SISTec is committed to impart quality education to its young minds through rigorous academic curriculum, says Director

Director Dr Jyoti Deshmukh of Sagar Group of Institutions talks about the institute's pedagogy in an interview with Shiksha.com. The institutes use a ‘Learning by Doing' method to ensure that students develop holistically. This hands-on learning style, in turn, fosters the Innovation Ecosystem, encouraging students to shift their mindset from Job Seekers to Job Providers. The Exclusive Training App is used to carry out this 360° Corporate Training plan.

Dr Deshmukh is a PhD degree holder in VLSI Design from Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology has over eight years of rich academic experience.

Q: What are the three things that your institute is doing that will enable it to differentiate itself from competition?

A: SISTec is committed to impart quality education to its young minds through rigorous academic curriculum, skilled faculty, and character-building approach, competent environment and entrepreneurial mindset. The three things that differentiate us from our competition are our day-to-day Academic Conduct, Corporate Training Programmes, and Placement Initiatives. Now you would be thinking that all these are common in other colleges too but the way that we have designed them at our institute makes it unique and praise-worthy.

• Firstly about the Academics- The institute strategically plans for the effective implementation of the curriculum. The processes are defined to execute the academic activities that are to be implemented before the commencement of the year. A thoughtful implementation of the academic flexibilities specified by the university is also done taking into consideration the need of extra resources required. We also deliver add-on sessions on the latest trends and technologies that are relevant to the current scenario. SISTec hosts a series of Short Term Training Programs, Expert Lectures, National & International Conferences inviting esteemed industry experts and leaders.
• Our Corporate Training Programmes are custom designed in a way that it focuses on a dedicated stream and takes into consideration the skillset and interest of an individual student. The Industry Approved Training Contents that are spread over the full span of Campus Recruitment starting from the first year are delivered by a full-fledged In-House Team of trainers. ‘Learning by doing’ culture supported by various Technology specific Technical Training Modules and project-based learning initiatives motivates the students for the practical-based learning. It in turn supports the Innovation Ecosystem which encourages the student’s attitude from Job Seekers to Job Providers. This 360° Corporate Training plan is executed through the Exclusive Training App. Also, the students go through various standardised tests to ascertain the skill and domain they are most likely to succeed in. The Training performance of our students is well validated on National Platforms like AMCAT and Co-Cubes without paying additional charges for this.
• The placement initiatives are also one step ahead in a way that the companies that come for placement drives are domain-specific and as per the liking of the student. We do not force placements on our students but encourage our students to go for a company and profile that they deem best for themselves.

Q: What are the top three initiatives undertaken by you that are helping your students become more industry-ready?

A: Our Corporate Training Programmes are our USPs, we try to train our students as per the industry requirement from the first year itself, and by the time they reach their final year they are skilled in a way that they can fit in any profile.

In addition to the training and placements, we also promote the spirit of Entrepreneurship and hence have various initiatives to promote the same. We do not want our students to be just industry-ready; we want them to build their own industries. The Entrepreneurship Development Committee at the institute has worked on marketing various startups and brought fruitful results.

Semester Break Training is a very unique initiative where during the semester breaks where we conduct training sessions, primarily hands-on specially catered to the industry requirements. The students learned various technical skills that would benefit them in the corporates. In the light of Covid, these sessions could not be conducted physically but we were able to arrange certain Certification Courses (ratified by industry giants) for our students that would help the same.

Q: What are the key attributes that a student should have in order to qualify for your institution and perform well?

A: To qualify for the institution and perform well, the students should be inquisitive, they should have an eagerness for practical knowledge, and they should be humble and courteous individuals.

They should be diligent toward their tasks, should be able to take responsibility for their actions, they should be punctual, and most importantly should have self-discipline.

We are not looking for bookworms who are excelling within the four walls of the classroom, we want students who are ready to explore, who have a wild imagination.

Q: Which programme/s would you say is/are your best? What is it that helps your institution differentiate itself for this programme?

A: We have three programmes at our campuses - Engineering (BTech), Pharmacy(BPharma) & Management (MBA), and all of these programmes are designed to meet industry requirements. We are a NAAC Accredited college and we aim to provide the economy with competent professionals who are ready to contribute significantly to their organisation.

National Employability Award 2021, ARIIA Ranking, Excellence in Education Award 2020, No.1 Private B-School in Bhopal, Emerging Engineering Institute of the Year 2019, The 10 Best Institutes for Finance Studies in India 2018, Most Upcoming Engineering College 2017 – these are some of the Awards and Achievements we have received in the past few years that goes on to prove that what we are doing is making a significance. We are an upcoming group of institutions who in no-time have reached new heights.

Q: What are you doing to improve/drive better campus placements for your current students and alumni? What kind of jobs routinely come to campus? What would you say are the key recruitment trends for your college (observed over the past five years)?

A: For better placements, our Corporate Relations Team works relentlessly on domain-specific placements. The whole process right from Campus to Corporate is very strategically planned for the individual student. We have over 30 active MoUs for the training and placement of our students. Last year, although in the pandemic situation,170+ corporates including many-core companies have organized placement drives at our campus.

Jobs are there in good numbers already, it’s just that corporate needs good employees and we are specifically working on that. Our budding technocrats go through intense training that enhances their technical and soft skills. Our active alumni network also helps in this cause; they also interact with our students and help them with placements.

The recruitment trend that we have analysed in the past few years is that corporates are in need of the multi-faceted employee and that is the reason we work on adding attributes like hands-on experience, logic & reasoning, tech-savviness and multitasking to our students.