A new android based indoor navigation application has been developed to help the visually impaired people walk around and reach their destination by using voice recognition software to send wireless signals to vibratorsplaced in the shoes or belt. The application finds the location that the person has asked for using the voice recognition feature and sends signals to the special vibrators in the shoes or belt that the blind person has to wear. Therefore if the person needs to move forward, the application will send a signal to the front sensor in the shoes or belt thus notifying the person to move forward or in any other direction. The unique application has been built by the computer science & engineering students studying at Shirdi Sai Engineering College. The application has been built with the help of Department of Science & Technology (DST) under IEDC, who have funded this entire project and the entire support of the computer science department at the institute.
Shirdi Sai Engineering College which was established in 1997 has understood that the industry expects a lot of entrepreneurial initiatives and has decided to go beyond the standard curriculum prescribed by the Visvesvaraya Technological University. By providing the students an opportunity to work along with the faculty in socially relevant funded research projects, the institute hopes to motivate the students to identify and work on the core areas in their respective fields.
"It is a regular practice for the students to undergo internships and mini projects with the industry," says MJF.Lion .Leo Muthu, Chairman of Sapthagiri Educational Trust and Founder of Shirdi Sai Engineering College. He also adds, "Students are regularly encouraged to present and publish their innovative ideas and their project works in the form of technical papers at various national and international conferences and reputed journals."
On noticing the large number of innovative ideas that the students were coming up with, the institute established an Entrepreneurship Development Cell (EDC). With the help of EDC, the institute is able to put a lot of emphasis on inculcating entrepreneurial skills among the engineering students by means of organizing seminars, business plan contests and one to one discussion with people from the industry. "In the computer science & engineering department, whenever anyone has a unique and innovative idea, they can write it down on a piece of paper and drop it in the Innovative Drop Box," says Swetha V, a seventh semester student who was awarded The Best Student of the Year Award 2013 by Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE). She further mentions that if the faculty and the institute find the idea interesting they will assist the student to turn it into a reality.
The institute recently received Rs. 50 lakh grant from the Department of Science and Technology to setup an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Cell (IEDC). If and when the IEDC finds a student's idea innovative, the Department of Science and Technology presents the student to an extend of Rs. 1 lakh as a financial assistance to go ahead with the idea. However, it would not be possible to conduct the research and development without the appropriate infrastructure. The institute has built state of the art Research and Development labs like Mobile Adhoc Networks lab, embedded systems lab, design lab and advanced flexible manufacturing laboratories with the latest computer controlled machines.
The College also has a well equipped wi-fi campus with access to various online resources which help the faculty and students to focus on their projects and research better. By training their students to use the labs effectively, the institute encourages them to bring out and develop various innovative ideas which are widely appreciated and recognized in various national and state level project competitions.
As Shirdi Sai Engineering College understands how important it is to ensure that their students are able to communicate properly, the institute has built a unique facility called the Career and Language laboratories. With the help of this facility students can build upon their personality, communication and soft skills.
The Ever Supportive Faculty
"The faculty members at our institute are committed, dedicated and approachable," says Swetha V. She further adds, "even when we ask any question pertaining to an unfamiliar subject, the faculty member ensures that they find out the answer and explain it to the students within the next couple of days." Ms. Sachitha of Computer Science & Engineering branch has secured III rank in the University from the 2012 passout batch.
Shirdi Sai Engineering College encourages its faculty to participate in various training programs to upgrade the required skills. The institute also gives a lot of importance for the faculty to grow academically as well as in research. "We believe that the mere satisfaction of mandatory norms for the recruitment of faculty is not sufficient enough to join our institution," says Dr. Y. Vijayakumar, Principal of Shirdi Sai Engineering College. He further explains, "Along with curricular and co-curricular achievements and publications, we also look for various skills like research, mentoring, communication and learning."
In order to motivate the faculty at Shirdi Sai Engineering College, the management recognizes and rewards the best performing faculty every year. The faculty members are further motivated to attend faculty development programs, workshops and conferences due to which they are able to perform as per the expectations of the Academic fraternity. The faculty also organizes its own faculty development programs, conferences and workshops in the core areas at which will be beneficial for them. Shirdi Sai Engineering College has organized more than 5 faculty development programs for the benefit of the engineering community sponsored by AICTE, VTU, VGST, DRDO and ISRO.
The faculty members also help their students in making the right decision at the end of the four years when the students have to decide the path they want to pursue. With the establishment of Higher Education Cell comprising of the members of the faculty, the students are provided assistance for the competitive examinations like GATE, GRE, GMAT, IELTS and CAT.
Comprehensive Progress � A Vital Aspect
Shirdi Sai Engineering College along with helping its students to reach the stars academically also focuses on the complete overall development of its students. The institute in this aspect has built a modern sports complex with a Multi- Gym and outdoor sporting facilities for students to play throwball, volleyball, football and cricket. The Department of Physical Education at Shirdi Sai Engineering College organizes INTRAMURAL Sports activities every year. With the help of qualified yoga trainers, the students are taught how to use Yoga and meditation to enhance their physical and mental ability. As a valuable leisure activity, the institute has also introduced a vibrant NSS cell where the students are encouraged to organize various programs in rural areas to educate the villagers on techno-social issues. This in turn helps the students to learn personal, social, environmental and economical relevance of the society.
The institute along with the students organizes 'Sai Samskruthi' which is a theme based cultural event. In Samskruthi various cultural and literary activities are organized based on themes which are socially relevant like Save Tigers, Global Warming, Go Green, Save Water and Save Energy. By doing so, the students are encouraged to study the theme's relevance and its cause which indirectly increases their sense of social responsibility. Debates, essay writings, paintings, quizzes, designing rangolis and many other cultural and literary activities that students can take part in. Shirdi Sai Engineering College also conducts College Day where students are given various awards for their academic and co-curricular achievements. Students can also exhibit their talent such as singing, dancing and drama during the award ceremony.
Facilitating the right Placement
"We believe that getting an offer letter along with degree certificate indicates the successful completion of the course," says Dr. Y. Vijayakumar. The placement cell has been consistently performing well by identifying necessary skills required by the industry and inculcating the same in the students. The cell has a dedicated training and practice test portal where the students are given access to unlimited practice tests on both aptitude and technical aspects. In doing so, the institute has ensured that its students are more competitive and confident to face any type of interviews. "Our students are placed across the globe in various reputed organizations such as Wipro Technologies, HP, IBM, SAP Labs etc," claims Dr. Y. Vijayakumar.
The institute with a manifesto of "Building a Better Nation through Quality Education" hopes to provide its students with dream jobs by partnering with Multi- National Corporations and core industries. The institute plans to strive harder to get more university ranks in the upcoming year so that the students can notice its academic excellence. Shirdi Sai Engineering College plans on introducing tailor made PG programs to suit the industry and research environment. MJF. Lion. Leo Muthu, Chairman says "It's better to light the candle than to curse the darkness". With this belief the institute plans to accelerate the activities to turn into a center for excellence.
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