COEP Tech University joins hands with Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed between the two institutions on Thursday
In a bid to encourage and equip students for entrepreneurship, College of Engineering Pune (COEP) Technological University and Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics have forged a unique alliance wherein faculty from the COEP will teach Gokhale Institute students engineering subjects and faculty from the Gokhale Institute will teach COEP students economics subjects. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed between the two institutions on Thursday, and a formal announcement was made by Pramod Chaudhari, chairman, Board of Governance, COEP Technological University during a press conference held at COEP Thursday.
On this occasion Dr Ajit Ranade, vice-chancellor, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics; professor Sudhir Agashe, vice-chancellor, COEP Technological University; and other senior faculty and officials from both institutions were present.
Chaudhari said, “We are taking this step forward keeping in mind a holistic development approach while preparing the students as responsible citizens and individuals. This first-of-its-kind tie-up in the country will help them to learn economics from one of the best institutes in the country.”
Whereas professor Agashe said, “While the implementation of the new National Education Policy (NEP) is underway across the country, many institutions are being awarded the status of a ‘university’ or are being given autonomy. This provides them the flexibility required for updation and improvement in the education offered. The approach is going to be more multidisciplinary. So, we realised that joining hands with like-minded top educational institutions can pave the way for a promising future for the students.”
“A tie-up with the Gokhale Institute is the first concrete step towards nurturing engineering students for taking up entrepreneurship. Economics forms the base of most of the things in one’s life and particularly in business. Thus, lessons in economics will enable them to change the way they look at engineering. Here, we propose to offer a course of three credits in each semester for six semesters, starting from the first semester of the second year of engineering to students who plan to start their own business after studies. Lessons will be taught by Gokhale Institute faculty on the COEP campus and they will carry out evaluation,” professor Agashe said.
The pilot of this project will begin in January 2024 and the course will be formally introduced as an option from the academic year 2024-25. The course will be free-of-cost for COEP students. Similarly, the COEP Tech University will also offer its knowledge and skilled faculty for the students of Gokhale Institute in conducting short courses from the engineering field like data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning and so on.
Dr Ranade said, “Today, as the large number of engineers are turning to start-ups and entrepreneurship, imparting education of economics to them is essential. To realise the ‘Make in India’ dream, it is necessary to educate budding engineers about economics, finance, various economic surveys and their importance in business. The same applies to students of economics; they need to learn some important aspects of technology. Such an approach will serve as a catalyst in creating the required ecosystem. Today, the oldest engineering and economics institutes are coming together for this pathbreaking initiative.”
