Explore the Tech turf

Professor Rajeev Ahuja

Engineering is one of the most sought after degrees after Class XII for its lucrative pay packages. With its roots widely spread in a majority of domains covered by branches like Civil, Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical, etc., career prospects for graduates are immense. But with more students enrolling in the above-mentioned courses, the competition, both in terms of securing admission and getting a job, has increased manifold.

With advances in every field and inter-disciplinary research being the need of the hour, engineering has found roots in almost every discipline. The modern industrial period has made engineering a diversified field. With the rapid changes in lifestyle and development of countries, demand for specialisation has increased too, which has given more options to the students to explore new sub-branches of engineering with the core subjects. This kind of multi-disciplinary approach offers a plethora of job opportunities to youngsters.

As India is focusing on “Make in India” and Atmanirbhar Bharat, it is important to train our youth according to the demand of the job market. There are several engineering courses that are in demand for 2023 and beyond. Here’s a look at some of these:

Automation & Robotics Engineering
Robotics is a multi-disciplinary specialisation that is an amalgamation of Electrical, Mechanical and Computer Science branches. It basically deals with the construction, operation, and application of robots as well as the computer-controlled hardwired mechatronic objects which involve the processing of information, and sensory feedback. It is a multi-disciplinary approach towards engineering and involves a spectrum of manufacturing and industrial applications.

Career Course Graduates will fit job profiles in Military and Defence organisations, startups or private firms.

Agriculture Engineering: With the advent of core fields of agriculture, ecology and food technology along with emerging spheres like wetland conservation, sustainable agriculture, green infrastructure and natural resource management systems, amongst others, Agriculture Engineering has taken a front chair when it comes to sustainable development. From designing and innovating farming equipment to work on soil mechanism, a BTech in Agriculture prepares one to work alongside economists, horticulturalists, geneticists, microbiologists, geneticists, bioethicists, public policy analysts and so forth. The course combines various engineering disciplines of mechanical, civil, electrical, food science, environmental, software, and chemical engineering to increase productivity of farms and agribusiness enterprises and to ensure the sustainability of natural and renewable resources. It is also referred to as agricultural and bio systems engineering.

Career Course Students can go in for BTech, BE and Diploma courses in Agricultural Engineering. Graduates can find jobs in agri-business firms, food processing, agricultural research and development firms, government sector, etc.

Alternative Energy Engineering: The world is witnessing depletion of non-renewable resources, and hence in the last decade we have seen a revolution for renewable or alternate energy options. Growth of global population has increased concern about the consequences of carbon emissions on climate making global economies seek alternate energy solutions. Alternate Energy Engineers or Renewable Energy Engineers utilise vital scientific, mathematical and engineering principles to forge new, clean energy sources. Their skills and expertise allow them to make advancements in solar, wind, geothermal and other renewable energy technologies possible. A bachelor's degree in engineering or science, concentrating on one of the four engineering disciplines — environmental, electrical, chemical or mechanical — can help us get specialised alternate energy engineers.

Career Course BTech Solar and Alternate Energy offers a comprehensive study on topics like advanced material physics, solar thermal engineering, biofuel cell technology, solar power technology, etc. Jobs are available in bio-energy industry, photovoltaic industry, wind power industry, hydropower industry

Civil Engineering: A highly technical and intellectually-rewarding field of study, the scope of Civil Engineering is truly immense and requires students to possess certain skills to thrive in their careers. The scope of Civil Engineering lies in developing, designing, planning, calculating, monitoring construction as well as executing and managing the construction of buildings, roads and physical structures like bridges, dams, etc. and their maintenance. There are a lot of sub divisions of the branch which can further be specialised for a specific division of work, like Structural Engineering, Advanced Construction, Town Planning, Geotechnical Engineering, Water Resources Engineering, Environmental Engineering.

Career Course Civil engineers can work in government as well as private secture infrastructure companies.

Aeronautical Engineering: The rapidly expanding aviation industry in India is the reason for the high scope of aeronautical engineering. India is now the third-largest market for civil aviation in the world. Aeronautical engineering is a specialised branch of engineering and scientific research concerned with designing, manufacturing, and maintenance of various aircraft and their components. This field is an ideal study option for those interested in airplanes and their mechanisms.

Career Course After the completion of BTech degree, graduates can go for MTech or MSc. They can work in the ever-expanding aviation industry, defence establishments and the civil aviation sector.

The 21st century is an era of digital revolution, where technology plays a key role. An engineer is the one who rides this horse of technology and a whole world of opportunities is open for engineering graduates. The ambitious 'Make in India' project and the drive to make India a Manufacturing Hub, is possible only through quality engineering colleges. There is also a need to strengthen basic sciences in the school education, so that students develop a penchant for innovation and research from a young age.

Machine Learning

Right from the self-driven vehicles to space manipulation and stem cells to even early human visualisations, machine learning (ML) has crossed the frontiers of imagination. ML is a specific sub-discipline of Artificial Intelligence which connects system learning through data and without the need of continuous programming and reprogramming. ML is being

tried, tested and adopted in a number of diverse disciplines like Finance, Economics, Business Management, Healthcare, Data Science,

Robotics and Automation Engineering, Aeronautics, Engineering Physics, Geotechnical Engineering, Information Science Engineering and Space, amongst others.

