We focus on making students industry-ready as recruiters today look for readily-deployable workforce, says Asst. Prof

In a conversation with Shiksha.com, Assistant Professor at School of Computer Science MIT WPU - World Peace University, Pune Prajakta Sonam talks in detail about the pedagogy of the Institute. She elaborates on the skills required for students to excel in the programme. Sonam also talks about the initiatives taken by the Institute to help students become industry-ready. MIT WPU is a student-centric university that focuses on every individual student and their growth. Sonam has over eight years of rich industrial experience and her area of interests is Big Data and Data Science.

Read the excerpts of the interview below:

Q: What are the three things that MIT World Peace University is doing that will enable it to differentiate itself from other universities?

A: We are a student-centric university with all courses and specialisations that are required to fulfil the needs of evolving industries. To help our students grow into the professionals of tomorrow, we

• Have signed MoUs with many industries for internships, placements, guidance and projects. We also frequently conduct industry-academia conclave to make students learn directly from the leaders and professionals of the corporate world.
• Have cutting edge technology courses as a part of the programme curriculum such as Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, Big Data Tools which are in high demand today
• Also have a peace programme as a part fro the curriculum, which is one of its kind

Q: What are the top three initiatives undertaken by MIT World Peace University that are helping your students become more industry ready?

A: To make students industry-ready is not a one-time task, rather its an ongoing activity. Hence, we start from the first year onwards. We,

• Organise internal hackathons and have tie-ups with edX and other online course platforms to upskill the students
• Regularly upgrade the curriculum based on industry requirement and vetted by industry experts
• Have made the internship programme a mandatory aspect for all to clear the graduation

Q: What are the key attributes that a student should have in order to qualify for the University and get good grades?

A: Apart from the eligibility criteria, we look for strong aptitude, eagerness to learn and good communication skills. We strongly believe that till the time students do not have a set goal, they lack passion and zeal.

And, to get good grades in MIT WPU, they need to work on their problem-solving skills and must have a passion for coding. We have a team of highly experienced and skilled faculty members who constantly help students to develop these skills.

Q: Which programmes/ specialisations according to you are your best? What is it that helps your institution differentiate itself for this programme?

A: According to me, MSc (Data Science & Big Data Analytics) is the best programme offered at MIT-WPU.

• The eligibility criteria for this programme is wide enough to accommodate any student with knowledge of computer fundamentals and basic programming language
• No other university in the city or state offers such programme which covers Data Science fundamentals, advanced subjects as well as Big Data Technology Track in detail
• Variety of Data Science and Big Data Tools are covered in four trimesters followed by internship opportunity in the last two trimesters. This ensures that students are technically strong and ready to face the corporate world.
• The curriculum of this programme is designed and periodically updated to match the industry standards. One of the highest paying jobs in the market is that of a Data Scientist and our programme curriculum is suitably matched to that requirement

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: As mentioned earlier, we are a student-centric university and we focus on every student. We are also known for our quality placement record but we never stop, we practice and improve every day. To drive better placements for our students:

• We are closely working with Centre of Industry-Academia Partnership at MIT-WPU to conduct diagnostic tests to understand strengths and weaknesses of students and accordingly planning for their training on skills related to placements (Aptitude, English Communication, Technical topics)
• We organise regular counselling and guiding sessions for students to groom them
• After every placements season, we ask for feedback from the recruiting companies to improve in the coming year
• Our alumni network is a great source of placements for us. We not just ask them for references in their organisations but also help them getting more job opportunities even after they graduate
• Inputs from industry experts in designing course syllabus & making it industry-oriented
• Job roles majorly offered to our students are in: Data Science, Data Analysis, Software development, Machine learning and prediction, Big data engineering, business analytics & visualization
• Trends observed:
  • Since last few years, recruiters are actively looking for a readily-deployable workforce so as to reduce the time required for their training
  • Students well-versed with the latest technologies are in demand
  • For Data Science and Big Data Analytics program, strong knowledge of Mathematics and Statistics is preferred.

Companies appreciate the participation of students in Hackathons and Projects and don’t just go by their mark sheet