If Bhubaneswar has been considered an education hub in the east as far as technical courses are concerned in the past two decades, it is because of a few institutions like Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER) run by the Siksha O Anusandhan University, which has been offering engineering and Master of Computer Application courses. The institute has been exemplary in devising a syllabus recognised world over and sees enviable placements of its students.
Programmes
The institute offers BTech dual degree in engineering (BTech and MTech), dual degree in Management (BTech and MBA), MTech, MCA and Doctoral Programmes. The subjects include Civil Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering, Computer Science and Information Technology, Electrical Instrumentation and Control Engineering and Mechanical Engineering in BTech. (MTech encompasses 20 separate specialisations.)
In 1996, with educationist Prof Manojranjan Nayak’s vision, ITER came into existence in a rented building with only 118 students. His objective was to make technical education accessible to students in Odisha. “We want our students to be an integral part of the learning experience and to implement their learning in an engineering or socio economic context. This approach of learning by doing not only helps in students gaining hands-on knowledge but also helps in increasing their retention rate and their confidence in topics. For example in Manufacturing Processes for Mechanical Engineering students, we not only teach students about Manufacturing Processes but we expect them to manufacture a product using the acquired theoretical knowledge, a product which has either economic or social relevance, thus developing their confidence in manufacturing,’’ says Nayak, the Founder-President of SOA University. A teacher by profession and ‘edupreneur’ by passion, Nayak believes in quality education that is nothing less than the best.
The faculty has worked out a syllabi for the 7,500 students on the rolls with a thrust on application-oriented practices in up-to-date laboratories.
Collaborations
The National Board of Accreditation has accredited all undergraduate programmes run by ITER. The institute has signed an MoU with Council of Scientific and Industrial Research — Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar, and software giant Infosys for Campus Connect Programmes, and Wipro for Mission 10X (a not-for-profit trust initiated to enhance the employability skills of fresh engineering graduates in India. It is a fast-growing academic community of learners and innovators), Hexaware Technologies to establish Hexaware Academic Centre for Excellence and Mindtree for Gyanvriksh (It’s a programme where students are given reading materials by MindTree and pursue time-bound assignments basing on the reading material to work on programming languages. MindTree mentors monitor and assess the performance of the students and send a weekly evaluation report.)
Suman Basu, a fourth- year Mechanical Engineering student of ITER says, “Irrespective of what your talents and interests are, you will find a platform and a audience to appreciate your performance at the institute, be it in any domain — academics, co-curricular or extra-curricular.’’
The institute has also signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Industrial Engineers for spreading Industrial Engineering Education and the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology to give industrial exposure to faculty and students. SOA University has an open admission process through its national-level test SAAT and other such examinations like AIEEE, AIPMT, CAT, XAT, MAT and CLAT . It has been accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council with Grade A.
Reshma Nair, a fourth-year Electronics and Instrumentation student says, “I like the rigorous placement training the students are made to undergo from pre-final year itself.’’ For a year, the students are trained by the placement cell with mock question papers. They are also trained on personality development, aptitude and interpersonal skills. Some assessment agencies are also hired for the training purpose who conduct online tests for the students.
Infrastructure
The institute is spread across 124 acres with a total built-up area of over 2.5 million sqft, which includes administrative and academic blocks, workshops, laboratories, multi-disciplinary research centres, conference halls, libraries, hostels, cafeteria, gymnasium, stadium and utility space. It has 541 faculty members, besides 387 non-teaching staff.
The University recently received certification of the International Accreditation Organisation, US. It recently set up a Centre of Excellence for Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences to undertake fundamental and basic research.
SOA University has set up 10 research and field centres, and 16 supporting research labs. The University also has an understanding on a research-lab-to-research-lab basis with the University of Wisconsin, Madison, US; Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; National Programme on Micro and Smart Systems, Govt of India, for Micro Electronics Mechanical Systems Design Centre; Central Power Research Institute, Bangalore; Centre for Soft Computing established at the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata and Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar.
Placement
Last year’s placement percentage was 85 per cent. Of the 2015 batch (due to complete the course in May), 75 per cent of the students have already been placed. The maximum CTC offered to students this year has been `8.5 lakh and the min `3 lakh. Companies that visited the college include Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Capgemini, L&T Infotech, Teksystems, Tata Steel, Jindal Steel, Accenture, HCL, Mahindra and Mahindra, TVS Motors, L&T Technology Services and several others. Despite a slowdown in the automobile sector, Mahindra and Mahindra has identified IIT, Bhubaneswar and ITER for their Graduate Engineering Trainee (GET) selection process and has recruited four students from ITER with a `6 lakh pa package. ITER is the only institute TVS Motors visited for recruitment. In the past, Infosys has recruited 603 students from ITER, the highest in the eastern region.
— kasturi@newindianexpress.com