HYDERABAD: The Engineering Staff College of India has launched a programme to enhance the employability of engineering students in southern states. In an interview with K Shiva Shanker, ESCI director U Chandrasekhar speaks about the projects taken up by the institute. Here are excerpts.
What kind of projects are taken up by ESCI?
Lack of skills in students has made us take an initiative to work closely with engineering colleges and provide the skills which enhance students’ employability. We started Infrastructure Management Services and trained over 400 students in Telangana, AP, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Now, HCL has shown interest to associate with us.
Is ESCI handling any state or central level project?
We are working with 10 different state and central ministries. One of the biggest projects was with National Skill Development Corporation in which we trained more than 3,500 students for telecom sector in fibre optics. We are also working with water resource, power and energy ministries.
What do you think is wrong with the skills of engineering graduates?
There is phenomenal rise in the number of engineering colleges but there is no commensurate qualified faculty. There is a huge deficiency of skilled teachers. Many new and some old colleges do not have the necessary infrastructure, affecting quality of education. Students of such colleges will come out with skills which are nowhere near the expectations of their prospective employers.
Any more specific plan?
We are setting up four labs: Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics and Computer Science. We are eyeing about 25 colleges in and around Hyderabad. Students of these colleges can work in our labs and try out 3D Printing, 3D Scanning, reverse engineering, etc. Rather than work on superfluous and irrelevant projects, they will be encouraged to design and develop projects under our mentorship. Industry specialists are ready to provide guidance.
IE Festival on September 14, 15
Hyderabad: A two-day fest IE FEST-2014 will be organised by ESCI on September 14 and 15. ESCI director U Chandrasekhar said workshops on 3D printing, scanning, etc will be held. The fest is also orgnaised to mark the Engineer’s Day, which is celebrated in memory of statesman and reformer M Visvesvaraya.