alternative to tuitions in India Implementing personalized learning in India is not a simple task. Witnessing a positive outcome in that arena requires qualified educators, an ideal student-teacher ratio and financial resources. Since few schools in this country are equipped with such facilities, parents try to help their
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Adaptive learning provides learning materials with the difficulty or knowledge level suited to the current estimate of the student’s proficiency.
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children with personalized attention through private tuition classes, which are not budget friendly. Thus, replacing private coaching classes with adaptive learning can be considered a better supplement to formal education because it helps students avail quality education at affordable prices. Since the lack of financial resources, is no longer an inhibition to personalizing learning, a positive outlook and a desire to be able to deploy this new learning strategy are, required. Additionally, increasing use of the Internet and digital system in recent years has improved access to digital education, thus bringing the advantages of adaptive learning to remote areas of the country. Adaptive learning diminishes learning gaps. Since every learner is unique, their understanding of situations and academic concepts are different. Effective use of adaptive learning can bridge such a gap. With the help of adaptive tests, teachers can figure out the specific challenges that each student faces, and can work on those to iron out the problematic areas. The ‘one-size-fits-all’ method of learning in India leads to poor academic performance in students who are unable to match the set pace and those who find it too tedious to challenge their intellect and abilities. Adaptive learning ensures that students are engaged in learning, which proves to be more effective when students learn things in a way that interests them the most. Adaptive learning provides learning materials with the difficulty or knowledge level suited to the current estimate of the student’s proficiency. Therefore, it acts as a morale booster, since the chances of discouragement or boredom are reduced. Thus, the teaching-learning methods at school can be supplemented with adaptive learning. Going forward, this can be a cost-effective replacement of tuition classes to supplement formal learning that will enable students to be technologically skilled and equipped for modern workplaces. Moreover, with the plans of the Indian government to establish a National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and develop a national AI portal for the advancement of education, the day is not far away when adaptive learning will be accessible to everyone.
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RNS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
A World-Class Institution in Making
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yshak Iyengar, now an alumnus of Bangalore-based RNS Institute of Technology (RNSIT), had a brilliant idea during his college days. Unlike many engineering students across the nation, Vyshak was fortunate to have a favorable ecosystem around him, with which he could materialize his idea into an entrepreneurial venture - Cookie Jar. A media tech startup that focuses on creating great content online and offline, Cookie Jar has been curating content that aims to inspire aspiring and budding entrepreneurs for the past 16 months. The company has already hosted over 1000 people with several Forbes featured personalities, fund managers and investors as speakers. Vyshak’s success as an entrepreneur is one of the many stories that we would get to hear when we visit RNSIT. “Many of our students have turned entrepreneurs,” says Dr. H.N. Shivashankar, Director, RNSIT. The institute has an excellent Entrepreneurship Development Cell, which is monitored by a core committee comprising of Dr. M K Venkatesha, Principal and Dr. H N Shivashankar, Director and other HoDs from different departments. This committee regularly meets and appraises the progress. Dr. Sreenivasan T, Professor & HoD Mechanical Engineering is the Chairman of RNSIT-EDC committee and Dr. M T Prathap Kumar, HOD, Department of Civil is a faculty coordinator to executive the entrepreneurial programs. Dr. Shivashankar shares, “RNSIT – Entrepreneurship Development Cell (RNSITEDC) has signed a MoU with Entrepreneurial Development Institute of India (EDII) to execute its entrepreneurial activities. EDII is a nodal
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agency associated with the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India to implement entrepreneurial programs at science and technology colleges.” In addition to that, the institute invites CEOs of various companies to the campus and provides inspirational talks to students. V G Siddhartha, CEO of Cafe Coffee Day, Arun K Chittilappilly, CEO of Wonderla and B.N Satyesh, Vice President of Tejas, Juniper Networks are the few recent visitors of RNSIT.
