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Engineering education is at the crossroads, say experts

— Photo: R. Eswarraj

MAKING A POINT: A.R. Upadhya, director, National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore, delivering the inaugural address at the NITK Alumni Global Convention 2007 at NITK, Suratkhal near Mangalore, on Saturday.

SURATHKAL: Members of the Alumni Association of the National Institute of Technology – Karnataka (NIT-K), who met at the fourth global convention here on Saturday, proposed to construct a heritage centre at a cost of Rs. two crore before its golden jubilee in 2010.

The convention decided to work out the details on how the building should be and how could the funds be mobilised for it. However, it was decided that the building should have an archive of the achievements of NIT-K.

A.R. Upadhya, director, National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore, and M.D. Mallya, chairman and managing director, Bank of Maharashtra, who addressed the gathering at the inaugural function of the convention, said that prospective engineers should realise that pursuing a profession in Information Technology (IT) sector was not everything. Other branches of engineering offered enough employment opportunities besides scope for research, they said.

The two-day convention, organised by NIT-K Surathkal Alumni Association, ends on Sunday.Dr. Upadhya said that engineering education was at the crossroads after economic liberalisation. Avenues of employment had multiplied and competition prevailed in all sectors. Authorities of educational institutes should introspect if they were imparting education to suit the needs of the market. He said alumni associations should act as a link or bond between the Alma Mater and alumni. They should generate ideas to create brand value to institutions in which they studied. Those who had passed out should become role models to youngsters to create wealth for society, he said.

Dr. Upadhya said that this was the age of information. Abundant information was available on many sectors. Youth were confused in choosing courses, particularly, those related to engineering. Alumni associations should make engineering students understand that there was life beyond IT, he added.

He called upon national institutes of technology to take up research and development on lines of Indian institutes of technology.

Mr. Mallya, who graduated from NIT-K, previously Regional College of Engineering, said that many branches of engineering other than IT offered opportunities for research and development.

Ashok Kheni, managing director, Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise Limited, Bangalore, said that many colleges in the country had grown on par with IITs and NITs. Entertainment industry was set to grow rapidly in the coming years, he added.

Mr. Kheni offered to lend financial assistance to NIT-K if it developed codes or specifications for building construction. Sandeep Sancheti, director, NITK, spoke. K. Yajnanarayana, president of the association, presided over the function.

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