IT emerges one-choice option for engineering aspirants in Pune

As The Maharashtra directorate of technical education (DTE) is in the process of chalking out a perspective plan to tackle the problem of vacant seats in engineering colleges, DTE officials said. The plan is to decide on whether seats should be added or reduced in the particular branch in both existing and proposed engineering institutions.

Welcoming the move, students and faculty from city engineering colleges, shared their observations on the trends across the various branches of engineering, and said that computer science engineering and information technology (IT) were still in top demand.

As per the DTE records,out of the 4,20,861 seats in state engineering colleges, only 2,44,013 seats were filled, leaving 42.02% seats vacant.

BB Ahuja, director, College of Engineering, Pune welcomed the move. Explaining the dynamics of demand, he said, “It is important for the courses across all engineering colleges to be up-to-date and relevant as per the industry needs. This year, we have merged IT and Computer science engineering branches to meet the growing demands from students. But, student demand need not necessarily coincide with the market demand. Despite the rising industry demand for other branches like electronics and mechanical, more students are inclined towards computer engineering these days.”

Confirming the trend, Prof Siddharth Jabade ,vice-chancellor of Vishwakarma University, previously known as Vishwakarma Institute of Technology (VIT), added, “At VIT, we have seen a phenomenal rise in demand for computer engineering and IT, and for various reasons including family pressure, students believe that these two branches have the best job opportunities. It is only partially true. On the contrary, the industry demand is leaning more towards robotics and mechatronics, in addition to the core branches of engineering .”

Ishan Pathak, a fourth year student of Computer Science engineering, Bharati Vidyapeeth university college of engineering said, “I joined the course due to my passion for coding, but I do not represent the majority. There are few students who have taken up the course partially due to parental or peer pressure and partially due to increasing job opportunities. ”

According to experts, in addition to computer science engineering (CSE), IT, electronics, mechanical, telecommunication and electrical are the other preferred branches. Mrunal Jagtap, fourth year computer science student of Bharati Vidyapeeth university college of engineering(BVU), said, “We have moved into an era of data and information. Artificial intelligence and cyber security have come to the forefront. Thus, it has increased the need for an equipped workforce and students today realise that.”

Sai Karkhanis, third year mechanical engineering student at COEP, added, “While I agree with the changing trends, one needs to realise that the core branches like electrical, mechanical and civil will always be in demand whatsoever. These branches have further evolved into various other branches, Mechatronics being a prominent example for that.”

However, Anand Bhalerao, principal and dean at Bharati Vidyapeeth university college of engineering, pointed out the growing industry need for engineers in branches like electronics and civil engineering. “With various infrastructure projects coming up in the country, there is a rising need for skilled civil engineers. Also, as the Indian government is trying to reduce its dependency on other countries, with respect to electronics, the branch thus also should also be counted among the top branches, under the DTE plan. The DTE needs to make sure that the aspect of demand is not only based on students but also the industry.”

Job security in the booming IT market is cited as the reason for the preference, by many engineering students. Ishan Pathak, a fourth year student of Computer Science engineering, Bharati Vidyapeeth university college of engineering said, “I joined the course due to my passion for coding, but I do not represent the majority. There are few students who have taken up the course partially due to parental or peer pressure and partially due to the increasing job opportunities. The so-called sway is due to the IT boom in the country.”

According to experts, in addition to computer science engineering (CSE), IT, electronics, mechanical, telecommunication and electrical are the other preferred branches.

Mrunal Jagtap, fourth year computer science student of Bharati Vidyapeeth university college of engineering, said, “We have moved into an era of data and information. Artificial intelligence and cyber security have come to the forefront. Thus, it has increased the need for an equipped workforce and students today realise that.”

Sai Karkhanis, third year mechanical engineering student at COEP, added, “While I agree with the changing trends, one needs to realise that the core branches like electrical, mechanical and civil will always be in demand whatsoever. These branches have further evolved into various other branches, Mechatronics being a prominent example for that.” 

However as opposed to the popularity of CSE and IT,  Anand Bhalerao, principal and dean at Bharati Vidyapeeth university college of engineering, pointed out the growing industry need for engineers in branches like electronics, and civil engineering. “With various infrastructure projects coming up in the country, there is a rising need for skilled civil engineers. Also, as the Indian government is trying to reduce its dependency on other countries, with respect to electronics, the branch thus also should also be counted among the top branches, under the DTE plan. The DTE needs to make sure that the aspect of demand is not only based on students but also the industry.”