The Higher Education Review

It is a dream for most mechanical engineering students to have a career in any of the core fields that they are passionate about as the studies are geared towards gaining practical knowledge. However, many engineering institutes fall short of providing what the demands that the industry essentially requires and it is forcing the students to choose a job in IT industry. How can a mechanical engineering student become productive from the first day of his work? The answer is evident from the words of Dr. N. Ramani, Principal, NTTF School of PG studies, Peenya campus. He says, "There are very few schools in India who teach Product design and Tool Engineering. We are one of them and our programs are tuned to the industry requirements."

NTTF's entire journey of over 50 years shows that the words of Dr. Ramani are not a flamboyant claim. The institute today specializes in training of B.E/B-tech graduates in a spectrum of fields spanning Product Design, Tool Engineering, Tool Design and Quality Engineering. In the year 1992, the venerable Anna University, Chennai have recognized the Postgraduate Program in Tool Engineering as equivalent to their Master's degree program for purposes of employment in the university and for registration to the Ph.D program at the University. In a similar fashion, Bangalore University followed suit in 1996.

Admission to Postgraduate programs of this credible institute will not be an easy mission for engineering graduates as they have to perform well in the all India entrance exams conducted by the academy. It ensures the quality intake of students and thus helping the institute to make better outputs every year. The institute's plus points are not only limited to intake quality of students but it also ensures that the mentors are chosen in the best way possible to fill the gap between industry demands and fresher knowledge. As a result, the classrooms are always occupied with top notch trainers who have decades of experience from the industry with in-depth knowledge in the fields of Design of Plastic parts, Sheet Metal Parts, Die Cast Parts, GD&T and many more. "Our trainers are not teachers by profession. They were all working in the industry and they wanted to contribute something to the society," says Dr. Ramani.

"NTTF's autonomous status allows it to modify the course content on a continual basis"

By constructing strong foundation with industry-specific trainers, the institute is moving a step further to meet the industry requirements. The school enjoys an autonomous status with ability to modify the course content to suit the needs of the industry on a continual basis through a feedback mechanism. With active participation of academicians and industry professionals and alumni, the institute revises the curriculum on yearly basis. It might be a usual procedure at most of the autonomous institutes, however, NTTF is using feedbacks regarding the current advancements in the industry from its alumni who are recently got placed. This will help them make an up-to-date curriculum, which includes postmodern technologies of mechanical science. "Alumni are a great factor in our admissions and updating syllabus," says Ramani.

Along with strong curriculum, the institute has succeeded in providing real time experience to its trainees by inculcating regular visits to some of the core factories like TVS Motor. It happens once in every month and Dr. Ramani believes that such industrial visits and real time projects will make the students industry ready immediately after leaving the campus. In addition to that, NTTF is located in the midst of India's largest industrial belt, Peenya, Bangalore which goes a long way in integrating institute with industries. "You cannot think of a better way to locate a centre of engineering education providing massive industrial exposure," says Dr. Ramani.

The academy's training is holistic in nature, thus covering not only technical skills but also the soft skills of communication, presentation skills, sports and games amongst other things. It equips the students to face any complex interview to acquire their desired job. With 100 percent placement of successful students, the trainees of NTTF are transforming into employees of core mechanical companies like Ashok Leyland, Asia Motor Works, Brakes India, GE, GM, Godrej & Boyce, HCL, L & T, Royal Enfield, Schneider Electric, Tata Elxsi, TVS Motor, and Whirlpool to name a few by achieving salary ranging from Rs. 2.4 lakhs to 7 lakhs.

Years passed and years to come, still NTTF is working like a well-oiled piston in the engineering ecosystem, transforming engineering graduates to productive workers through their unique Postgraduate programs. The management ensures that the postgraduate students coming out of the school are not only well versed in their specialization field but also are confident of themselves to face the challenges of tomorrow, in conformity with their motto "Techno-education for Global Competence".