The experience of working with reputed scientists and subject experts as a student was once something only those at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) could enjoy on a regular basis.
Change is in the air, however, as public agencies, associations and government bodies are increasingly showing an interest in tapping the creativity of students in self-financed colleges, by funding their projects and providing mentorship of experts.
“Students at reputed institutes are already pampered. We are now focussing on identifying earnest, innovative students from self-financed colleges,” says U. Chandrasekhar, scientist, R & D Organisation, Ministry of Defence, associated with the Institute of Engineers (IE). These programmes come as a boon for students whose exposure to industry and laboratory work is often very limited.
They are also especially beneficial to students in streams such as mechanical, electrical, manufacturing and electronics engineering, who unlike computer science students may not attempt bigger projects considering the limited resources available to them.
“It is not that only the students of IIT are bright. Students are bright everywhere, but teachers need to motivate them. Most colleges don't even know of the various associations that are willing to help them. They should get in touch with them to provide their students with the best technical expertise,” says N. Ramesh Babu, professor, mechanical engineering, IIT- Madras.
Mentors, domain experts and funding of the projects are extremely important too. Hence, organisations including the IE offer a pool of scientists from DRDO and ISRO to the students working on alternative energy, rural technologies and mobile computing.
The idea behind generating such purposeful projects, says Dr. Chandrasekhar, goes beyond engaging the students in research. “It is not fair to expect students to get interested in working models in the final year. It has to begin much earlier.” Nearly 20 of the 150 colleges associated with IE projects are from Tamil Nadu. The Department of Technology, Government of India, has got into the act with its four incubation centres in Chennai that provide necessary assistance to engineering students. However the centres are still in search of more registrations from colleges.
“If the IITs can do it, why can't we,” asks Senthil Kumar, principal, S.K.R. Engineering College, who has many groups of students working in funded projects, including the Pico satellite, funded by IE. Students of Veltech and many self-financed colleges under Anna University also have been roped in by public agencies.
“The point of getting a project funded is not that you get a job in that organisation. Most of us start our project work one month prior to submission and there is no mentorship available in college. We learn much more in three months of project because there is regular auditing and interaction with experts,” says Shreya Pandian, of a private college, who has been selected for a funded project in IIT- Roorkee.
Besides, working with students from different disciplines and presenting their ideas to experts help students improve their communication skills in a more natural way, says Dr. Chandrasekhar. Another project on these lines which seeks to enhance quality is the International Association for the Engineering Analysis's contribution in funding training for students interested in the analysis of engineering. “For instance, all manufacturing parts are very light now. We help students analyse such changes,” says K. Elangovan of the institute.
“It is very important to encourage budding engineers to try their hands at working models, and assist them with all resources. But not many colleges do that because it does not have immediate results. The focus of most colleges now is on procuring either jobs for their students or patents for their projects to be showcased later, which has to change,” says D. Krishnan, professor, electronics, Anna University.