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Dr. Rama Nagappa Shetty, Chairman
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Innovation is the Buzzword To encourage research and innovation in the campus, RNSIT has six recognized VTU research centers wherein more than 76 research scholars (some of them our own faculty members) are pursuing their research in various disciplines. The college has more than 50 Doctorates among the faculty who guide the research scholars, submit proposals to MODROBS, AICTE, DST, VGST, DRDO and many more, share their knowledge through delivering lectures (both in-house and at premium platforms), and conduct workshops and seminars to upgrade researchers. “At RNSIT, research is being encouraged among teachers and students in a well-defined, structured mode. Teachers are deputed (with salary) for completing their PhD work. Flexible workload, extra leave every month for discussion with the external guide/experts, grant of financial assistance in case of national and international paper presentations including TA, lodging and boarding, awarding cash incentives to the project coordinators on obtaining research proposals from national boards such as AICTE, VTU and LRDE, and so on are some of the schemes currently implemented at RNSIT,” explains Dr. Shivashankar. At RNSIT, every department’s research proposals are thoroughly scrutinized, and modifications suggested by a research council comprising of the Director, Principal, HODs and senior professors before submitting to the concerned bodies such as VGST, NRB and many more. The institute arranges guest lectures from emeritus professors and noted scientists for identifying new research potentials and to encourage faculty for registering for PhD as well as to gear up activities of research scholars who are pursuing research. Dr. Shivashankar adds, “The UG and PG students are encouraged to publish their project work in reputed journals. For PG students
Dr. H.N. Shivashankar, Director With over 5 decades of teaching experience, Dr. Shivashankar is associated with RNSIT from 2003. He has published several research papers and two of them have fetched him gold medals. He has authored popular books such as Basic Electronics, C Programming and many more. He was a Fulbright scholar and was at the University of Southern California. He has served UVCE as a distinguished Professor & Principal and also as Chairman of Department of Electronics and Computer Science and Dean, Faculty of Engineering of Bangalore University. He has also served as Executive Council member of VTU. He was honoured with Rotary Award “Guru Vandana” (2013) by Karnataka Governor & “Teacher of the Millennium Award” for his valuable services to the community and students in particular.
the publishing of papers in recognized conferences is insisted upon before accepting their final thesis. Faculties are deputed to participate in workshops, seminars and conferences. Workshops on research methodology, usage of tools such as Latex, MATLAB, and so on and plagiarism check (and concerned ethical issues) are regularly held.” At present, RNSIT conducts numerous research projects in the campus. Current Projects being carried out include “Detection of ANTI-Personal mines using GPR” and “Analysis and implementation of migration algorithms for GPR image” in EC department. These projects helped in Establishing a GPR Lab with AICTE & LRDE funding (of more than 40 lakhs) wherein more than 15 antenna designs were carried out by PG & UG students. The other ongoing research projects include “Diagnosis Tool for Lung Nodules that helps in Analyzing
Tumors with the aid of CT Image Databases using CBIR Techniques” (VTU Sponsored), “System for Image Retrieval from Medical Image Databases by associating Content and Semantic of Images” (AICTE Sponsored), at CSE & ISE Departments, “Synthesis and Characterization of Vanadate Nanophosphors for Display Applications” (VGST Sponsored) at Physics department, “Investigation on Mean Convexities and results to Mean Inequalities” (VTU Sponsored), at MCA Dept. “Developing a nano sensor based on microcantilever suitable for the detection and quantification of an alpha glucosidase inhibitor “Voglibose” used in very low concentration” (carried out at IIT Bombay under INUP scheme), and the list hardly gets an end. “The research activities at RNSIT aim at generating quality projects from teachers and students starting from
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70 Consisting of a total of 9 blocks, RNSIT campus also hosts a temple within its premises.
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second year onwards. In this regard, an open house project exhibition of pre-final year and final year students of various departments is conducted on a regular basis,” pinpoints Dr. Shivashankar. On the other side, RNSIT considers global partnerships as critical to the development of standards. In this respect, RNSIT has tied up with approved partners to provide ‘Google Certification’, ‘IBM Certification’ and ‘Microsoft certification’ to the programs delivered to the pre-final year students. Dr. Shivashankar adds, “We are also sending our students to TI – Texas Instruments design contests, National Instruments (Lab VIEW) project competitions and so on. Regular international conferences are held on-campus with partnerships from IEEE for paper publications, panel discussions, resource persons and many more.” RNSIT keeps an active interface with the industries. STUDSAT – with ISRO and VTU Institutions (for student satellite project), Co-cubes, Olive Board & Monster College Platform (for Placement Practice Test), Aspiring Minds Student Evaluation System, IBM Academic Initiative, Microsoft Developer Network Academic Alliance, Aricent Academic Initiative are few to mention among them. The institute also conducts several training programs on campus with industrial collaborations.
