If you are ingenious and innovative with a passion for machines … · Cut off: Based on JEE ranks...

c m y b

c m y b

Indian Institute of Technology, Delhiwww.iitd.ac.in

Seats: 857 at UG level

USP: Highly reputed BE and BTech.courses. QS World University Rankingof 500 institutions across globe placesIIT Delhi at 202nd position

Delhi Technological Universitywww.dce.edu

Seats: 910 at UG level

USP: Courses in new and offbeatengineering branches like roductionand industrial engineering, polymerscience and chemical technology aremuch in demand.

PEC University of TechnologyChandigarhwww.pec.ac.in

Seats: 385 for B.Tech.

USP: Rated among the top tenengineering institutes other than IITs.The college is a pioneer in researchwork in engineering arena.

Thapar University, Patialawww.thapar.edu

Seats: 760 for B.E./B. Tech.

USP: One of the oldest privateuniversities in the country. The instituteis accredited by NAAC andadministration and academic set-up islike that of IITs. As many as 515research papers were publishedDuringthe academic year 2012-13 .

Lovely Professional University,Jalandharwww.lpu.in

Seats: 2,000

USP: Innovative courses and a state-of-the-art campus with more than 1100 WiFi access points, one of the largestinstallation in Asia, to which nearly40,000 students can log in at a givenpoint of time.

UIET, Chandigarhwww.uiet.puchd.ac.in/

Seats: 373 for BE/B Tech

USP: Scores a point in industryacademia tie ups. A member ofCampus Connect programme ofInfosys Technologies Ltd., Bangalore,that supports faculty training, projectguidance, curricula inputs, industryperspective of teaching-learning andexpert lecture inputs etc.

J P University of Information Technology, Waknaghat, Solanwww.juit.ac.in

Seats: E&C 120, Com Sc 60,biotechnology.30, Civil 60,bioinformatics 30

USP: All -India ranking of universitiesranked it at 82nd place. Theuniversity has filed 10 patents out ofwhich three have been published andone granted. Projects worth Rs 10crore are underway in the university .

National Institute of Technology,Hamirpur, HPwww.nith.ac.in

Seats: 509 for UG

USP: It is a premier technology instituteof the state and is ranked as 14th amongthe top 50 engineering colleges of the

country.

GND Engineering College, Ludhiana www.gndec.ac.in/

Seats: 720 for BE and B Tech

USP: The Training and the PlacementCell is dynamic and several MNCsand Indian corporate giants visit thecampus for placements and tie-ups.

National Institute of Technology,Kurukshetrawww.nitkkr.ac.in

Seats: 540

USP: A 300-acre campus with facilitiesfor advanced research in science andtechnology, with hostel facility it enjoysthe status of an Institution of NationalImportance as granted by the MHRD,Govt. of India.

B R Ambedkar NIT, Jalandharwww.nitj.ac.in

Seats: 93 seats each

USP: An IT park is set up to facilitateindustry-institute interface.

Institute of Technology andManagement (ITM)

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)Mandi (Kamand) www.iitmandi .ac.in

Cut off: Based on JEE ranks

Seats: 120 each in B Tech courses

USP: Claim to fame: Ninety per centpassouts got placements in Google,Microsoft and other reputedcompanies.

JEE ranking-based admissions in allthe colleges listed here.

(Based on selected lists from India Today, Outlook and other surveys)

Engineeringcolleges

TOP

K.K. Garg

ENGINEERING is both exciting anddemanding. It is a challenge as greatas any major geographical explo-ration into the unknown. At the sametime, it offers at least as great an

opportunity to improve the lot of humanson earth as does any other single profes-sion” says Eric Laithwaite in Invitation toEngineering.

Who are these people who make thingshappen? An engineer has a keen power ofobservation, is full of curiosity, is alwaysready to learn, enjoys working hard and isinterested in science and maths. An engi-neer solves the problem when others fail;he tries to make things simpler and cheap-er through constant innovation. Rememberit is this continuous innovation that hasmade you have a new modified version ofyour mobile phone. But one thing shouldbe clear in the beginning that just a degreein engineering from any institution is not apassport to do all these things.

