Sri Jagadguru Chandrashekaranatha swamiji Institute of Technology (SJCIT) is a premier institute imparting quality education since 1986 under the Sri Adichunchanagiri Shikshana Trust. It is affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Belgaum, approved by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi, accredited by National Board of Accreditation (NBA), and ISO 9001-2008 certified. The college is recognised by the government of Karnataka. Dr T Munikenche Gowda, Principal, SJCIT, speaks to City Express about the college, the trust and their plans.
How many institutions are currently running under the trust?
Sri Adichunchanagiri Shikshana Trust was founded in the year 1974 under the leadership of Jagadguru Padmabhushan Sri Sri Sri Dr Balagangadharanatha Mahaswamiji. More than 490 educational institutes with a student strength of 95,000, inclusive of a Medical college, an Ayurvedic Medical college, 4 Engineering colleges, 2 Nursing colleges, 2 Pharmacy colleges, 4 International Schools, 7 Central Schools, 2 schools for blind, 5 polytechnics and host of schools and pre-university colleges are managed by the trust. Most of them are situated in the rural parts of Karnataka to provide abundant opportunities to the rural masses of our country.
Who is the guiding force of the trust?
Other than Jagadguru Padmabhushan Sri Sri Sri Dr Balagangadharanatha Mahaswamiji, Sri Sri Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji, who is the Secretary of the trust, is a guiding spirit for the development of education and social activities in Chickballapur, Kolar District and other parts of Karnataka. Under his guidance, the trust has established an engineering college, Polytechnic, Institute of Management Studies (BBM/B.Com), College of Physical Education, 6 Schools in rural parts of the district and 6 pre-university colleges mainly to encourage the rural masses to pursue basic education, particularly in the field of science.
What are the main facilities of SJCIT?
The institute, spread across 65 acres, has an academic block housing facilities for five branches of engineering, namely Civil engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Information Science & Engineering, Electronics & Communication Engineering, Telecommunication Engineering and three PG courses. It also has an administrative block housing President chamber, Principal Chamber, office, Applied Sciences, MBA and MCA departments and first year class rooms.We have completed our 25th year recently and have set up a separate IT block, named as the Silver Jubilee Block estimated to cost over Rs 10 Crores. It houses departments of CSE, ISE, MCA and the placement cell.
What are the main partnerships that SJCIT has?
We have an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Infosys Technologies for Campus Connect Programme. We also have an understanding with Tata Elxsi Limited, EMC Data System and Rapsri Engineering Industries Limited for Students Projects and placements. Other MoUs include one with CII for Institutional member, and Bosch-Rexroth Private Limited for automation Center and Training.
The Center of Competency in Automation Technologies was launched in 2011 in collaboration with Bosch Rexroth India Private Limited. The focus here is on state-of-the-art Hydraulics, Pneumatics, Sensorics, PLCs, Robotics and Mechatronics. Two faculty members were invited by Bosch Rexroth to their facility in Germany for training. The facility will be inaugurated in a month or so. Students who are not studying with us can also use the facility at an extra charge.
Do you have exchange programmes?
We are looking at an exchange programme with College of Mount Saint Vincent, New York, USA for the MBA programme.
What according to you are the main strengths of SJCIT?
The main strength of the institution is quality education, strong infrastructure and focus on extra-curricular activities. We have enough space for all labs and classrooms as we have almost about 65 acres, way above the standards set by AICTE and we have utilised it effectively. We have a strong placement cell and have a good track record of placement with almost about 80 per cent of candidates getting recruited. We are building a new library and amenities, which will have a canteen, store, bank, indoor games, digital library etc. 80-90 per cent of the institutions are in rural areas. We also focus on environment protection and have already planted about five crore plants.
