MITM’s Service to the Field of Technical Education
The system of education in India is far different from rest of the world. The roots of education are believed to have embedded in this land of virtue. The nation’s superior values in education have immense contributions from its teachers. Maharaja Education Trust (MET (R)), a trust comprising of such eminent teachers, has founded the Maharaja Institute of Technology Mysore (MITM).
Maharaja Institute of Technology Mysore was established in the year 2007 in a serene location surrounded by sprawling landscape, a bit offset from the urbane disruption. The institute initiated and built by the reputable people recognized for their eminence in the field of Science and Technology was born as a casting of its founders’ eminence and rich experience poured into the mould of their values and aspirations. MITM made its beginning with an intake of 300 seats encompassing five engineering disciplines. As a toddler in technical education, the institute showed a brisk growth to its potential leaving foot marks at numerous mile stones just in a decade. It owns a stature known for serving the society with quality education and is well accepted by all the stakeholders. To the date, the institute is nurturing an intake of 900+ and overall student strength of around 3000, offering various programs at undergraduate, postgraduate and research level. The alumnae of this institute have been extensively acknowledged by the society and industry alike. Since its inception in the year 2007, the institution has consistently marched towards excellence and has established itself as a pioneer in the field of technical education, spreading its fragrance in Mysore – Mandya region in the state of Karnataka.
The institute, renowned as ‘Teaching Centric’, is being resourced with knowledgeable and committed faculties showing acute keenness for teaching. The Trust members have made it possible to instigate excellence in technical education through qualitative teaching and learning process. MITM evaluates the success of its programs using the highest standards of quality, innovation and transparency, to educate the students to become leaders in their areas of interest. In this regard, the institute is equipped with all modern learning aids to make teaching-learning process a pleasure for all its stakeholders.
This article intends to elaborate on the path that the institution has treaded to reach the level that it has reached today, through the Q & As below.
How does the institute intend to stand out from the various other engineering colleges in India?
The institute does not wish to draw comparison with any of its contemporaries, a quality, which it intends to inculcate in its students also. It is unique in its own way and competes with itself to get better every day. Apart from ticking all the boxes of the checklist of academic requirements of an engineering college, the institute proudly intends to stand out from various other engineering colleges in India in its firm principle of imbibing discipline and regularity to its students through quality engineering education, which would feed to its following statements of Vision and Mission.
Vision
“To be recognized as a premier technical and management institution promoting extensive education fostering research, innovation and entrepreneurial attitude"
Mission
To empower students with indispensable knowledge through dedicated teaching and collaborative learning.
To advance extensive research in science, engineering and management disciplines.
To facilitate entrepreneurial skills through effective institute - industry collaboration and interaction with alumni.
To instil the need to uphold ethics in every aspect.
To mould holistic individuals capable of contributing to the advancement of the society.
What are special facilities available for students at the institute in terms of infrastructure?
Each department of the college houses (i) state of the art laboratories that provide facilities to accommodate 100 students at a time, (ii) custom designed class theatres with a seating capacity up to 80, tailor made for better learning experience, equipped with projectors, (iii) a dedicated library section that lends the books related to each subject to each student of each branch, which need not be returned during the entire semester, which amounts to not less than 3600 books per semester per branch, (iv) a seminar hall (Sir M. V. Hall) of 400 -500 capacity, with a 45ft X 15ft stage, excellent audio system with projector facility, which can be used by the students on any working day, to enhance their communication skills and competence in co-curricular activities, (v) a multipurpose sports ground for outdoor games, (vi) Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Open Air Theatre for cultural activities, (vii) a well furnished and spacious canteen, (viii) a separate placement auditorium and placement cell for all the placement activities, (ix) a separate first year block and PG block to cater to the varied needs of students, (x) a hostel for girl students with top class amenities, and (xi) well planned transportation facility plying 57 buses everyday with a wide spread network of 60km in radius for the commute of its over 3000 students.
What are the various research facilities and activities taking place in the college? How is it helping the institute to foster multi-disciplinary collaborations?
Maharaja Research Foundation (MRF) is the research gear of MITM. A total of over 100 research scholars are being monitored for their Ph. D.s under MRF. To promote research activities, the MRF has a separate research grant by MET, called “Shodhana”, which is given to a selected proposal from each department. The grant will be of Rs. 50,000. Apart from this, each faculty who brings in a funded project to the college will be awarded with 10% of the funds from MRF.
