The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Impressive academic, placement record

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 08, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Impressive academic, placement record

Shatry V. Mallady

Alagappa Chettiar College of Engineering and Technology turns out well-trained engineers

WELL EQUIPPED: Students working in the laboratory of the Mechanical Engineering department of Alagappa Chettiar College of Engineering and Technology at Karaikudi. — Photo: K. Ganesan

If choice of the right engineering course is important for students, the selection of institution is vital for success and subsequent placement. Branded engineering colleges always have an added advantage for they can convert aspirants into able engineers.

It is here, institutions like Alagappa Chettiar College of Engineering and Technology (ACCET), Karaikudi, have a distinct edge because of their impressive academic and placement record over the years.

Established in 1952 by a leading educationist of the time, RM. Alagappa Chettiar, ACCET is today truly an asset for engineering education in the State just for its results and campus infrastructure.

The college, spread over 240 acres, was handed over to the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1966 by Alagappa Chettiar Educational Trust, and it is now one among the six government engineering colleges in the State.

Approved by the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and graded by the National Board of Accreditation, the college with its vast array of equipment and machinery in laboratories is a major beneficiary of government funding and World Bank assistance.

"The World Bank gave our college an assistance of Rs. 15.67 crores of which we have already spent Rs. 5 crores towards equipment and modernisation of labs. The grant came under Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme," said Dr. R. Lakshmipathy, principal.

Affiliated to Anna University, the college offers five undergraduate and six postgraduate engineering courses.

The undergraduate courses are B.E. in Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Civil Engineering.

Among the PG courses on offer, the optical communication course is the institution's speciality.

Students are admitted through the single window system counselling conducted by Anna University. Normally, candidates ranking above 1,000 join the institution (Reservation quota as prescribed by Tamil Nadu Government). The approval of AICTE given for five years expires by the academic year 2005-06. The college authorities said a proposal had already been sent for renewal, which was expected by May. The college has also applied for autonomy.

Placement

If the laboratories and industrial visits for practical exposure ignite the students' intelligence, emphasis is also given to campus placements.

According to Prof. K. R. Vishwanathan, Placement Officer, this year's placement statistics are encouraging. Out of a total of 295 undergraduate students, 203 have been placed and 12 postgraduate students are in good companies.

A few third-year mechanical engineering students — Binu Koshy, K. Prasad and M. Aravinth — sharing their thoughts, said the college gave them many opportunities to handle campus events and never was their thinking restricted.

Giving all students equal exposure and making engineers experts in event management also, the college authorities said students were monitored to make them successful.

With top companies such as Infosys, TCS, Cognizant, Wipro, HCL Tech, TVS visiting the college every year for campus hiring, this engineering college in Karaikudi is encircled by excellence in engineering education.

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