The University will kick-off with graduate, masters and doctoral programmes in engineering disciplines. As a run-up to the academic year, NIIT University organized a seminar titled ‘ENGINEERING: Building Great Careers in Turbulent Times’ in the IIT Delhi campus on May 11, 2009.
The seminar discussed various issues of relevance for students who are standing in the crossroad of education and career. The need for this discussion was felt as every year the number of students appearing for the IIT-JEE and other competitive exams is increasing. And in the current economic situation, how much assurance can studying Engineering provide regarding making great career.
The seminar included a panel of notable personalities in the field of Education and Industry namely Prof P V Indiresan, former Director, IIT Chennai; Prof R C Malhotra, Former Director, IIT Kanpur; Som Mittal, President, NASSCOM; Dr. Ravi Kothari, Research Lab, IBM; Rajendra S Pawar, Chairman, NIIT; Prof M P Kapoor, Founding Vice Chancellor, NIIT University. This was attended by students of various schools and colleges and their parents having various questions regarding choosing the right career insuring a bright future.
Som Mittal, President, NASSCOM started off the discussion by saying that no matter how the economic condition is demand is not going to be a constraint. New capacity has to be created in the industry. He stated that in the industry, 30 per cent of the labour cost is spent in training. That is because the institutes are often not able to provide proper education which is required in the industry while working. Thus it is necessary for the students to learn from the environment of the campus. Communication skills, business etiquettes are also important. When asked about the future of the Engineering industry, Mr. Mittal assured that by the end of the year, turnaround will take place.
Professor R C Malhotra’s talk revolved mainly around the technological effects on the quality of education. Nowadays students don’t need to attend classes as it is becoming more of technology oriented where they get virtual notes. Even the lectures are complemented with videos, graphs etc. “You will find out students learning most of the things from their peers, rather than their teachers.” He said. He also mentioned the importance of academic libraries where besides print, non print material are also available.
Dr. Ravi Kothari discussed the importance of research in modern industry. He emphasized the importance of understanding the data, tools and techniques and how to use it in order to carry on a successful research. Dr. Kothari also opined that communication is necessary as it spreads the idea. On the question of how to improve the research mentality of the Universities, he said that nowadays, all the large corporations have research facilities. If there is more interaction, there will be ideas of more problems and solutions to it.
Dr P V Indiresan stressed the need to develop a ‘third eye’. Periodically everyone should forget everything learnt by them and try to concentrate on other aspects as in what other facets interest them the most. According to him, NIIT University is going to offer all these things which help a student to get an overall, holistic education.
"Education is that which remains after you forget what you have learnt. In order to learn engineering, you need to keep your mind wide open so that you can learn all other aspects of life”, said Prof Indiresan.
“Engineering is all about quality of life and quality of living” stated Professor M P Kapoor. He mentioned that NIIT is for those who would like to practice Engineering. Every second is a moment of learning and NIIT University will provide that opportunity where every moment will be a learning experience. “You will come out as a B. Tech in Performing Arts!” stated Prof Kapoor. He also expressed his dissatisfaction on the system of entrance exams where few are selected for interviews. According to him, more weight should be given on the result of the Board exams and everyone’s interview should be taken.
Rajendra S Pawar sounded much optimistic in the future of India’s technological caliber. He said that in the next 10 years, India will be exporting technology. M. Techs will be at par with MBAs and NIIT University will ensure that.
The NIIT University is planned under the Government of Rajasthan Education (Gr–4) Department Guidelines for the Establishment of Private Universities by separate Act dated 26.07.2007. The first phase of campus development, consisting of two academic blocks and two hostels, is nearing the final stages of completion. Therefore, the first admissions cycle for BTech, MTech and PhD programs is ready to begin for the academic year 2009-10.
The broad-based admissions process is designed to take into consideration multiple performances and not just a single exam. BTech admissions are based on public examinations in class X, class XII and JEE / AIEEE. MTech admissions are based on consideration of multiple performances, namely, in all public examinations, the first degree program, GATE / NET, an online test and personal Interview by a panel of experts.
