State sees surge in computer engineering admission; traditional courses see high vacancies this year

Mumbai: The admissions for undergraduate courses this year in the state have kicked off, and while the traditional streams, like civil engineering (CE) and mechanical engineering (ME), took a back seat, the demand for courses related to computer engineering skyrocketed.

Of the 49,586 seats in courses related to computer engineering (IoT, AI, and data science) in the state, 44,517 are already filled, states the state common entrance test (CET) cell data. Similarly, 8,514 of the 9,642 seats allotted to special courses related to AI, Data Science and Machine Learning were also filled.

On the other hand, there are more than 50% vacancies in courses like CE and ME this year. While 12,065 students sought admission to ME courses as against the intake capacity of 23,193 seats, it shows that almost 47% of seats are vacant. Whereas, 7,103 students opted for CE, as against the intake capacity of 17,268 seats – around 58% vacancies.

Meanwhile, though the trend of students opting for engineering and technology courses (BE/BTech) has decreased over the past few years, the state has witnessed a massive surge in engineering admissions this year, with 1,17,858 aspirants – highest in seven years – enrolling into various branches, streamwise figures from the CET cell have revealed.

This year, 1,45,484 seats were available in 350 colleges across the state under the central admission process in the institutes offering engineering and technology courses, and 1,55,076 students applied for the same.

“In the last three years, the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) promoted new-age courses like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and data science, and many universities in the state started these courses, attracting more students in engineering again,” professor Suresh Ukarande, principal, K J Somaiya Institute of Engineering and Information Technology, Sion, said.

“Considering the competition in the medical field and the new age opportunities in the field of engineering, we should attract more students to engineering,” Ukrande added. Most of the students prefer higher education in management and shape their careers in new-age sectors, he added.