Career Course BTech Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is a four-year UG degree programm. Straddling different engineering disciplines, this course covers subjects such as math, physics, and core AI and ML topics.

Students can also opt for diploma as well as certificate courses in machine learning after Class XII.

Data Science

Thanks to the continuous demand and technological development, Data Science has created quite a buzz in the world. Data Science is the study of data, which involves a blend of algorithms, principles of machine learning and various other tools that help interpret data from an extensive range of sources like log files, social media, sensors, customer transactions, to unlock useful information to influence the decisions of a business and stimulate competitive advantage over competitors. A degree in Data Science is a prized one as it is reported to be the fastest-growing job profile on LinkedIn and according to Forbes, demand for data scientists will increase by 28% by 2026. A data scientist must have expertise in the fields of data engineering, math, statistics and advanced computing. Data Science has a major contribution in sectors like healthcare, cybersecurity. Hence, it can be one of the most lucrative engineering fields.

Course Watch The BTech Data Science and Engineering and BTech Big Data Analytics are the courses that you should be looking for if interested in this field.

Biomedical engg.

The recent Covid pandemic has made everyone vulnerable and governments have been in an overdrive to fund innovations and developments to save mankind. Rising to the occasion, engineers also gave many innovative solutions to combat the pandemic. Biomedical engineering involves the application of various engineering and medical science concepts and principles to revolutionalise the healthcare sector. Mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, chemical engineering, materials science, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science engineering, all are used in biomedical engineering to improve human health, whether it’s an advanced prosthetic limb or a breakthrough in identifying proteins within cells. A course in this domain offers an opportunity to develop pharmaceutical drugs, surgical robots, micro-implants, and other cutting-edge products.

Course Watch

• BE Biomedical Engineering
• BTech Electronics and Biomedical Engineering (4 years)
• Diploma in Biomedical Engineering (1-2 years)
• Certificate: 3 months to 1 year
• Diploma & PG Diploma: 1-2 years

IIT, ropar
Estd: 2008
Website: www.iitrpr.ac.in

The institute was ranked 22 for Engineering and 35 in the overall NIRF Ranking in 2021. MoUs with several international universities. The institute offers Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech.) programme in the following disciplines: Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering.

PEC University of Technology, Chandigarh
Estd: 1921 in Lahore (In Chandigarh since 1953)
Website: www.pec.ac.in

Ranked 87th in the latest NIRF ranking, the academic process of the college is similar to the IITs. The admission to UG and PG programmes is made through national-level examinations — JEE (Mains) and GATE, respectively.

Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, Patiala
Estd: 1956
Website: https://www.thapar.edu/

Rated amongst the top ranked innovation-driven private universities and technical institutes in the country. 'A+' grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). The institute has been a pioneer in engineering education, research and innovation.

University Institute of Engineering (UIE), Chandigarh University
Estd: 2012
Website: www.cuchd.in

NIRF rank 45 (AIR) and 9th in North India. The institute offers courses in all branches of engineering apart from specialisations in Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Internet-of-Things and Big Data & Information Security.

LPU Faculty of Engineering, Jalandhar
Estd: 2005
Website: www.schools.lpu.in

The institute ranks 51st in engineering institutes in NIRF Rankings. With more than 200 foreign tie-ups, the institute prepares its students as per global standards. It is among the best single-campus universities poised with latest technologies and world-class facilities.

Region’s best

National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra
Estd: 1963
Website: www.nitkkr.ac.in

Chitkara University Institute of Engineering and Technology (CUIET), Rajpura
Estd: 2002
Website: https://www.chitkara.edu.in

GND Engineering College, Ludhiana
Estd: 1956
Website: www.gndec.ac.in/

Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi
Estd: February 2009
Website: https://www.iitmandi.ac.in

National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur, HP
Estd: 1986 (as REC)
Website: www.nith.ac.in

JP University of Information Technology, Waknaghat, Solan
Estd: 2002
Website: www.juit.ac.in

Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar
Estd: 1995
Website: www.gjust.ac.in

University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Panjab University, Chandigarh
Estd: 2002
Website: wwww.uiet.puchd.ac.in

University Institute of Technology (UIIT), Shimla
Estd: 2000
Website: http://www.hpuniv.ac.in

How to choose a college

Quality of Faculty Check the total number of full-time faculty members in the institute and in the branch that you want to join vis a vis the number of students. You should also find out about their educational qualifications and years of teaching experience.

Focus on Research Check out the research papers as well as projects undertaken by the faculty members of the institute and the students. Research and innovation are the two most important pillars of engineering education. Remember the teachers with a psaaion for research are updated about the latest developemnts in their field which adds a punch to their teaching quality.

Infrastructure and labs Engineering is all about hands-on learning experience. Adequate number of labs with state-of-the-art equipment make a world of difference in the training received by the students. Many good colleges actively involve leading tech companies to augment the laboratories.

Mentor Programmes Young engineers can do a lot better if they are able to have a view of the future and what is coming up on the horizon of their field of interest. Well-designed mentorship programmes customised to the interest of the students can go a long way in shaping a successful career.

The writer is Director, IIT, Ropar