A vision to prepare graduates to become leaders in their profession

Dr J Akilandeswari is the HOD-IT of Sona College of Technology. She obtained the Fulbright Fellowship during the year 2016. She had been selected as one among 10 administrators in India in the Education industry to visit different universities in the US and gain exposure. She has a teaching experience of 23 years and research experience of 16 years.

Being a HOD of the IT Department, what are your roles and responsibilities towards the students?

“Ideating the required events for the year”

I take the responsibility of coordinating and initiating all the activities for the students and faculty members in the department. My responsibilities include designing the curriculum and syllabi, framing strategies for the successful outcome of the initiatives, initiating the faculty development activities.

How does the department enhance the skills of the faculty and prepares them according to the industry standards? 

“They are equipped to align with the industry requirement”

At the beginning of every semester the “need for training” details are obtained from the faculty wherein they request for training in a specific domain or a course. Based on their request they would be nominated for attending training programmes from various industries and other reputed institutions whenever called for. It has also been mandated that every faculty in the department gets certified by completing at least one online MOOC course conducted by NPTEL, Coursera, Udemy, etc., per semester with at least 40 hours of industrial training every academic year. Moreover, every course has industry mentors and from whom our faculty members get the idea of what happens in the industry.

How do you tend to establish healthy relations with the students and fellow faculty? 

“Working as one family is our strength”

We sustain a student-friendly atmosphere in our campus being it the management or the department. We provide the space to approach us at any time for support. Twice in a semester, we conduct class committee meetings where a senior faculty from the department would interact with the students along with the subject handling faculty of that particular class to discuss their level of satisfaction in the teaching-learning process and their requirements. I always consult with my colleagues before making decisions as the way of approach varies from people to people. 

What is the latest program that you are offering in your institute? What are the factors that make this program the best for the students to opt?

“This program can cater to students who can apply their learning to a field which interests them”

We have started a new B.Tech Program on Artificial Intelligence and Data science. Artificial Intelligence and Data Science have empowered almost every area and aspect of our life and the job openings for data scientists is increasing rapidly. AI is the need of the day as many useful innovations that benefit society are its fruit. This field has almost become pervasive and it is highly interdisciplinary. This factor throws exciting opportunities to the student community.

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What will you say are the “best practices” in the course you’re offering?

“The curriculum is designed by leading academicians and industry experts”

Almost 30% of the courses will be delivered by experts from leading industries like IBM, CTS, Infosys and Vee Tech. The curriculum has been designed in such a way that the graduates acquire all skill sets necessary for a Data Scientist. The best practices include:

• Integrated curriculum nurturing industry-ready data science graduates
• Covers all technologies related to AI & DS 
• Project-based learning
• Peer teaching and learning

What are some valuable insights into the program that you are offering at your institute/dept.?

“Every process is student-centric and focuses not just on academics but on overall development”

Being autonomous makes us design our curriculum and syllabi in the way it would best suit the industry needs. We follow the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) and hence students are given the freedom to choose the course they wish to learn to enhance their skills. With around 36 research centres in the institute, the students are provided with a lot of opportunities to do research while learning. Utmost care is taken that every student is job assured. Alumni almost act as ambassadors by providing scholarships to the needy and helping out during placement training by conducting mock interviews.

How does the program ensure that students are being prepared for the future?

“I go with strategic planning”

Some technologies that they learn now may go obsolete as it keeps changing. Focusing a little more on soft skills, problem-solving skills, entrepreneurship and self-learning initiatives can prepare them to face any kind of challenges. We have incorporated such courses in our curriculum itself so that our students can take up any challenge in the IT industry.

How did you train yourself/faculty to deliver this program to the students?

“Numerous faculty development programs and training programs are being conducted”

Almost 20% of our faculty members have obtained industry certification in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Many research projects and consultancy works are being done in this field to enhance the knowledge and skills required to deliver the course in the best way. We have taken funded projects which majorly deal with applying AI techniques. Teaching AI and Data science-related courses are not new to our faculty as they have already experimented lots of algorithms with real datasets. 

“Sona College of Technology is a two-times winner of the “AICTE-CII Best Industry linked Engineering Institution award””

How do you tend to build an industry connection with this program? 

“People from the respective industry offer the course as hands-on sessions for the students”

The department takes all necessary steps to see that the notion of the industry is inculcated in the teaching-learning process. MoUs have been signed with reputed industries like IBM, VMware, Infosys, Cyqurex, UiPath, Smartbridge, Vee Technologies and many more to provide industry exposure to the students. Our IT students have developed two solutions to tackle the spread of COVID-19 and the same is being used by the Salem Corporation as a measure against the spread of coronavirus. Industry elective courses are also being offered to the students.

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What are the types of projects that the students are working on through this program?

“We involve our students to gain real experience”

Students will have two mini-projects in their 3rd year of study where they would be working on small projects of their choice. In their final year, they would be working on the main project. They are also permitted to take up industry projects through internships. They are also encouraged to participate in project expos and competitions like Ideathon and Hackathon to trigger the passion for innovating something new. As already mentioned, we have both research and consultancy projects going on in the department and in those projects.

What are the benefits and career options (Higher education/Jobs) after pursuing this course?

“These courses open up doors to numerous opportunities”

I assure that on successful completion of this course a student will be able to establish a remarkable career in any of the reputed software industries as a Data Engineer or a Data Scientist. He/She can also take up any Post Graduate program related to Artificial Intelligence and Data Science.