Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs), NITs, engineering courses, electives - a student’s life is all about choosing right. But irrespective of the choices one takes, they can always change course towards their preferred career path at any point of time, speakers at “Choice-2013’ counselling session held on Sunday said.
The event was organised by The Hindu Education Plus, in association with the Youth Employability Services (YES) centre, at FAPCCI.
Speakers at the event addressed a packed auditorium to clear lingering doubts that usually nag students and their parents when it comes to taking admissions into IITs and NITs.
A student should always follow his/her heart while choosing a course and should not get into one because of their parents’ aspirations or due to peer pressure, Rama Rao Velpuri, vice-president, Software Engineering, CA Technologies, said.
“Students always face a dilemma when it comes to good institute versus good course. I would always advise them to choose the course which they want to pursue further and not to join an institute just because it has a better brand name,” he explained, adding that if the student has enough passion towards the subject, he/she will automatically excel in that field irrespective of the college reputation.
Opportunities for engineers
He also threw light on 10 emerging areas in computer science that will dominate for the next two decades, and provide ample opportunities for engineers.
They include mobile internet, knowledge work automation, cloud computing, advanced robotics and next-generation genomics.
He felt engineers with out-of-box ideas will have great future. Other speakers were of the opinion that studying in IITs and NITs was more about getting better exposure and not just getting a degree.
“Most students are not sure about what their passions are and which career path they should choose.
For those students, going to a better institute, irrespective of their branch, would be better as they can get good exposure and can take an informed decision later,” Zuhare Ahmed, a retired Metallurgy engineer, observed.
More than settling in a specific branch, choosing a better institution is important as a stint in an institution of national importance builds character, Sushant K. Santra, another speaker and a mechanical engineer added.
But that does not mean that students should force themselves to accept a course they completely abhor, the speakers warned during the interactive session.
Panellists
R.V. Chakrapani, managing director of Aarvee Associates, said civil engineering graduates can expect an exciting career given the huge investments being made in the infrastructure sector.
Top companies from across the globe are moving to India and hiring Indian civil engineers for their projects.
The stream gives the flexibility to students to pursue their professional work from day one unlike other branches.
Panellists also apprised the students and their parents about their respective engineering branches, subjects that have to be studied in those courses and job prospects, among other aspects.
Krishna Mohan, Chief Manager, State Bank of India, explained the structure of loans extended to students admitted into IITs and NITs and also the concessions given to girl students. Nagesh Walimbe (chemical), Anand Kumar (biotech and pharma) and Praveen (electronics and communication) were others on the panel.
T. Muralidharan from TMI e2E Academy anchored the programme.
The event was sponsored by the State Bank of India.
