THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram (CET), came into existence on July 3, 1939 when the world was a few months away from the impending Second World War. The college benefited from the demand created by war for science and technology and which reached the capital of the erstwhile princely state of Travancore under colonial rule. The first engineering college in the state has inspired generations to pursue the art of engineering and beyond.
It produced the finest engineers who constructed bridges and rail roads for a young state in a hurry to solve its problems. Some of them went on to become institution builders and took the glory to the skies.
CET first began in the building which is currently the office of the Post Master General, near the Planetarium. It was later shifted to the Sreekaryam campus in the 1960s. The campus has undergone several changes over the years. But the students and alumni vouch for the life-changing transformation that the college brought in their lives.
"CET is the taproot on which many careers including mine sprouted, anchored and blossomed. The beauty of CET is that the learning here is not confined to classrooms or structured syllabus, there many opportunities or the students to experience and nourish skills to become well-rounded confident individuals ready to face the uncertainties of life successfully," said Anthony Thomas, group chief information officer (CIO) of Nissan Motors and an almunus of CET (Electrical and Electronics, 1987-91 batch). "As CET is turning 80, we should look at this as an opportunity to unlearn, pivot and adopt new forms of learning to stay ahead of the curve as the concept of jobs itself is dramatically changing."
CET celebrated its 80th birthday on Wednesday at a function held in the campus at Sreekaryam. Though there was no official invite, a thousand people consisting of students, staff and alumni turned up for the cake cutting ceremony. The event started off with a silent prayer for George Cheriyan, an alumni who died the other day. He was the lone surviving member of the first batch.
The official celebration of 80th anniversary will be held in the second half of August. Principal Jiji C V said the college has a year-long celebration plan through which it intends to improve its rank under the National Institutional Ranking Framework.
"We will be hosting a couple of international conferences with the intention of improving the research practices in college. An engineering college of the stature of CET should be in top 30," said Jiji. As per NIFR ranking, CET stands at the 71st best engineering college and fifth best architecture college in the country. CET will host a conference on small satellites in association with ISRO, exhibition on e-mobility, entrepreneurship and it will throw open its facility for school students to experience the institution.