– Article by Sheetal Sohoni.
“Main akela hi chalatha janib-e-manzil magar
Log saatha ate gaye aur karwaan banta gaya” – Majhrooh Sultanpuri (Bollywood Lyricist)
The couplet’s English translation:
“I started all alone towards the goal/(but)
people kept joining and it began to turn into a
caravan.”
This quote summarizes the efforts of Indo Universal Collaboration of Engineering Education (IUCEE) to the “T”. The
organization started in 2008 and soon attracted attention of Engineering Institutions in India. SR Engineering College (SREC) Warangal, Telangana became a consortium member of IUCEE at its inception, and has been involved since then in delivering and following the philosophies of IUCEE.
SREC was established in the year 2002, and became an autonomous institution in 2014. The institution is accredited by NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) with “A” grade, and its programs are accredited by NBA (National Board of Accreditation). The institution offers 5 undergraduate programs, 5 postgraduate programs, 1 MBA program, and 1 integrated MBA program. SREC institution’s leadership received Institutional Leadership Award by IUCEE in 2018. The institution is the first college to have a Women’s Technology Park in Telangana. The objective of this park is to empower women in the region and make them financially independent. SREC is the first private institution in Telangana State with a Technology Business Incubator funded by NSTED Board, DST.
The institution attracts students mostly from close by regions of Warangal. The demographic distribution of the college is about 40% female and 60% male (for students, faculty members, and staff). To bring diverse views, SREC is trying to appoint faculty from different parts of India, and as per October 2018, around 10% of its faculty are from outside of Telangana. SREC hires its faculty members through campus interviews across various engineering colleges. The institution is committed in improving the teaching and learning experience for all the stakeholders involved. 30 faculty at SREC are IIEECP certified, and another 18 faculty members have completed IIEECP Phase II of the certification. Dr. V. Mahesh, principal at SR Engineering College discussed how it is important for people in administrative position to know and get IIEECP certification, as the experience will help them in designing effective and efficient learning environments. The trained faculty are using innovative teaching methodologies to involve and engage students in the learning process. The faculty to enhance the students’ learning experience are using active learning and project-based learning. SREC is financially supporting faculty members who are pursuing their PhD.
Dr.Mahesh also discussed at length how the institution has extended the student-centered approach of learning outside of the classrooms too. The student body organizes most of the events hosted by the institution. This initiative helps in improving professional skills like effective communication, project management, working in groups, and organizing. SREC believes in developing overall personality traits of its students, and many efforts have been taken by the institution to make it a possibility. One such effort is “Media Project”. Through this venture the students get a chance to research and present a story on a societal problem. This is a great tactic for improving students’ observation skills, narration skills, and story boarding skills. Groups of students are given a fixed amount of money to come up with new ideas, and solutions to local issues under “Make and Market” initiative. Students then get a chance to sell the newly developed products. 296 groups have so far participated in this initiative. The idea is to create successful entrepreneurs.
The institution has introduced anew curriculum keeping important aspects of learning such as innovation and creativity, interdisciplinary learning, industry relevance, and information and technology in mind. A product design studio is introduced in the curriculum, and through this initiative students get a chance to exhibit their products in “Abhivyakta” design day. External reviewers review the products, and selected products are incubated. So far, 148 products have been exhibited in the annual design day. The institution is also a member of EPICS (one of the signature programs of IUCEE). The new curriculum and other steps taken by the institution ensure that the graduates from SREC will be prepared and ready to enter the professional field.
IUCEE team extends its thanks to SREC for supporting and spreading IUCEE’s efforts in Telangana!