Fee reduction soon to give respite to COVID-affected students, parents: COEP Director

In an interview with Shiksha, Prof BB Ahuja, Director, College of Engineering Pune (COEP), talks in length about the newly launched MTech in transportation engineering course, its fee structure, eligibility criteria and more.

MTech in transportation engineering to begin this year 

While talking to Shiksha, Prof BB Ahuja, Director, College of Engineering Pune (COEP), spells out a number of factors, including research and professional practices, that have pulled down the college in the recently released NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) Ranking 2021. Below are the excerpts from the interview.

Q. The COEP is starting first-of-its-kind MTech in transportation engineering course. What will be the course content and how will it benefit students?

A. Apart from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Nagpur, no other college is offering MTech in transportation engineering course in Maharashtra. It will cover various types of transport syllabus be it road, metro, waterways and airways. The Maharashtra government is likely to invite applications for the course and it will begin this year only. In this course, the syllabus will address all issues related to transportation, traffic, road construction and infrastructure.  

Transportation is the key to any nation’s progress. The Government of India has committed INR 100 lakh crore for infrastructure development and transport engineering includes highways, expressways and newer airports are also coming up. We have the third largest road and rail network in India and each of this has to do with transportation engineering. So, it is an important component for both urban and rural areas. 

Both private and government sectors provide increasing avenues for work in the field of transportation engineering. Students passing out from this course will have an MTech degree in transportation. They could serve as senior engineers in the construction industry or they can also join Indian Administrative Services. They can also find a job in road projects and railways projects.

Q. What will be the eligibility criteria for the course?

A. All admissions to the CoEP are centralised. A student should have obtained a valid Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2021 score and BTech in Civil Engineering to become eligible for MTech in transportation engineering course.

Q. What will the seat intake and fee structure for the course?

A. It is a two-year programmeand the seat intake will be 24 students. Students with a valid GATE score will get a monthly stipend of INR 12,400 from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Fee structure will be same like any other MTech course. The total fee for the course will be INR 1,14,850. We are also waiting for the government guidelines on reduction of fees.

Q. The COEP slipped from 50th to 52nd rank in the NIRF 2021 ranking. What do you think could be the reason for the decline in the rankings?

A. The NIRF evaluates institutions on the basis of five parameters – teaching, learning and resources; research and professional practices; graduation outcomes; outreach and inclusivity; and perception. If we see our contribution in each of these parameters, we have turned better as compared to the previous year, but that does not mean that we have done well, others have done better than us.

Research and professional practices is one area where we need to improve a lot. If we are able to do that, our ranking will shoot up. If we talk about teaching, learning and resources parameter, we have bagged 27.2 marks out of 30, which is a good score. Other drawback for decline in rankings is that we cannot admit students from other states. Also, we just have a handful of patents, but that is not enough. Competition was also more this time, especially with more private institutions participating.

Q. How was the placement season this year? Did COVID-19 affect the campus placements?

A. We marginally record 88-89 per cent placements every year. This year, we recorded 85 per cent placements. Hiring in IT sector was same as before. Placements are still on and the process will continue till December for last year students. Our Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) department recorded 99 per cent placements. CSE students baggedthe mostnumber of offers. The highest package of INR 39 lakh was offered to a CSE student by Japanese firm Ebara Corporation. As many as 200 companies participated in the recruitment drive that took place online.

Q. Any new course you are planning to introduce in the upcoming session?

A. We have launched several one-year full-time postgraduate diplomas this year, the recent being PG diploma in engineering procurement construction, which will start from November 1, 2021, in virtual mode. The other PG diplomas that we have started are in data science and artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), industrial automation, rail and metro technology, enterprise resource planning, electric mobility. These diplomas are primarily for industry people and the fee structure of all these courses ranges between INR 1.65 lakh and INR 3.75 lakh. The seat capacity also varies from 20 to 60 depending on lab and course. Apart from this, last four months are dedicated to industrial internship.

Q. Are you planning to revise the fee structure of engineering courses?

A. Our fee structure, except for PG diploma, is decided by the Maharashtra government. We are expecting fee reduction as it will be a respite for many parents who lost jobs due to the pandemic.

Q. Have you taken any steps to help students affected by COVID-19?

A. Education is free for those students who have lost one or both of their parents to COVID. The AICTE had launched a scheme called ‘SwanathScholarship Scheme’ under which students can avail of the facility. Besides, we approached our alumni and industry to provide support to those students who did not have laptops and internet at home as classes were held online. We distributed 175 laptops among needy students and it is their property now.

Q. What steps are you taking to make students industry-ready?

A. In 2019, we introduced several interdisciplinary foundation courses in emerging areas. For example, students of mechanical engineering can take up machine learning, artificial intelligence and big data. In 2015, we introduced BTech (Hons) and BTech Minor degree programmes. For instance, a student doing BTech (Hons) in automotive technology can pursue a minor in computer software. 

Also, we have a strong bonding with the industry. We are approaching the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to further strengthen our relations with the industry so that students can get opportunity to experience real-life challenges.

Q. Many colleges have decided to conduct the new academic session in hybrid mode. How are you planning to approach the upcoming academic session?

A. This is a new normal now. We are now allowing only those students who are double vaccinated on the campus. Students can also sit at home and attend classes, but for lab work, they will have to come to the campus. Our PhD and MTech students are already there on the campus and working on their projects.

Q. What is the percentage of girl students at COEP?

A. At the COEP, we have 40 per cent girl students and the rest are boys. If we talk about faculty, we have 46 per cent female and 54 per cent male faculty members.

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