How it beganAs Indian economy was liberated in the ear-ly 1990s and India started catching up withthe software industry, the need for moreengineering graduates was felt by the gov-ernment. It ushered in a new era of engi-neering education. Motivated by personaleconomic growth, a number of entrepre-neurs have entered into the field of engi-neering education, providing ample oppor-tunities to even mediocre students. Thegrowth of engineering institutes in the lastdecade shows that education coupled withskills can be helpful for personal economicdevelopment. The number of engineerspassing out of 3,500 odd colleges in thecountry is, however, much more than thenumber of jobs available every year.

Road to engineering — To do or not to do The road to engineering in our countrystarts when the child is in Class X as afterClass X a student has to decide the streamhe wants to opt for. Thus it is extremelyimportant to know if you really want to doengineering. Figure out exactly what cours-es you will be taking for the bachelor’sdegree, what kind of colleges there are,what kind of job opportunities there will beand hence where does your true interestlie? The best way to do this is to read aboutthis on the internet, get in touch with peo-ple from various backgrounds and talkabout their experience.

Once you decide that you want to do engi-neering, the next two years of study areextremely important as they serve as afoundation for performance in theentrance exams for different colleges.

Right collegeHow to zero in on a good college out of theover 3,500 colleges in the country is anoth-er major concern for students and parents.Apart from Tier I and Tier II colleges cer-tain Tier III private colleges and universi-ties are also serious about the quality ofeducation and help students in gettingplacements in good companies. Broadly theinstitutes can be divided into three tiers —first for generating knowledge, second foreducating and generating knowledge, thirdfor educating for employability in the ageof knowledge. The Indian Institute of Tech-nology (IIT) remains the flag-bearers oftechnical education in our country. Next tothe IITs — PEC, DEC, Thapar Universityand NITs — are the second-tier institutes.The third-tier institutes constitute newlyset up engineering colleges, which are pro-

ducing more than 90 per cent of the gradu-ate engineers.

Here are some pointers that will help youdecide about the right college:Accreditation: Try to find out the accredi-tation of the college. Though many privateinstitutes hire image-building consultantswho help them in showcasing theirstrengths, still this is one good measure ofthe level of the college.Faculty: Try to find out about the quality offaculty. Qualified, regular and motivatedfaculty is a prerequisite.Whom they admit: If they admit anyonewho comes to them, and not on the basis ofany competitive examination, and thentake admission based on your own confi-dence of working hard and making a wayfor yourself.Placement: Try to find out the placementdata, though many websites will give vagueinformation listing a number of companies

and claiming that hundreds or thousands ofstudents have been suitably placed. Bewareof such catchy phrases. Try to get the con-tacts of the students who have got placementthrough college, contact the college, don’tfeel shy because it is your life and career.Best source of information: Find friends,seniors, neighbours or online communitieswith people from that college and speak tothem about their experience.

Right branchEngineering is broadly divided into two fields:Circuit Branches These consist of branch-es like Electrical, Electronics and Commu-nication, Computer Engineering, Informa-tion Technology, Instrumentation,Instrumentation and control Engineeringand any other branches which are notmechanical in nature.Non-circuit or Mechanical BranchesThese are basically Mechanical, Civil, Met-

allurgy, Aero, Production, Industrial Engi-neering, Chemical Engineering.

Though both streams require a sound back-ground in maths and physics, circuit branch-es need more of mathematical skills, whilenon-circuit branches need an aptitude forphysics. Here are some factors that youshould keep in mind while choosing a branch:Personal Interest: If you have very stronginterest in a particular field supported bysome concrete evidence of research andstudy in that field, then you should giveimportance to personal interest whilechoosing the branch.Eligibility for master’s degree: As sooneror later you may have to go in for a master’sdegree in some good college try to find outwhether your branch will allow you to getadmission in master’s course.Be careful about the IT appeal: A fewyears back, IT was started as a separatebranch by colleges in order to increase theintake in computer-related engineering asAICTE had a bar on the number of seats ina particular branch. But, it was an Indianinnovation which slowly lost some popular-ity and computer engineering is eventual-ly given more weightage than IT. So, givena choice betwen computer engineering andIT branch prefer computers.