To cater to this, all the laboratories in the college are designed and equipped to nurture the needs of academic, research and a broad range of consultancy services. The research activities in the college include multi disciplinary facet to it and as well involves the students in it. This culture was effectively put to use when the department of ECE collaborated with the department of Civil Engineering to seek the inputs related to ground water exploration, discharge measurement through pipes and water distribution system for a project titled “Prescripive Agriculture”, partially funded by the Government of Karnataka and SDM trust. During 2017, a civil engineering project related to ground water level measurement needed the use of sensors, which was ably designed by the students and staff of ECE. A collaborative publication resulted from the said work. At present, a comprehensive sensor based indigenous hydrological instrumentation is being built for measuring rainfall, ground water and runoff in a locally developed catchment in the college premises.
How do you ensure that your faculty members are completely aware about the latest developments in the education sector?
The specialty of MITM is that the subjects belonging to all the sub branches in each branch are taught by the faculty with at least a master degree in the respective branches. This automatically necessitates advanced study in their chosen subjects, resulting in attending / presenting their works in the seminars, workshops, conferences and FDPs, which keeps them updated on a daily basis.
The college is recognized as a ‘remote centre’ under Government of India‟s National Mission on Education through ICT program associated with MHRD, by virtue of which, the faculty of MITM will attend the workshops organized by IITs and the follow up workshops will be organized in the college campus for the benefit of the in-house faculty and the faculty of colleges of vicinity. All such activities ensure that the faculty is aware about the latest developments in the education sector, the proof of which is also available in the form of publications in various reputed journals.
Other highlights of the faculty include their visits to various other colleges as resource persons to deliver lectures on many engineering and other topics related to academics, administration, technical advancements and societal issues. Many faculties from the college are regularly deputed by the university to discharge their duties at various posts such as a Chairman / Member of Board of Examination, Board of Studies, Chief and Dy. Chief Superintendent, observers and coordinators of evaluation.
How active is the relationship of your institute with the Industry? What are the benefits that the companies as well as students stand to gain with such tie-ups?
One must say, it is very active! Most of the students of all the branches are compulsorily made the members of one or the other professional chapters, which helps them in bridging the gap between academics and industry by organizing various technical events that are industry oriented. These chapters also provide the students with a chance to mingle with students and staff of other colleges through its regular meets to expose them to the competitive world. Apart from this, each department arranges many such programs throughout the year under the banners of their department clubs, a wing of students and staff. The students are taken to a number of work sites seeking permission from the respective authorities, which will help instilling field knowledge in the students. For instance, to the sports ground being developed in the college premises, the leveling instructions and the markings for approach road was given by the students!
The major benefit that both the companies and students get from this is that – students, though fresh graduates are job – fit from day one! On the hindsight, this will also help control the attrition rate. The MITM’s output will definitely feel better informed, more confident, comfortable and field – ready than their contemporaries, which will help them shape their career.
Elaborate on the pre placement activities at the institute and its efficacy in preparing the students to find their dream job. What is the average and what was the highest package till date?
It is a fact that an institute’s success is scaled by its placements these days. With the knowledge of this fact in mind, the college is focused on grooming its students to be industry – fit knowledge bowls through meticulous and methodical teaching – learning process. The placement and training cell is putting the best efforts in improving the students’ employability by hosting various pre-placement training activities. The related activities in the college begin right from the first year of the UG program. The students of all the semesters are given a week long placement training prior to starting the academic classes. The college spends about Rs. 1,500 per student and charges zero from them. The training sessions include inputs on the body language, mindset, skill set, attitude, aptitude, communication skill, group work etc. The efficacy of all such teaching and training will be evident once they board the flight of their dream job. The Placement cell gave a befitting reward to the students by providing job opportunities to 418 students, 13L per annum being the highest package and 3.5 L being the average package.
What are the efforts made by the institute to collaborate with international universities and institutes?
The well qualified management, all the members of it with a doctoral degree - the most priced feather in the cap that management of no other engineering institution has, has always been upbeat about entering MOUs with quality institutions across the globe. Apart from the close association with IITs and other top institutions within the country, the college also has MOUs with the many universities in Germany, China, USA and Russia.
What are the entrepreneurial activities taking place within the institute?
