Karnataka - Gulbarga   

A modest beginning, and now a chain of institutions

Standing Tall: The Poojya Doddappa Appa College of Engineering of the Hyderabad Karnataka Education Society is celebrating its golden jubilee.

GULBARGA: It was a modest beginning with 120 students admitted in three departments of the Engineering College of Gulbarga in 1958, and this small beginning paved the way for the establishment of the Hyderabad Karnataka Education Society in the same year resulting in a chain of educational institutions in the educationally backward Hyderabad Karnataka region now.

President Pratibha Patil will inaugurate the golden jubilee celebrations of the institution here on Wednesday

The college, which was known as Engineering College of Gulbarga till 1983, was named after renowned saint and philanthropist Poojya Doddappa Appa and continues to be known as Poojya Doddappa Appa College of Engineering.

The foundation stone for the college was laid by the then Vice-President Dr. S. Radhakrishnan in 1958 at a time when the region was lacking educational facilities and people were looking at other centres, including Bangalore, Mysore and Dharwad, for pursuing higher education.

The college, which began its service to the region by producing quality engineers and technocrats with three departments of civil, mechanical and electrical engineering, now offers 11 undergraduate courses, eight post-graduate courses and has five research centres established in civil engineering, electronics and communication engineering, industrial product engineering, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering providing avenues of higher education to more than 800 students both in the undergraduate and post-graduate levels.

The 50 years’ of service provided by the teaching staff of the college resulted in the Visvesvaraya Technological University according autonomous status to the college on the eve of its golden jubilee celebrations last year, recognising the high academic standards maintained by the college and excellent teaching facilities.

Incidentally, the college is one among the six in the State to achieve the autonomous status for both undergraduate and post-graduate courses.

The college has many firsts to its credit.

It was the first in the State to start the electronics and communication engineering branch in 1967.

The college was also the only one in the State and one among the three in the country to offer ceramic and cement technology course.

Another unique feature was that it was one among the 14 colleges in the State to be selected for the Technical Education Quality Improvement Project, assisted by the World Bank.

Through this, the college had been a granted Rs. 10.45 crore for the improvement of infrastructure and also to help the teaching staff to pursue research and development activities.

More than 600 students have been recruited in campus interviews conducted at the college in the last three years.

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