A fresh curriculum awaits engineering students joining their post-graduate academic programmes this June. The revision ? which comes after a gap of 10 years ? will be in line with the international best practices and will have increased focus on research.
The curriculum will incorporate courses in research methodologies and experimental methods, along with design and analysis. Experimental methods will include students validating their theories and postulates.
The move is seen as an attempt to improve the quality of engineering education at the post-graduation level in the country by changing the approach towards teaching the subject at the post-graduate level.
The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is constituting a task force to work out the revised courses and research material and improve the experimental methods of teaching. It will be headed by Sandeep Sancheti, director of the National Institute of Technology based at at Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu.
Every year, about 13 lakh students in India join the undergraduate programme in engineering, known as bachelor of technology (BTech). Out of them, 1 lakh pursue their masters in technology (MTech), of which eventually only 30,000 go on to complete the course. ?There are 5,000 engineering PhDs and PG education is the basis for PhD. We are looking at newer topics which should be taught and international practices to be included in the curriculum and methodologies. All this should happen by June,? said SS Mantha, acting chairman, AICTE. In fact, AICTE’s All India Board of Post-Graduate Education and Research in Engineering and Technology met last week to discuss the issue and emphasised on including the aspect of hands-on experience in the curriculum.