Educational establishments across the country are bracing themselves to face the challenges that the academic year 2015 16 has in store for them. Whereas, engineering graduates in the second largest city in Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore, are faced with a curious dilemma. 338 students from Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology (SSIET), who participated in the final round of campus placements organized by the institute in the first quarter of 2015, received 472 job offers from 91 recruiters. The placements for the graduating batch of 2015 are not yet over. However, many students have already received more than one offer from some of the best recruiters in the country, says Dr. S. Thangavelu, Chairman, SSIET.
The latest placement result is not an isolated event for SSIET, but a repeated occurrence since the very first graduating batch. In 2010, when the first batch of engineering graduates stepped out from SSIET, they had successfully placed 164 students from 194 eligible students with 30 remaining students who were either pursuing their higher education in India or abroad. The subsequent years saw a similar performance with Infosys alone taking close to 100 students in 2012, followed by other tech-giants such as Mahindra, Accenture, Intel and many more following suit. During this period, SSIET also managed to conduct more than 150 industry academia programs, which further enhanced the placement record of the institute and today they are at the peak of their performance. We go beyond what has been prescribed by Anna University, we are supplying more practical exposure to our students by providing additional industry oriented programs every semester. Here, a student can study a minimum of eight value-added programs, which will help them get good placements, says Dr. S. Thangavelu.
Dr. S. Prakash, HoD, Department of Information Technology, has an interesting take on the matter, he says, Many companies today expect their employees to work in multi disciplines. Since our students have ample opportunities to work in different domains, they have the propensity to get good placements. Under the guidance of Dr. S. Prakash and other faculty members, IT students have already completed several multi-disciplinary projects in the campus. The project named Automatic Electronic Recharge for Mobile SIM was one such initiative that has been selected as one of the best projects by ICT Academy of Tamil Nadu in the Student Innovator Award competition.The management has invested heavily in setting up labs, where we can creatively integrate concepts of different engineering disciplines to deliver a successful final product, says B. Vinodhkumar, HoD, Department of Electronics and Communication.
Dr. K. E. Kannammal, HoD, Department of Computer Science says,In order to be relevant in todays highly competitive and dynamic technology market, it is inevitable for students as well as faculty members to be updated with the latest technological trends. Add-on courses on latest technology and cutting-edge research are the best possible ways to narrow the gap between industry and academia. We cannot wait for the university to introduce such things in the syllabus indefinitely.In association with IT department, Computer Science department of SSIET is providing the latest courses such as Mobile App development, Web Development, Ruby on Rails, Cloud Computing, Software testing and many more, free of charge. This has helped the institute in creating some great technical brains with entrepreneurial spirit. Currently, the institute has two student-driven companies working in the campus premises supported by SSIET management. Each student will have different perspectives and interest towards different subjects. We have provided everything possible so that students can choose from the different options available here, says B. Shreeram, HoD, Department of Mechanical Engineering. He has also added that the management has invested close to Rs. 100 lakhs, the institute has setup Autodesk Academy, Dassault systems design center, Lab View Academy and Siemens PLC Automation lab, where students of Electronics, Electrical, Mechanical and IT Engineering can work together to come up with innovative products. While Autodesk Academy has trained and certified 350 students, Dassault Systems Center has trained and certified 535 students on CSWA - Certified Solid Works Associate and 327 students trained and certified on Certified Solid Works Professional, Lab View Academy has trained 250 students and 20 faculty members from Electronics and communication and Electrical and Electronics branches, more than 150 students have been certified in Siemens PLC Automation courses.
SSIET provides a plethora of opportunities for students and faculties to explore different levels knowledge by conducting various add-on courses, workshops, seminars and research projects. With over 32 years of experience, Dr. S. Arumugam, HoD, Department of Electrical and Electronics opines, Most of the colleges are teaching the student to ace the examinations. Hence they are preparing book engineers rather than practical engineers. Here, we have a different vision and approach towards education and we are successfully executing it.
Well Begun is half done
Started with four undergraduate programs namely Computer Science, Electronics and Communication, Electrical and Electronics and Information Technology, the initial preparations have helped SSIET in achieving its goals and exceeding expectations. Facilities like high performance computer labs with wifi, library with more than 10, 000 volumes and many more were ready to function in a buildup area of 60,000 sq.ft. before the first student entered the campus. Stepping into the tenth year with eight UG programs and nine PG programs, SSIET has added a golden feather to its hat for being one of the youngest engineering colleges in the country to be accredited by National Board of Accreditation (NBA). An institute can apply for NBA accreditation only after six years of existence. We started our preparation from day one of our establishment and we were lying in wait for the prescribe completion of six years, says Dr. S. Thangavelu, who has been an instrumental figure in uplifting the quality of SSIET with his exceptional leadership qualities.
In our country, many engineering aspirants are still unaware about the importance of studying in a NBA accredited program. NBA has the mandate to fulfill the specific objectives of assessing and accrediting the academic programs, this may include organization and governance, infrastructural facilities, quality of teaching and learning, curriculum design and review, support services such as library, laboratory, instrumentation, computer facilities. NBA accreditation is a quality measure for engineering colleges and only those who are confident enough about the strength of their facilities apply for it, says Dr. C. Natarajan, Principal.
Today, with close to 180 professors and numerous programs that are not prescribed by the university, SSIET stands to be a synonym of superiority in Indian technical education sector. Dr. S. Thangavelu, the man who has been a driving force for all the laurels that the institute has gained shares, We would be applying for the autonomous status in the next year, so that we can have more freedom to design our own curriculum and can tie up with foreign institutions of our choice. We also want to become a university at the earliest possible time.Over the past ten years, since the establishment of SSIET, Dr. S. Thangavelu and his men were on a mission to unleash the real potential of Indian youth, a mission that has been taken by many before them with inappropriate blueprints. While, the country is in a dire need of feasible workforce, we need many more SSIETs that are capable of travelling ahead of time to prepare the youth to develop this developing nation.
Dr. S. Thangavelu
He is the Chairman of Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology. With an experience of working as a professor at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University for 28 years, he says, Here, we not only teach our students about engineering, we teach them ethics and moral values so that when they step out from the institute they can contribute to the society. In a nutshell, we need not only engineers but also good citizens.
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