TIET- The launch pad of a glorious future for Techies

Having come into existence seven decades ago in the year 1956, Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology (TIET), Patiala (Deemed University) is undoubtedly one of the most sought after Engineering Institutes of the country today. The name “Thapar” owing to its rich legacy has become a big Brand, and this explains why students from all parts of the country make a beeline to get enrolled in this prestigious institute. A protagonist in the field of engineering education, research and innovation, it is a multidisciplinary, research university that has perpetually boasted of world class education, best faculty (both doctorate and post doctorate) from some of the top institutions of the country, state of the art infrastructure, and excellent hostel facilities. Housed in a sprawling green campus comprising more than 250 acres in the historical city of Patiala, TIET proffers colossal potential for development of indigenous technology and its transfer to various engineering industries. Combination of all the above mentioned USPs and the fact that the Institute entwines experience with new-age implementation has led to TIET carving an enviable niche for itself in the last 67 years of its genesis.

Founded by one of the great captains of Indian Industry, the late visionary Lala Karam Chand Thapar, the mission of the Institution is truly remarkable for their scope and vision. They provide for world class education in Engineering & Technology (both at the undergraduate and postgraduate level), in sync with the Industry, and strongly emphasizing on basic and applied research. Importantly, Academic research has always been the cornerstone of “TIET”.

To be in pace with the international standards, TIET has Wi-Fi campus with spacious e-classrooms, multimedia library, computerized labs, conference rooms, high grade computers, projectors and electronic smart boards in each classroom. Complementing these machines are teaching aids that are consistently upgraded to facilitate better awareness. Then there are fully equipped science laboratories that are modern and safe.

The punch line, “Discover countless possibilities”, speaks volumes about TIET, as young keen learners can explore numerous opportunities to make a career in the stream of their choice, and one that aligns with their aptitude & flair. The fact that the much needed holistic component has been incorporated into the academic curriculum ensures that the students are able to strike a balance in their day to day lives at the TIET campus.

The different Departments at TIET are namely Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Biotechnology, Computer Science & Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical & Instrumentation Engineering, Electronics & Communication Engineering.

Besides Engineering, the other Schools at Thapar’s are Physics & Material Science, Energy & Environment, Mathematics, Chemistry & Bio-Chemistry, Humanities & Social Sciences and Liberal Arts & Sciences.

Sharing more about the illustrious legacy and milestones of Thapar, Registrar Gurbinder Singh informs, “TIET Thy name Excellence as it has continually been a prolific and steady source of highly skilled talent to the nation as well as overseas. A breeding ground of Techies, our Institute has truly been a ‘Trailblazer’ as it is recognized among the premier institutions imparting technical education of the country, and being the best of its kind in the north-western region of India. Professional and Technical education structure has gained momentum in light of the global economic transformations today. TIET is a world unto itself that is constituted of ingenious minds solvers who are passionate about transforming the world with their innovative techniques and discoveries. Our aim is to enable our student’s exploit their potential to the fullest. It’s been our constant endeavour to churn winners who are confident, disciplined as well as critical thinkers. These qualities ensure that they grow into responsible, and successful leaders of a global society. Universities are the backbone of higher education, and are regarded as ageless ‘Temples of Learning’. The learning process at TIET is a fun loving and invigorating process.

Rated amongst the top ranked innovation-driven private universities and technical institutes in the country, Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology has been accredited with an 'A+' grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). The number of student seeking admission in various streams of Engineering have constantly grown in numbers every year, clearly indicating the trust and craze for ‘Brand Thapar’. Just like, Rome was not built in a day, similarly Thapar too has reached the zenith not with any magical wand, but due to years of consistence excellence coupled with its world class education, campus, faculty, infrastructure & holistic curriculum. Everyone associated with TIET played their role whole heartedly, and worked assiduously in catapulting it to the top.

TIET strives to maintain an environment that encourages scholarly inquiry and research, a spirit of creative freedom and deep commitment to academic excellence. Our students are distinctive individuals with diverse interests and aspirations. In the last eight decades of our existence, TIET has not only succeeded in providing professional education of the high standard, but also played a pivotal role in placing our students in reputed companies and organizations. The alumni of TIET are well placed for their quality and performance across the globe which is reflected in their excellent contribution to society in varied fields such as business and industry, administrative and regulatory services, research, education, social and human rights organizations. As per the Registrar of TIET, my office is always open to address any query or grievance.”

In an exclusive chat, Dean of Student Affairs (DOSA), Indraveer Channa shared, “At TIET, our focus has incessantly been on providing Value based Education. The integration of academic excellence with co-curricular activities is the hall mark of TIET. The most splendid facet at TIET is the perfect integration of various student societies and clubs with academics. No two thoughts, that this is what clinches the battle for us, thereby giving us an invincible edge over other prominent Institutes of the country. Being firm believers of holistic education, we lay colossal emphasis on all round development of a student, and ensure that he or she inherits and integrates the best of human values and cultural traditions, besides being good with academics. Unlike Institutes that focus predominately on showcasing a good academic result based on the student’s performance at various competitive levels, our ideology is different.

Beyond a single minded pursuit of academic excellence, we also focus on the student’s all round development. We have a rich assortment of co-curricular activities. The diverse programmes and activities aimed at fostering quality of mind, ethical standards, global vision & social cognizance, let the students shape their own TIET experience and grow. A Kaleidoscope of highly stimulating and innovative activities and events have played a key role in developing Exploration and Innovative Problem Solving, thus enabling the students to become more assertive and pro-active learners. The different societies and clubs at TIET provide the students an opportunity to explore, experiment, evaluate, adopt and apply what they have learnt and their outstanding performance in various events like hackathons, debates, dance performances, best design of formula car etc is the endorsement for the same.

The hallmark of our Institution has been the right blend of a strong curriculum and structured opportunities for holistic development. We make learning interesting, meaningful & collaborative. We advise the fresher students to become part of any society or club of their choice at TIET, as it’s a great stress buster. Indulging in co-curricular pursuits is akin to meditation, and therefore, students must balance time between academics and hobby pursuits. TIET is unrivalled because we have a holistic environment to help the Gen Next Technology leaders and the innovation driven students to succeed in their ambitious ventures. We have always believed that academics and sports supplement each other in realizing and unravelling the student's full potential. Sports empower students to cope with the challenges of an increasingly competitive world. We have numerous sports facilities in the campus namely Basketball, tennis, lawn tennis, swimming, cricket, football, volleyball, handball, hockey, badminton, chess etc. In addition, we have the yoga room and the gym hall. The Institute has 16 hostels with the state of the art facilities.

The hostel mess offers wide ranging menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The mess facility can be availed by all the hostellers. As the Dean of Students Affairs (DOSA) of TIET, I have a huge sense of responsibility to shoulder since we stand committed to ensuring the overall wellbeing and progress of a student for the entire stretch of four years that a student is enrolled with us. It is imperative on the part of the educational Institutes like Colleges and Universities to provide a warm and friendly environment in order to not only strike an instant chord with each and every student, but also to extract the best out of them. We are an Institution aimed at churning future Technocrats and Leaders. Once a student gets enrolled, we officially take over as their ‘Guardian’ for the entire period till the student successfully passes out from the Institute. There is no bias or prejudice against anyone. We believe in empowering everyone. Fresher’s need not worry about ragging, or any sort of discrimination since there are stern guidelines against ragging or bullying, and immediate action is undertaken in case there are reports of any indiscipline.

 We take pride that the Institute enjoys an impeccable reputation and has a great legacy since no untoward eventuality has been reported from TIET. The students deserve whole hearted credit for adhering to all the norms and protocols of the Institute both while they are inside the campus, and when they are outside. The most remarkable aspect is that the students feel a sense of responsibility to uphold the credibility of the name Thapar’s. We are well aware that students experience changes in all forms, be it intellectually, socially, emotionally, or physically post schooling. Duly realizing that it’s a challenge for some students to get adjusted to the hostel life, we have dedicated staff members who are committed to help students successfully adjust to the new environment.

Students today undergo a lot of stress, whether at college or home. They are inept in expressing their feelings, desires, and aspirations to anyone uninhibitedly without being questioned. As a consequence, they become reclusive, irritated, disenchanted and sometimes aggressive. Their personalities become skewed, and they are not able to challenge themselves adequately in realizing their goals. Apart from a fully functional health centre, we also have institute counselling cell that provides a forum to the students where they can unveil themselves, and divest their innermost thoughts sans any fear of exposure. Counselling is a process that focuses on enhancing the mental well-being of the students, so that they are able to reach their full potential. At TIET, It’s a path of self-discovery for the young minds.

 Thus, we ensure that the students have a mix of all the components needed for their overall personality and career development. Our aim is to help students grow as successful individuals and citizens of tomorrow. A beautiful amphitheatre in the heart of the campus is equipped to stage In-House Plays, Music and Dance Workshops and performances as well as screen films. It is overwhelming that countless success stories have been written at TIET, and the numbers are only growing with time. Will conclude with the ageless Thomas Edison quote, ‘I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others... I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent’.”

Informs Gagandeep Kaur, Faculty of EIED (Associate Professor), “We provide not only education to the students, but also prepare them to meet life’s challenges. At TIET, we constantly evolve our teaching methods, and provide quality education to our students, whom we see as unique individuals with varied interests and aspirations. In this direction, we have centre of academic practices for student learning (CAPSL), inherited from the teaching practices of Trinity college Dublin to train the faculty on state of the art teaching learning practices for higher education. The quality of our curriculum, faculty and infrastructure is supreme, and frequently upgraded, as our mission is to motivate countless young minds to excel both in India and overseas. The Alumni’s of TIET have brought laurels to their Alma Mater by becoming cutting edge technology leaders, and by accomplishing milestones in their respective careers on the global level. The TIET Alumni are all over the globe having made a mark for themselves in the fields of business and industry, administrative and regulatory services, research and education, and social and human rights organisations. TIET is a name to reckon for students from all destinations of the world as it offers multifarious courses and has outstanding campus placements with top companies visiting the Institute on a regular basis for employing fresh graduates. We strive for high standards in the dissemination of knowledge, within a dynamic environment, thereby enabling our students to excel in their chosen fields.

The curriculum is designed to ensure the all-round development of each student. Students are encouraged to develop skills of reasoning, problem solving and creative thinking, while learning the essential concepts of each subject. The curriculum fosters an entrepreneurship culture. The curriculum is a pedagogic innovation that enables students to choose multiple electives from across disciplines and gives them the freedom to chart their unique academic pathways. Both the graduate and undergraduate education gives ample freedom to students to work on diverse research areas. A well-resourced library with a vast and diverse collection of books & journals for all streams enables students to enrich and expand their horizons.

Our planning is focused towards the implementation of best teaching practices, along with open access for students to the fast changing world of technology. TIET provides the right stimulus for students to realize their dreams and become assets of the global community on successful completion of their courses. Conquering new frontiers and breaking new glass ceilings has been an obsession for TIET, and it will be no exaggeration to say that even sky is not the limit for TIETians.”