DOCUMENT RESUME ED Lie 462 SE 020 362

6These Institu4sAogether with the Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore command the best poSsible facilities, faculty and resources inbile country.Admission td, these schools, isextremely competitive.Freshmen are selected bwide joint entrance-di on their relative performance infsminatigwk This is equivalent to scoring highin SAT scores in t4e USA.formulates itsnation-Each of these institutes is autonomous andcurriculum patterns and acadeMic policies./,There are,at present about fifteen Regional Engineering Colleges.They are joint ventures of Central (Federal) Government and the connected Stdte Government.Some of these have received substantial aidfrom the U.N. under UNESCO. They are equivalent to Engineering Collegesin State,; Universities in the USA.Admission into these colleges isalso very stringent and the seats are offered on a competitive basis.The other engineering colleges operate as colleges affiliated toUniversities, which are either public or private.Admission to thesecolleges is less competitive.Since the engineering profession in India being highly valued insociety, only the,top 10 per cent of the high school gra4uates can enterany engineering college.For the admission into engineering degree prograMs, a special study1of mathemat.cs, physics and chemistry at the high school level is arequirement.tEngineering degrees in India are conferred as Bach lor of Engineering(B.E.), Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech.) and Bachelor cf Science in Engineering (B.Sc.(Engg)).the naMes might suggest.There ih not much difference in these degrees asIn the '6018, some engineering schools offered3-years prOgram and others 4 -year programs after thirteen years of schooling.In the '70's almost all the institutions are of Bing p5-year programs18

-1147after 12 years of primary and secondary edUcation.All the three degreesare recognized as equiValent to B.S. in the appropriate branch of Engineering in the U.S.All the engineering schools which are about 136 in number requirerecognition by UniversITTGrants Conmiission, an autonomous body set upby the Federal Government.The otheeraponsibilities of this body areto fund research prograns,offer fellowships and scholarships, etc. likeNSF in the U.S.STRUCTURE OF ENGINEERING CURRICULUMIt has been eStabliShed in the preceding section that the undergraddate degree in India in most of the schools is of 5 years duration.A core curriculum covering MatItemstici4, the physical sciences, andbasic engie ing subjects like workshop practice and engineeringgraphics are common to all students majoring in all branches of engineering graphics are common to all students majoring in all branches ofengineering during, the first three years (first two years in some institutions).The last two years are devoted to a particular branch ofspecialization which the student chooses as his major.*The more popular;branches like Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering are offeredby al, ost all institutions in India.neering as a major.More recenMany schools. offer Chemical Engi-branches like Industrial Engineering,Aerospace Engineering, Textile l\echnology, etc. are offered by a handfulof universities in the country.1As Murthy has mentioned, the factors to be taken into account informing a curriculum are the needof the country, modern developmentsin technology and the needs to emp asize the fundamental and the general.*Appendices A and B show typical c rricula in Civil and Engineering respectively followed in,India.'or ,the sake of comparison the respectiveWest Virginia University's (WVU) curricula are also shown:.

r8at the expense of the purely topical, empirical or vocational.Duringthe past 20 years many universities have been periodically revisingthe durriculum,to achieve the best compromise among the factors adoumbrated above.Mdg(of the curricula have been changed from the oldBritish pattern to the more scientific pattern of the U.S.Practicalemphasis is also given even today as in workshop training and laboratorywork.In the U.S., workshop training is obtained by most of the studentselkduring their pre-college days.Many universities have adopted or are inthe process of changing over to the semester pattern of education and hayediscontinued the system of organizing courses in units of one academicyear duration.In the process of this changeover, most universities havenot kept abreast of one another.It is almost certain,that all universitieswill eventually follow the semester system.Some other features introducedduring the last two decades are the additions of humanities courses inthe core curriculum; and at the senior level, a senior project (see the,Appen4ices).In this, a spudent, can demonstrate his ability in terms ofdesigning and executing a project.Given the proper facilities, environmentand support, the execution of his/h 'r project often- tuns out to be oneof the most meaningful and valuablestudent.hases of the overall training of theEven seminars have been i troduccal in the senior year in most4Of higher technological institutionflexibility has been introduced inin recent times.Though a lot ofhe course content and syllabus, aIstudent is not free to choose the curses he likesavailable.He has to take the courses-as set forthince no such choice isy the university f rthe entire five years except for alew electives in the senior year.;./Another point of difference with the American system is that the Indiansystem has no prerequisites for advanced level.course.The intrudu4ionI10i)

9of computer programing has changed the Indian currum significantly.But this, is to be found only in the IIT's which arcomputers.equipped with modernMost other schools lack proper computing facilitieg; but Orenthese schools teach Fortran Programming so as to prepare the modern student.to handle his new job effectively.Ekren with theseramatic changes inTithe curriculum pattern, the Indian educationalsmplaces epaphasson the technological compatibility details than on designing as inAmerican universities.The examination pattern in most of the engineering schools remain#as in the past, which is very rigid and strait for the present,Exam- "-f.inations are not given by the instructor who teaches a course butquestiqn papers for them are usually given by a professor from anotheruniversity.The answer papers are valued by yet another professor froma different university.This way, the instructor of the course has nocontrol over the grading procedure.Similarly, homewo lc assignment hasno contribution in student grading.HoweVer, points fAr clesswork (about'20%)count for grading in some schools, and,this the only, way the instructorcan influence the grades of his students.In this respect the authorErgfeels that Indian ipstitutions should emulate Americedpatterns of exam4.011.inations where a faculty member i s in complete charge,l)f not only /examinations but also the course content itself and theg4Aabus.tFACULTY EXPERTISEThe quality of any engineering education, for that matter, education'adepends to a major extent on the quality of faculty expertise.Just asthe curricula has witnessed dramatic changes in thejpget.two decades, thelevel and quality of faculty hag improved cognatelyTwenty years ago, akPh.D. faculty member was rare to find in engineering institutions.el 1,Today