With the whole country going behind the ‘Make in India’ and ‘start up’ concept, MITM is pleased to share the information that it has a dedicated office space for an incubation centre and industry interaction cell where new ideas are always welcome. The idea behind having an incubation centre is that, if a fresh graduate from MITM wishes to open an office on his own, he could do so in the college premises with the concrete support from the management and technical aids from the rich resource of the faculty. Also, to cater to the need of encouraging entrepreneurship in the students, they are involved in the college’s consultancy works during their final year of graduation itself. The incubation centre has a dedicated space of 9,222 Sq. Ft., which includes a common lounge for discussion and nine office cubicles of 650 Sq. Ft. each. The spacious centre has high speed internet connectivity, uninterrupted power supply and separate rest rooms. In just three months since its inception, three out of nine office cubicles of the incubation centre are already occupied. The three occupants are Adwiteya Technologies which work on innovative products such as MEMS based sensors, Holosuit which works on Virtual Reality based training and education and Skyfresh Farms Pvt. Ltd. which works on vertical farming. Of the three firms, Skyfresh Farms is a company started and run by a final year student of Maharaja Institute of Technology Mysore. The institution is not charging any fees for providing the office space.
How do you utilize the alumni base for providing better opportunities for ongoing students? Mention some notable alumni.
MITM is the college that has got university ranks consecutively in first 2 batches of its output. Sushma N. of 2010 – 2014 batch stood 7th in the university rank list and secured a gold medal for scoring 100/100 in a subject. Ganavi, Pavan Raj and S. Vishwanath are the other UG students to have secured ranks at university level. Arun and Mallikarjun are the PG students from Thermal Power Engineering to have secured ranks in M. Tech. at the university level. Also, Sahana and Meghana are the students to have university ranks in MCA and Ms. Roopini has secured the rank in MBA. Apart from these students, there are many students who are doing well based on the knowledge and marks they gained from MITM are in consistent contact with the college through Alumni Meet. They do come and address the fresh bunch of students regularly and motivate them to do well. A few students who have landed in at the premier institutes of the country for post graduation also extend their help to the department by bringing in a lot of quality study materials and useful links to such institutions. The alumni are the ‘real ambassadors’ of the institution, who spread its worth worldwide.
How does the institute fare in extra - curricular activities and Social service?
The institution provides platform for the students to showcase their talents in sports and cultural activities too. Many students and student teams from the institution are always encouraged to participate in the sports events organized by the University across the state and the students make the college proud by bringing laurels wherever they represent the college. The MITM Kabbaddi team stood second in the state last year, the tennis team stood second in the university this year, the students won gold in wrestling at the university level this year and the college also successfully hosted the region’s volley ball competition this year. The specialty of the institute is that, after the victorious individual / team comes back to college, a felicitation program in recognition of their achievement will be held in the premises of the college.
The cultural activities are also rewarding at the campus. Many activities inside the campus as well as off campus are encouraged. The Mysuru’s Yuva Dasara by GoK is one place where our students regularly take part and get recognized. This year, the college had given stage for the performers from various states of the country during the celebration of international famed Dasara. Also, the college’s annual fest named ‘Mahadasara’, to complement the college’s name Maharaja Institute of Technology Mysore was held from 5th to 9th February 2019 witnessed as much as 75 competitions. This mega extravaganza had more than 1500 participants to its credit. The event had its major attraction as the Live Performance by the Guinnis Record Holding team of Specially Abled – Miracle on Wheels. This team put the entire gathering in the edge of their seats with a series of stupendous dance show. Also, the fest was lit up by the students’ showcase of talent in the cultural and sports domains. This year’s Mahadasara was organized as a paper free fest and had its registration till certification done only through online portal. The other highlight of the fest was that it was broadcast live for the first time in the history of the college and thousands of views on the website boosted the efforts of the college.
In the social service front, the college and the management have never left a stone unturned to help the needy. Each trust member has the habit of taking care of the villages of their birth and extends the help beyond too. Be it visiting and helping the old age homes, schools of specially abled, donating computers to the govt. schools in the state border or the response to the recent contributions made to the government to avoid the spread of COVID – 19, the college has always been the front runner in the society. Also, the college has a separate NSS wing which is very active and keeps organizing annual camps, blood donation camps and sapling plantation drives. In recognition of its outstanding performance, the university has awarded the best NSS unit of the state award to the college.
What are the short-term and long-term goals of the institute?
The short term goals are only the feeders to fulfill the long term goals to realize the vision through executing the mission. To be specific, the short term goal is to properly document all the good works the colleget has been doing since its inception in order to help gain the accreditation from NBA. The Self Assessment Report (SAR) has been submitted to the National Board of Accreditation. The scheduled visit of the peer team of NBA had to be postponed due to the outbreak of novel Corona Virus in the country.
However, the long term goal is obviously to make use of all the achieved short term goals to build the college as one of the most reputed centers of excellence, creating and gifting the nation with the engineers of highest technical skills and societal commitment.