Integrated coursesEngineering +MBA: Another query thatmost freshers have while selecting anengineering course is that whether theyshould one go in for a simple four-year BEor BTech degree or a five-year integratedengineering plus MBA course which willsave one year and give a dual degree inengineering and management? With amajority of engineering graduates goingin for an MBA degree after engineering,the choice of an integrated course seemsto be an intelligent one. But according toexperts it is better if one gets work experi-ence of at least two years after graduationdegree before going in for an MBA. Sochoose your integrated course very care-fully as this can be used as a road to getadmission in a good college but to get agood management job one has to do MBAfrom a good college in future.

— The writer is Associate Professor and former Dean, Student Welfare, Training and Placement Officer,

PEC University, Chandigarh

If you are ingenious and innovative with a passion for machines and instruments, thenengineering is your calling. The wide array of branches offered by over 35,000 collegesin the country provide a perfect platform to nurture and showcase your talent

Engineer Your Dreams

ROAD TO INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

FRIDAY | APRIL 18 | 2014THE TRIBUNE GUIDE TO BEST COLLEGES Engineering 12

MATERIALS ENGINEERING..

ABRIDGE between science and engineer-ing materials engineering branch basi-cally involves the study of the materials

that are used in different things used in ourday-to-day life. Materials engineers select aparticular grade of material like metal andalloy, polymers, ceramics and composites etcbased on its properties such as malleabilityor tensile strength. Materials from which theitem is to be manufactured are noted on theengineering drawing using standard materi-al and grade codes. They develop new mate-rials for new applications, improve existing

materials to give improved performance andlook at ways in which different materials canbe used together.

Materials experts need a thorough under-standing of how materials work. This meansthey are able to control the structure of amaterial, often on an atomic level, so that itsproperties can be tailored to suit a particularapplication. One primary activity is thedevelopment of new or improved materialsfor example the microchip found in comput-ers or a stronger metal or a high-tempera-ture composite or a lighter plastic. The newor improved engineered material can sparkan entirely new invention or industry.

INSTRUMENTATION ENGINEERING..

IF developing and innovating with new typesof instruments is your passion then instru-mentation engineering is the ideal choice for

you. Basically an offshoot of electrical andelectronic engineering branches, instrumen-tation engineering deals with measurement,control and automation of processes. Thenature of work of an instrumentation engi-neer ranges from designing, developing,installing, managing equipment used to mon-itor and control machinery and processes.

All manufacturing industries and sectorsbe it steel, oil, power, defence, petroleum

etc have instrumentation departmentsoffering ample job opportunities forinstrumentation engineers. Apart fromcovering core subjects like system dynam-ics, industrial instrumentation andprocess control, analytical and bio-medicalinstrumentation and robotics, the stu-dents deal with software and hardwaretopics such as microprocessor and microcontroller based instrumentation, VLSIand embedded system designs, computerarchitecture and organisation and com-puter control of processes. Thus instru-mentation engineers can fit in software aswell as hardware sectors.

Journey after admissionThe real journey of an engineeringgraduate starts not before but aftergetting admission in an engineeringcollege. So once you enter anengineering college keep in mind thefollowing points:

Concepts: Try to learn the conceptsand basics of your branch. There aremultiple websites with online courseswhich can help you gain a betterunderstanding of the subject material(and perhaps even in a more interestingmanner than the classroom teaching inmost colleges.) You can make use ofthe NPTEL courses developed by IITFaculty.

Computer languages: As most of thejobs available these days are insoftware field, so irrespective of yourbranch train yourself in some computerlanguage.

Soft skills: Learn EnglishCommunication and human relationsby participating in various groupactivities in your institution.

Hardwork: Once Kalpana Chawla saidthat motto her family was that “You cannot lose by doing hard work”so work hard.

Material Men Instrument of Success

P_12.qxd 4/15/2014 11:40 PM Page 1