The Higher Education Review

Like many of us, Faisal Khan grew up idolizing his father, who was a civil engineer in Hyderabad. Accompanying his father to various work sites, young Faisal would curiously watch skyscrapers emerging out of flat surfaces. At a very young age, Faisal knew what he wanted to be in life - like father, like son - a civil engineer. When he finished his schooling at Hyderabad Public School in 2012, Faisal had many choices, as there was no scarcity of premier engineering colleges offering a civil engineering program. However, taking his father's advice, Faisal decided to join Nalla Malla Reddy Engineering College (NMREC), which was about to start Civil Engineering course in that year.

"It was a tough call. Although NMREC was an old college and a reputed one, their Civil Engineering department was completely new. Being in the industry for about 25 years, my father knew where exactly I would fit in to fulfill my ambitions. He has never been wrong," says Faisal. Today, Faisal is working in EMP Infrastructure as a project engineer and it is hard for him put a full stop to his conversation once he starts talking about his college life. He adds, "As a civil engineering aspirant, the first thing I noticed about NMREC was its infrastructure. The college has all the facilities required for a student to pursue the studies and to probe into the depths of the subjects by doing projects or research. I got the opportunity to work with advanced equipment, which was not available for the students from other engineering colleges in the state."

With an aim of rendering quality technical education to the leaders and innovators of tomorrow, NMREC has made a constructive relationship with the industry. Since 2011, the institute has been conducting annual 'Industry Institute Research Meet,' which not only provides students and faculty members with latest industry knowledge but also helps the institute to collaborate with the industry. The Industry Institute Coordination Cell of the institute arranges a considerable number of industry visits every year along with internships for the students. "We ensure that our students are not kept confined within the four walls of the classroom. It is mandatory for every department to organize at least 10 industrial visits every year and last semester we were able to complete 25 field visits," claims Dr. Divya.

"Despite being a new branch, the Civil Engineering Department of NMREC is one of the active groups indulged in research works in the campus"

Taking students to the real-time work-environment every now and then has been a game changer for NMREC. "Every visit to the industry is an opportunity for both students and faculty members. They will get a chance to meet the men-at-work to discuss various on-the-job scenarios," says the Director of the Industry Institute Coordination Cell (IICC) of NMREC. By including and a good number of industrial visits, NMREC has been able to create a curious bunch of students and faculty members in the institute.

Perhaps, that is the reason why NMREC is known as a research-intensified institution. Research works done by the faculty members also include publications in National and International Journals and Conferences. Faculty of the college have been involved in research in engineering education and have presented their research in reputed international conferences on education like the International Conference on Transformations in

Engineering Education, Frontiers in Engineering, and others.

Despite being a new branch, the Civil Engineering Department of NMREC is one of the active groups indulged in research works in the campus. They have taken up cutting-edge research topics like Recycled Aggregate Concrete, Earthquake Engineering, Environmental Pollution Studies, Remote Sensing and GIS, Fiber Reinforced Concrete, Stabilization of Sub-Grade Soil, Water Resources Engineering, and many more. To make these works smoother and accurate, the institute offers required expertise and the equipment in their labs. Today, NMREC has collaborated with some of the big names in the industry to carry out consultancy projects.

As a technical institution with a large number of industry-trained faculty-members, NMREC has created an advanced learning platform where students can study latest software tools pertaining to the Civil Engineering. AutoCAD, Avid, 3DS Max, Primavera Project Management and much more available in the campus for students learn, which will give them an extra edge over other candidates when they step into the job market. "Over the years, we have been successful in helping the students to become more practical-oriented, which has helped many to find suitable jobs. Now, we are working to bring more live projects from the industry to enhance the possibilities of finding better opportunities for our ongoing students," concludes Dr. Divya.

The Department is currently being headed by Dr.Y. Sudhakar Reddy, former Professor from Osmania University. Dr. Divya Nalla is currently the principal of Nalla Malla Reddy Engineering College who is a professor in computer science and actively involved in research on teaching-learning processes and Engineering Education.