UPES offers Domain Focused Engineering Program
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Industry, today, is more dynamic than it ever was. As it grows, it gets more diverse and specialised. To cater to these growing demands of the industry, a highly trained workforce is needed, that is aware of the specific skills of the trade. This is where domain focused engineering courses come into the picture. These specially designed, domain oriented courses train the students in a way that they understand the nuances of the industry in a much better way than their counterparts. In highly specialised industries such as oil and gas, it is essential to educate the students in such a way that they are industry ready as soon as they step out of the university, without much requirement of industry specific training. This is the advantage that domain specific courses have over generic engineering courses.
The science of engineering is not entirely new to the civilisation as can be seen from the knowledge of our ancestors in making wheels, pots, tools, etc. The term engineering, however, has been coined in the recent past. Engineering since its inception has gone through multiple phases. The first to be observed and recorded was the phase of ancient engineering with the construction of pyramids, Indus valley civilisation, Great Wall of China, etc. The second phase is the medieval era which includes mechanical controls, segmental gears, clocks, etc. The next was Renaissance which saw steam engine, electricity, etc. and finally the modern era which started with the development of electric motor. Today, one can even say that they exist in the era of postmodern engineering.
In this era of engineering, the complexities of the process are ever increasing and the size of devices are also ever decreasing. In this complexity of engineering and fast changing technology, it has become important to earn good and specific set of skills. Therefore, based on the past experiences and requirement, new domain oriented engineering programs were developed. One of the fore runners in offering domain oriented courses in the field of engineering is the College of Engineering Studies at University of Petroleum and Energy Studies at Dehradun (UPES).
University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) was established in the year 2003 through the UPES Act, 2003 of the State Legislature of Uttarakhand. It has emerged as an innovative institution offering industry-focused specialised graduate, post graduate and doctoral programs in key areas such as Energy, Infrastructure, Transportation, Information Technology and Legal Process. The first-of-its-kind in Asia, the domain oriented engineering programs have been the bench mark of the industry. The university is divided into two campuses Energy Acres and Knowledge Acres and hold colleges in engineering, management and legal studies, all in domain related area. The College of Engineering studies is divided into College of Engineering studies, School of Design Studies, School of Planning and Architecture and Centre for Information Technology.
Domain based programs at UPES are specially created keeping in mind the necessity of the futuristic trends of technocrats that the nation needs. The development of the programs is based on the inputs by industry experts. The need and demand of the industry are analysed by industry experts in coordination with academic committees and industry and domain specific courses are developed. These programs give the students an edge over the conventional programs owing to its specialised focus, which is the need of the hour. Some subjects like Refinery & Petrochemicals, Polymers, etc. for example are taught under Chemical Engineering in UPES. These domain oriented engineering courses also need lot of scientific and technical infrastructure support. The College of Engineering Studies at University of Petroleum and Energy Studies is situated in the 26 acre campus named “Energy Acres” and hosts many of the word class facilities of domain related technology. The university has around one hundred laboratories starting from basic scientific labs to high end precision labs in the area of Petroleum, Chemical, Fire and Health safety, Aeronautics, Information technologies, etc.
The various types of labs at UPES include: Teaching labs (81), R&D labs (12) and Outdoor labs (7). Being in the area of energy and infrastructure, the university has specialised domain lab for practical exposure, which is unique. The university houses a bio-diesel lab and dispensing station, a solar setup, a fire safety training ground, a Tatra Truck- Defense R&D facility, wind mill, an oil rig, etc.
Industry & Research Collaborations
Based on the motive of delivering good domain focused programs the university has collaborated with many research bodies. The university boasts many industry collaborations that provide an extra edge to its students. The Centre for Information Technology, UPES and IBM has embarked a unique partnership to reinvent IT education in the country at graduate level through its Centre. It provides super specialty courses in field of IT that is creating a big impact on the energy sector of the nation. Another such venture is of Bosch and Rexroth with UPES, which started “Centre of Excellence and for Training and Research in Automation Technologies” in order to promote an active industry and institutional partnership. The Centre provides technical competence, employability and entrepreneurship to students in the field of automation. The university also signed memorandum of understanding with Indian Oil Corporation to promote hydrocarbon education research and encourage innovation in downstream petroleum research projects. Apart from this the university has multiple industry partnerships with organizations like Larsen & Tubro, Schlumberger, Mahindra Satyam, Cyient, Samsung Engineering, Indian Air Force, etc. for joint research and knowledge exchange.
The College of Engineering Studies at UPES has also achieved many academic linkages. The university has academic linkages with reputed domain focused institution across the continents. Be it North America, Europe, Asia or Africa, the university has linkages in the premier institutions everywhere. To name a few are University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, University of Albany of State, University of New York, USA, Clemson University, South Carolina, USA, University of Central Lancashire, England, UK, etc.
UPES Student Achievements
The actual laurel of any university is its student body that carries the knowledge and beliefs of the university to the outer world and shapes the industry and society. The students of UPES have proved the strength of their knowledge again and again, during projects as well as during placements. SKYHAWKS a team of students from Aerospace Engineering bagged the NASA System Engineering Award in a worldwide event for designing, building and flying a 9.5 feet wingspan aircraft with load. Another Aerospace student has discovered four asteroids in a span of four years. He had been felicitated by International Astronomical Search Collaboration for this achievement. A group of students under the guidance of domain faculty also developed a fully indigenous guided and multimedia robot “Pratham” to provide entertainment at public places. Similarly there have been many awards and accolades that have been achieved by the students of UPES in the past and the trend continue. Some of them are Shell Ideas 360, TOTAL Summer School, SAE India National Event, AAPG Foundation, Austin Week 2014, OCEAN 2103, OCEAN-III Plug IN, etc.
UPES Placements
As far as placements are concerned, the university with its domain oriented courses has been a reputed name in the industry. One major benefit from the point of recruitment is that the students studying in domain specific area are already aware of the terminologies and understand the industry better than a generic engineer. This actually works in two ways- it gives industry exposure as well as vocational training to the students. The students of UPES are presents in all corners of the world in their respective domains. If taken cumulatively, 7000 students have been placed in over 600 companies. Some of the companies that are frequent recruiters are names like Schlumberger, Shell, Reliance, Tata Consultancy, Halliburton, Mahindra Satyam, Infosys, Essar, Tata Power, etc.
Students of College of Engineering have done industrial trainings from across the world, in places such as Space Weather Centre Canada, Estonia Space Centre, etc. Students also get international exposure from various exchange programs and series of expert lecture in domain areas that the College of Engineering Studies organises.
A domain oriented program gives the student an edge over the others in understanding the needs of the industry. Domain focused syllabus is designed in accordance with the current trends. It gives the student hands on experience and exposure as to how a particular industry functions, what are the specific skills of the trade and what is its scope in the future. Moreover, with the advancement of science and technology and rapid industrialisation the industry is going even more specific and in order to satiate the growing needs of the trade, domain based programs are the best choice for the students.
