A reckless four years. A wrestles four years

A reckless four years. A wrestles four years. That is how engineering is defined in the modern Indian society. But what exactly is engineering? Not even 1% of these 1.5 million so called budding engineers that come into existence can actually answer this.

Wikipedia defines an engineer as “the application of scientific, economic, social, and practical knowledge in order toinvent, design, build, maintain, research, and improve structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes.”

But is this true? Is it feasible and if so has its feasibility been realized with uniformity?

Let’s narrow our focus over a small section of this vast country, to localize or study considerably while focusing on a diverse focus group.

VTU in the south of India makes its presence felt in the southern part of India, most prominently in the state of Karnataka, the capital of which has no doubt emerged as, apart from a front runner as an IT destination, an education hub.

Bangalore has over 885  colleges out of which 201  are engineering colleges affiliated to VTU.

The curriculum in most of these colleges begins, as prescribed by the university, by dividing each academic year into two semesters, each semester having 6 theoretical subjects and at least a couple of labs up until the final or 8^th semester when the student is expected to make a practical application of his knowledge (learnt thus far) in the form of an academic project.

In the first two semesters students are taught what they will be taught over the next six semester. Every student, irrespective of his engineering discipline must learn the basics of Chemistry, CAED, Environmental Education, Basic Electronics, Basics of Computers and C programing etc. in one semester and Physics, Basics of Mechanical Engineering, Basics of Civil engineering, etc. in the other. The practical work include, titration in chemistry, Basic circuits and principles in physics, CAED, C programing, and a mechanical workshop.

“Mathematics is easy” is a statement often heard in or around the premises of engineering colleges in and around Bangalore. 

A noteworthy point is absolutely necessary at this point. The C programming part is highly insufficient for students in the ECE, CSE, ISE discipline, and is nowhere near what the industry expects out of working professionals.

Although the non-rigidity of the mathematics syllabus is a justified point of view, one must also note that all the important theorems and laws are thoroughly covered in the prescribed syllabus. Although the liberty given to the student in choosing any five units out of the total eight is often applied to as an excuse. Such “selective study” methods can be done away with by ensuring all topics are covered in the internal examinations.

Also the mathematical study can be completed in a shorter amount of time and also other less-time-consuming subjects like CIP and CIV can be completed aforehand and their hours dedicated to the enhancement of the C skills of the ECE, CSE and ISE students for reasons mentioned afore.

All in all the system of the two separate cycles one for physics and one for chemistry, eases the pressure on the student, and the combination of the subjects, the way they are, in the two cycles, “creates thinkers”. English and Kannada are two subjects highly ignored and more often fails to enhance ones vocabulary as desired. Also quizzes, soft skill training, enhancement of PowerPoint presentation skills, letter writing etc. may be introduced and used as a method to develop personality.

Coming to the second year. Second year means business. It’s now time for the students to learn the technical specialization they are in for, and forget the term “Basic” and start thinking “Advanced”.

Mathematics again for some unexplained reason bears a common syllabus for all disciplines.

Focusing our study again on a particular discipline, viz. Electronics and communication, we see that the syllabus for the various subjects aim at helping students to learn and understand the differences between analog and digital circuitry. There is enough exposure to this in the form of practical laboratory work, and needless to say the theory and practical work must go hand in hand.

The Analog Electronics Circuit is a subject which needs special attention, as several students tend to ignore the topics in Part B until the last moment.

Network analysis, Logic design are all conceptual subjects and must be thoroughly understood.

Electronic Instrumentation acutely lacks practical hands on experience, however the lucid language of the text books suffices for most students.

Vector must be taught in mathematics to excel in field theory, which is one of the primary subjects of these four years.

Coming to fourth semester, the student’s interest in embedded domain is tested and also her/his ability in VHDL and Verilog is tested. C-programing may be introduced in the first part of the Microcontroller Lab, along with ALP, for keen students as this may help them later on.

It may be mentioned here that coding using the most basic Turbo C, may ease the student’s ability to code using more sophisticated softwares, later on. Mini projects may be developed using the prescribed 8051 or MSP430 controllers. Extensive materials are a must for Signals and Systems, which requires continuous and tedious practice.

A funny point about the VTU syllabus is that although the theory subject of liner integrated circuit is taught in the 4^th semester, the laboratory for the same is prescribed for the next academic semester. Students however should be demonstrated in the LIC/AC lab, in parallel with what they learn.

The next semester begins with a hint of professionalism with subjects like Management and Entrepreneurship, which essential for any working professionals. The MATLAB coding in DSP lab is basic and not sufficient. Mini projects may be developed at this stage implementing MATLAB and more specifically image processing. Mini project like a simple AM/FM transmitter may also be developed to generate an interest in the subject Analog Communication

5^th dawns the basic of VLSI, with CMOS being the single most important subject in the mentioned semester. Reading material are a must for Microwaves and radars to avoid the confusion of the portions present in the syllabus, although further reading is recommended for interested students.

Industrial visits are a must by the end of this semester to create a stronger foundation. Visits to industries specializing on Embedded system or MATLAB are recommended.

 

The story of embaded system continues in the 6^th academic semester with a vast syllabus for Microprocessor, which is difficult for teachers to complete, let alone students. This can be eased, with alternate Saturday exams for the portion covered the previous week, which is often helpful.

SPICE simulation is recommended for Microelectronics circuit. Apart from the afore mentioned points, the semester is well placed by the university, and more than often well executed by the institutions. Diverting from the topic slightly and momentarily this semester is often cited as difficult for chemical engineering students the details for the reasons of which are beyond the scope. The elective must be chosen carefully C++ is recommended for IT aspirants in the ECE discipline.

 At the end of this semester, if not during it, the student must undergo a training, preferably in a telecommunication organization.

The next semester is well and good the way it is. Again electives must be carefully chosen, and a wide range for the same is a must for students to choose from. The student as and when they enter into this semester must have the basic understandings regarding the basics of communication. Soft skill training, training on how to prepare seminar reports and project reports are a must in or immediately after this semester.

As the 8^th semester begins, students feel a feeling of accomplishment. If the trainings and positioning of the curriculum mentioned in this paper is followed, it can be expected to reap an even better 8^th semester, a better project, and a better future.