The reason for writing this article is due to the recent news I have gone through where one of the engineering college workshop venue has been leased for coaching wrestlers.

This was due to the fact that the engineering college was having zero admissions for the year 2018. With the demand for skilled engineers on the rise due to paradigm shift towards AI and Automation, these colleges are not able to meet the demand due to their inability to produce quality engineers.

Quality is a big word with respect to education which cannot be measured with the existing forms of examination systems. With the admission crunch in every engineering institute across the country, the colleges don’t want to be strict in academics as they feel that this would affect their enrollment for the upcoming years. As a result students take engineering very lightly and in-turn become unemployable graduates.

The reasons for all these are manifold.  Let me take you through them one by one. Follow them carefully while selecting an engineering college for your ward rather than just going by their advertisements and news articles or any falsified claims.

1. Qualified faculty

The main aspect of any educational institution is the qualified faculty members. Most of the institutes which run successfully including the IITs are run by qualified faculties only. If an institute is not able to attract the qualified faculties, their vision will be very much minimal.

If an institute/department lacks vision, the future of your ward is at stake. Look out for the institutes which has people from premier institutes of the country (See MHRD Institutes Ranking 2018). The vast experience of these people would definitely help the institute and the department to grow.

2. Infrastructure

Infrastructure played a vital role 10 years back, but all the established institutes have their basic infrastructure otherwise they can’t renew their affiliation with the governing bodies. Hence look out for the necessary infrastructure required to carry out research activities beyond the curriculum.

Very few managements spend on this and once again make sure there are visionary leaders to utilize this infrastructure for the benefit of students. Without visionary leaders, any good infrastructure will be in dust as there will be not be anyone to guide the students on how to use them effectively. If you are selecting a newly started institute then you should do a campus visit of the departments.

3. Support for research

Engineering is all about “doing” rather than just “learning” as I mentioned in my previous article (Is engineering education losing its sheen?). An engineering institute should have a research centre so that they can support their own faculty to conduct quality research.

With the demand for engineering products and solutions scaling higher day by day, the faculties who are hardly doing any research would neither be able to update the students with the latest happenings nor they can motivate to do innovative projects that can get good opportunities for the students. Hence look out for the departments that has the facility to do research under well-qualified research supervisors.

Students of engineering should be involved in research culture right from their first year of study. This is possible only when the institutes treat their students as engineers rather than just as a candidate for placement and focus only on preparing them for the companies without allowing their minds to think. As we all aware that similar thing is happening for the IIT JEEE and NEET preparation. Parents be careful not to lose your children in the name of getting them ready for the companies. Training is essential but at the same time it should be given with the intention of making them as good engineers.

4. Placement Statistics

Colleges used to highlight their placement records through billboards, news publications etc. However, parents should enquire about the support given by the institutes for off campus placements which majority of the students take after graduating. The college that doesn’t prepare their students to reach out for better companies outside the region are inturn spoiling their future by preventing them to confidently approach the big opportunities.

With the growing trend toward the IT industry, majority of the placements done by the engineering institutes are for the IT companies. With every department students eligible for IT placements, mostly CSE & IT students are able to grab the opportunities as it is their core. Hence, make sure that the students join the right branch to secure a good opportunity through on-campus and off-campus placements.

5. Admission Counselling

Rather than believing the words of others or falling trap to the mass trending among the students, better discuss with qualified academicians, learned people, domain experts to get the reality of what’s best for your children. Often the decision to join a course is biased by the admission counselors who are quite unaware of the future trends.

The ultimate purpose of the education is either to pursue the passion or to grab the opportunity available in the market. If a student is passionate to do a course, let them decide the course. But if they are not clear on which course to choose then, the course that provides them handful of opportunities in the future is a clear winner. India not being a manufacturing capital of the world, lots of opportunities are available for the white-collar jobs like the ones offered by the IT companies. With the industry shifting its focus towards automation and Internet of Things (IoT) across every domain, there is a huge demand for Computer Science & IT Graduates.

6. Last but not the least

Engineering has a great demand in the future as lot more has to be done to make this country smart. However, the lack of quality has made the downfall of majority of engineering colleges across the country. The MHRD Engineering institute rankings show that the elite institutes are always capable of attracting good number of students. This shows the demand for skilful engineers in the future.

Engineering is the future!!!

It’s the high time that industry needs more engineering graduates as the kind of problems to be solved requires a lot of logical thinking. Gone are the days where the arts and science graduates competed with their engineering counterparts for IT placements. The industry demands lot of smart thinking to address social issues through technology which requires engineering skills. Hence engineering is the right choice for the years to come. All it requires is to choose the right institute which can provide the platform for your kids to excel.

About the Author:

Prof. (Dr.) V.R. Raghuveer, Dean Research & Development, Head of the Department Computer Science and Engineering, Geetanjali Institute of Technical Studies; Ex. Prof. VIT University; Educational Consultant (hodcse@gits.ac.in)