The Higher Education Review

located in the outskirts of Chennai city at
Chinna Kolambakkam, near Madhuranthagam,
Kanchipuram District, Karpaga Vinayaga
College of Engineering and Technology
(KVCET) is a hub of latest technological activities. Founded
by Mr. S. Regupathy, philanthropist and former Minister
of State for Environment and Forests, Government of India
in the year 2001, KVCET gives more stress for practical
knowledge and industry specific training, particularly
in the branches of Biotechnology and Biomedical
Engineering. Since Karpaga Vinayaga Institute of Medical
sciences and Karpaga Vinayaga Institute of Dental Sciences
are located in the same campus where KVCET is located,
the students and faculty members work jointly with these
institutions for their research and practical needs. “This is
a unique opportunity of our institution, comparing to any
other college in the region.
Departments of Biotechnology, Computer Science
and Engineering, Electronics and Communication
Engineering and Chemistry are recognised Research
Centres by Anna University and our faculty members

Dr. Annamalai Regupathy, Managing Director
Dr. Annamalai, M.B.B.S., M.S., M.Ch., (UK), is the
Managing Director of Karpaga Vinayaga Educational
Trust, which was founded in 1993 by Thiru S. Regupathy,
Former Minister of State, Government of India. He
says, “Each year, we look at focusing and assessing
the industry trends, demand-supply gap, skill gap and
accordingly plan programs and activities for students.
This will help students to become job-ready with the
requisite skills that are in demand by organizations
today as well as maintain a balance between the
prescribed syllabus and the industry requirements.”

are guiding research scholars for PhD and MS in addition
to conducting research, publishing research articles in
refereed journals and organising conferences, seminars
and training programs,” says Dr. Annamalai Regupathy,
Managing Director, KVCET. The institution gives equal
importance to research and development activities by
creating state-of-the art research facilities and has already
undertaken research projects worth Rs. 60 lakhs sponsored
by funding agencies such as Department of Scientific
and Industrial Research, DST and many more. “Our
faculty members are publishing more than 140 papers in
national and international journals and conferences every
year. Students are encouraged to engage themselves in
real-time projects to stimulate their research interests,”
adds Dr. Annamalai.
While, the current education structure in our country
today focuses on teaching and learning, KVCET has
been offering job focused training, which is essential for
students, if they are to become competent professionals.
“One of the most important sentiments that is being echoed
across the country today is that the graduates coming out
of colleges are not job-ready and only about 25 percent

to 30 percent are employable. The skill sets required for
jobs are ever changing and it is the collective responsibility
of both academia and industries to bridge the skill gap
to enable fresher graduates to become job ready,” opines
Dr. Annamalai. With more than 51 MoUs that have been
signed with leading industries, manufacturing units, IT
Companies, KVCET understands the ground realities and
they are striving hard to bridge the gap between industry
and academia.
In addition to that, KVCET has tie-up with companies
such as ICT Academy, CADD Centre, Revature, and
many more to create specialized courses in various
domains. Increasing collaborated efforts between
college and organizations has led to a rise of various
innovative professional courses that are today helping
employees becoming skillful, thereby making them
industry ready. “Our plan is to have more tie-ups with
industry by bringing in companies to solve their problems
through student projects. We will also concentrate on
research and consultancy activities, which will provide
adequate knowledge for our faculty and students to make
attempts to solve the issues more relevant to the society,”
concludes Dr. Annamalai.