Dr. M.K. Venkatesha, Principal
Campus connect/Jump Start program for M/s. Infosys / M/s. WIPRO placed students; Head Start Foundation Program by Accenture for high performing students; IBM certification program on software like JAVA, Tie up with industries such as Schneider, Cerner, Nokia, LRDE, BHEL and many more for facilitation of Internships and project work to third and final year students, hands-on learning on latest controller boards from Texas Instruments, National Instruments (for LabVIEW training), ESA and so on Special Training through IEEE Chapter on Python, Android, Cloud Computing, IBM tools and many more are few significant ones. Today, RNSIT is a proud institution, as its students regularly bag ranks at the state level – VTU convocations. It invariably includes the FIRST rank in core disciplines with competition from over 220 affiliated colleges under VTU. Dr. Shivashankar proudly says, “Our students have also won the 2500$ IEEE international design contest (ECE Dept.), BITES 2019 state level first prize in project contest (ECE Dept.)., CSI paper presentation awards (CSE Dept.), Shristi -18 State level project exhibition – 1,2 and consolation prizes, every year state level KSCST project sponsorships for selected projects across all disciplines, IETE -18 best student award (ECE Dept.), prizes in inter-state national level competitions (Mech, EEE, ECE Departments), TI design contests, Cypress semiconductor design contest.” In the coming years, RNSIT aspires to become one of the top five colleges in Karnataka, while turning into a fully residential campus with quarters and self-sufficient amenities provided for the faculty, so as to turn the institute to one of high excellence on par with the NITs. “We want to improve Research & Development and consultancy with the two-fold objective of enabling our faculty to conduct their research and also earn revenue for the college. Setting up an Institute-industry interaction cell and an Entrepreneurship and Development Cell are envisaged to promote the industry interaction with the institute and also inculcate entrepreneurship ventures amongst the students,” concludes Dr. Shivashankar.
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COUNSELOR’S TALK
Indian Students Can Rejoice as Brexit Opens Up More Opportunities for Their Higher Education in the UK By Rohit Sethi, Director, ESS Global-Study Abroad Consultant
With more than a decade of experience in the international education consultancy service, Sethi now works as the Director of ESS Global – Study Abroad Consultant. Sethi’s professional experience encompasses Sales, Business Leadership, Personnel Management, Operations, General Management & Administration, Budget Development, Advertising, Media Planning, Relationship Management and Competition Analysis. ESS Global is a technology focused organisation, working with a mission to help students realize their international academic aspirations with high integrity, continuous innovation and unparalleled commitment
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he post-Brexit days are likely to bring a lot of relief to Indian students and professionals in terms of higher education programs and well-paid jobs in the UK. It is envisioned that Britain is set to bring an improved version of post-study visa regime to boost its International Education Strategy in 2021. The strategy aims at welcoming foreign students from around the world and raising the UK’s total number of international students to 6,00,000 annually than the current 4,60,000. This will boost the country’s education exports to 35 billion pounds by 2030. So what does this new strategy offers to Indian students? The offerings will include a chance for the undergraduates and Masters’ students to stay in the UK for seeking job opportunities for at least six months post-graduation. It is an attempt to remove the UK’s existing complex visa regime and put an end to the preferential benefits that were offered to EU students. The government of Britain, therefore, will give three months to students before graduating to help them find jobs during that period, and accordingly transform their study visa into a work visa. The opportunity is not only open to the graduates and those doing masters but also favours the PhD students to stay in the UK by giving them a year time to find jobs after graduating. The best part of this opportunity is to give these students unrestricted access to work during their post-study leave period. Besides this, there lies another lucrative opportunity for international graduates. The students will get two years of time after graduating wherein they will have an option to switch their UK study visa to the UK work visa, even from outside the UK.
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With Brexit supposed to come into existence by 2021, the UK will start following a skills-based approach to pull in bright migrants
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Britain is looking to increase their reach to global partners by providing educational offerings that international students can’t refuse. How Indian professionals will leverage the benefit With Brexit supposed to come into existence by 2021, the UK will start following a skills-based approach to pull in bright migrants rather than taking in individuals based on the countries they belong to. It will also remove the cap of 20,700 on the number of skilled work visas, which will significantly benefit Indian doctors and IT experts, who otherwise were strangled by the dearth of visas. The upcoming transition has already started seeing positive results. A report highlights that skilled workers from India to Britain moved at the fastest pace in 2018. Over 19,500 Indian students received study visas, which shows a straight 70-per cent surge in the issuing of visas in the last two years.
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What is it that the UK is eyeing on and what’s the road ahead post-Brexit? Britain is looking to increase their reach to global partners by providing educational offerings that international students can’t refuse. The UK also plans to simplify its student application mechanism, which otherwise is very complex to run through and apply for. It is clear that with new post-Brexit rules and policies, the diverse master programs in the UK, which are relatively of shorter durations will regain popularity and kill the hesitation among Indian students, who started to fly off to other newer shores like Australia, Canada and other EU countries, majorly due to the UK’s complex visa procedures enveloped by multiple restrictions. These programs will also give students an early entry into the job market, thus empowering them with a competitive edge as compared to other foreign universities. Moreover, there is no doubt that the UK houses some of the world’s most reputed educational institutions offering world-class education to the domestic as well as international students. These programs and courses not only provide high salaried jobs to students but also open several doors for them in terms of a variety of domains as per students’ interest, where they can significantly nurture and upskill themselves.
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