Institute’s focus on practical sessions has helped me gain deeper understanding of concepts, says Mandar Shailesh Patil

Well, I chose to study BTEC Course of Engineering because since childhood I was passionate about vehicles. The adoration about automobiles came from my grandfather's interest, in the 90's he had a collection of his own. Out of which some of my favourite vehicles were the Mahindra JEEP, Ambassador and Tata Sumo. I do remember and have picture memories of my father and grandfather gifting me pedal toy, cars and bikes on my birthdays.  I used to disassemble my toys, repair it if it has any problem and again used to assemble it. In my early teenage years, my father showed me production and designing videos on Discovery channel and that made me focus on engineering subjects. Because an engineer only builds up and designs the vehicle. So, with that focus, I started moving in the direction of my dreams.

I cleared Class 10 exams with the first-class achievement and I had pre-planned summer vacations at the college of automobile. My plan was to first pursue a diploma and then an undergraduate degree. While searching college, I got to know on google nearby in my city, Rustomjee Academy for Global Careers offers a Diploma in automobile (Pearson board-UK). I took an appointment and reached college for the counselling session. The college offers direct admission and basis my merit scores I was offered admission.

The curriculum involves 80 per cent of practical sessions and 20 per cent of theory classes. The course structure has been designed in a way that we attend practical classes in the first half and theory sessions in the second half of the day. This helps us with a deeper understanding of the concepts.

The course offers a plethora of subjects in automobile domain such as Analytical method for engineering, engineering science, mechanical principles, health, safety & risk assessment in engineering, Engine-vehicle design-performance, electrical-electronic principles, engineering design, material engineering. Vehicle system- technology, managing the work of individuals & teams and many more. These courses have provided me with a strong footing in the theoretical concept of automotive Engineering field. I have also represented my college in intercollege competitions and have won awards. I have also been an active participant in many extra-curricular activities at the college level.

The curriculum here has made me feel more practical and knowledgeable than other state board engineer’s student. The reason is they just have theory exams and the same they have to learn and write, half of their subjects are not related to their course which makes it unnecessary to learn and give exams. Whereas, BTEC courses at Rustomjee college are focused on the related course subject and their practice sessions. This has given me an opportunity to deep dive into subject information. An additional benefit I got from the BTEC is the opportunity to intern with companies. At the end of HNC, you have a diploma and two to three job experience letters. That’s why I feel lucky.

The journey to success starts when you work harder than the rest of the world. This dream of becoming an automobile engineer has made me complete the journey of seven semesters. Achieving distinction in all subjects is the biggest success in my students’ life. I have also secured the second position in the Bike assemble programme at inter-college competition where I completed the assembly task in 3 minutes and 25 seconds. Looking at my passion and past performance, I was given the opportunity to visit Mahindra manufacturing plant which made me experience a vehicle manufacturing  process

I wish to pursue a post-graduation degree also in automobile engineering from Wolverhampton University. I wish to gain as much knowledge as possible and become an extremely distinguished person at the corporate level. These hopes have always kept my motivation level high.

About the author:

Mandar Shailesh Patil has been a student of Diploma in Automotive Engineering from Rustomjee Academy for Global Careers, Thane. He is certified in automobile designing-manufacturing, and advanced skill development skill training in Catia. He has interned with Mercedes Benz (shaman wheels) during the diploma course. He likes to read automobile blogs, long bike rides and exploring places

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha