K J Somaiya teaches beyond engineering syllabus, tries to bridge the tech gap : School of Engineering director

NEW DELHI : Formerly known as K J Somaiya College of Engineering and affiliated with the University of Mumbai, K J Somaiya School of Engineering now functions under Somaiya Vidyavihar University. Suresh Ukarande, director of the School of Engineering, speaks to Careers360 about the transition, the possibility of the K J Somaiya Institute of Technology also moving from MU, curriculum, placements, the new satellites students are building and their other ‘megaprojects’ as well as challenges with engineering education. Edited excerpts.

What changes did the move away from Mumbai University bring?

Earlier, we were K J Somaiya College of Engineering, affiliated to the University of Mumbai. But in 2019, the institute came under Somaiya Vidyavihar University and was renamed K J Somaiya School of Engineering. Since then, we have had complete administrative and financial autonomy under the university. The institute has been growing steadily — we’ve introduced new courses and increased our intake capacity, year after year.

Before becoming a university, we were autonomous. So, we had the freedom to have our own curriculum, our own board of studies, faculty of technology, and academic council. We are very strong in academics. We have experts from other elite institutions, industry experts, alumni who are working in the industry as members of the board of studies.

We have another engineering college at the Sion Campus, K J Somaiya Institute of Technology, which is still affiliated to the University of Mumbai but may come under the umbrella of Somaiya Vidyavihar University from this academic year or, maybe, the next academic year, depending on government permissions.

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The strength in academics must extend to research as well.

More than 50% of our faculty are having PhD degrees and every year, we conduct international conferences. Our faculty are published in national and international journals – every year, there are over 100 publications.

Our faculty members have filed around 24 patents and hold more than 50 copyrights. The faculty and students also work on various projects offered by industry. There’s also a startup culture, fostered by our incubation centre on campus. It is one of the key features of our campus where students get the opportunity to have their own startup and support.

We have seven megaproject teams, such as Orion [which designs race cars], Robocon [which builds robots for competitions] and Onyx [for aero design]. Recently, we started on Space Science and Technology. Last year, Somaiya Beliefsat-O was launched; it was made by students of K J Somaiya Institute of Technology, mentored by faculty and scientists from Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Now, teams of both colleges are working together and very soon, you will hear news of another satellite – in fact, satellites – launching.

Do you get top-ranking students? And how many are from outside Maharashtra?

We admit students into our BTech programmes through national (JEE Main) and state-level (MHT CET) entrance examinations. We also accept SAT scores and those of PERA CET (organised by an association of private universities), and for MTech based on GATE scores.

Our admissions starts from 99-point-some percentiles. And depending on the intake and branch, it settles down to, maybe, 80, 85, 90 or so. The major chunk, 90% admissions are above 85. At the end of the last round of admission, if a seat is available, the cut-off comes down – it may be around 80-85.

Around 70% of students may be from Mumbai and surrounding areas, like Thane and New Bombay. But 30% are from the rest of Maharashtra and India. We have a few students from the international community. That number is low and every year we are trying to increase it.

What is the current student strength? Do you offer financial aid?

Our current intake for BTech first-year students is about 900. Overall, across all years [of programmes], we have about 2,900 BTech, 200 MTech students, and 100 PhD scholars, making it approximately 3,300 students in total.

We offer financial aid to students. We have a transparent policy available on our website regarding the range of merit required and the amount of scholarship offered. Last academic year, approximately 488 students benefited from our financial aid programmes.

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How does your school distinguish itself from other engineering institutions?

Our institute has a rich legacy — Somaiya Vidyavihar has over eight decades of educational excellence, and this campus has been around for more than six decades. The engineering institute itself started in 1983, so it’s over 40 years old now. We are known not just in Mumbai or Maharashtra but across the country for the quality of education we provide.

We have a beautiful, eco-friendly 50-acre campus in Mumbai's metro area. We have excellent infrastructure — modern classrooms, high-end laboratories, Centres of Excellence, and more.

Our placement rate is 100%. We offer internships as well. Rankings also reflect our quality — in the NIRF, we are in the 200-300 rank band. In India Today and The Week rankings, we are among India’s top 20 engineering colleges. In Careers360 rankings, we are graded AAAA.

What sort of international collaborations have you joined?

Our international collaborations are managed through a dedicated centre at the university level. Students benefit through immersion programmes of around two-three weeks, and semester exchange programmes as well. We have tie-ups with University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), University of Stuttgart, Germany, several universities in France, New Jersey City University (NJCU), and Binghamton University, New York.

We also offer a “3.5 + 1.5 programme” with Binghamton University allowing students to complete their BTech and start their MS during the last semester, completing both degrees in five years instead of six. Students spend 3.5 years at our campus and the rest at Binghamton, where they complete the requirements for BTech and start and complete their master’s.

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What has your experience been with placements?

We had 100% placement for many years. Earlier, we had five branches and an intake of 600 students. Of these, around 400 went for placements, while about 150 chose higher studies or pursued family businesses or startups. In the previous year, placement was at 94% – slightly low because of the worldwide recession and other factors.

Over 150 companies come to the campus for placements, internships and to offer projects.

What is the biggest challenge facing engineering education today?

Industry is moving very fast, as far as technology is concerned and though we revise our curriculum in three years, still that gap remains. We have complete freedom and try to bridge that gap, but the challenge is to remain updated ourselves with the curriculum, as per industry requirement. We take care of this by teaching beyond the syllabus at our institute. While we have that freedom, this is not possible in affiliated structure. That is the biggest challenge.

Plus, this is the era of digital education. I don't agree with complete online education but now the trend is increasing. In my opinion, it should be a blended mode, with maybe 40% of learning online. That challenge is also there.