lonot only in the IIT's and in the Regional Engineering Colleges, but alsoin most of the other universities, there are numerous well-qualified Ph.D.'stt;among the faculty,Teachers of the present day are innovative and eager to improvetheir teaching methods-and methodologies and are mainlyresponsiblefor the curriculum changes of.the past years.An engineering.pro:-fessor is no longer the secOnd7class citizen of a decade ago and hissalary today is on par With those holding first-class civ il servicejobs.CVMost universities follow their own methods of selecting or pro-moting a faculty member as there is no -nationalItan4straInthis.many of the older institutions, praticularly in those run by State Govern7.\ments, staff.promotions are governed by Civil service.rules, seniority,years of exptrience and other factors.However, in newer institutions,faculty positions are filled through selection by appropriate committeesof internal and external applicants.This process is'supposed to selectteachers competent in teaching, research and development.Since researchis given priority in many higher technological institutions, teachingsometimes.suffers.This is because a young teacher interested in ad-vancing his career tends to neglect teaching.most of the institutions in the U.S.This-is probably t ue inIn the past, research was almost.unheard of in India, but of recent funded research has been goingthe IIT's and some other institutions.n inAlso, unfunded research issingcarried on in many of the schools.What wet; the Central Government's Contribution to Improve Teaching Quality?Fifteen years ago the Central Government started a program calledTechnical4pachers Training yellowship Ptogram.Under this program,'bright:B. S. graduates were selected and they would spend 2-3 years12

O1.in selected institutions white Wider the supervision of enior and experienced faculty, they were trained in'teaching. Simultaneously, theywere required to obtain mastef's'degree.Some were pursuing Ph.D. degree-JaPiaces where opportunity was available.After the training period,.th ese trainees were recruited to faculty positions in various schools.aDuring the early 1970's, the Central Government established four regional-a.Technical Teachers' Training Institutes it the various parts of thecou ntry.These were founded to avoid sending gtaduates to variousengineering institutions for training under the above cited programand Also to achieve uniform standards in training of engineering teachers.7These institutes presetly offer 1-2 years trai ning leading to the degree4ofaachelor of Techtical Education (B.T.Ed).-In recent years\ thetentralgertment has initiated whit are known as Quality-Improvement Programsengineering faculty.Under this, program, teachers from same schoolsrat& sent to selected institutions abroad to'pursue a doctoral degree andupqn-iieturning were to teach gt their home institutions.THE ROLL -OF PROPESSIONAL'SOCIETIESwere is no societylike the Nation Society Of Professional Engineers.e,.in U.S. which controls and regulates the engineering profession by the EITand'P.E.:Examinations and by careful screening of engineers for Board.-gistratiOn.',iIn India, an engineer holding a Bachelor'S degree ielcot--A.sidered'attomatically to be a Professional Engineer.',7- Only the architectural.,-engineer is required to register with the city in which he intends to set'up his practice.Before he can register, though, he needs to get apptb-priate training under a registered Rrofessional architectural engineer.Institution of Erigineers (India) is the major society for engineersConcerned abotittheir profession and'its progress.,13This society has many4.

12major divisions which are Civil, Electrical, Mechanical and others. Eachof these divisions can be compared to ASCE, IEEE, ASMB and other respectively,though not 'in Size.The Institution publishes journals with articles ofinterest to prOfessional engineers and teachers.It also holds severalmeetings at various places, enabling engineers to exchange their ideas andknow-haw.To the'author's knowledge, the journal published by the CivilEngineering Division is one of the most circulated journals in the world.Those who are engaged in enginhering activities and without a formalengineering education or degree can obtain what is known as AssociateMember of Institution of Engineers (A.M.I.E.) by passing examinationsequivalent to EIT and PE examination.Ibis is considered equivalent to.a B.S. degree for employment purposes only.By offering these ekam-indtions the institution enables a greater number of people to qualifyas Professional Engineers.The society equivalent to the American Society of Engineering1-Education (ASEE) ii called the Indian Society of Technical Education2(ISTE).This was formed recently in 1969 and-aims to serve as a forumfor technical teachers to interact and enhance their professional competence, to formulate national, policies on technical educatran and toadvert" the cause of technical education in, general.Since its inceptionthis society has been running Summer Institute Programs for engineeringteachers with the help of the National Science Foundation to enable,'teachers without graduate degrees to obtain them and others to advancetheir technical knowledge and competence.It is estimated that approx-. inately 25 per cent of the total teaching community in engineering colleges,- have participated in the program.14.

13ROLE OF INDUSTRIESThere are two kinds of industries in India:Public-sector ownedby Central and State Governments; and private sector which are investor.owned .Both these typed"Of industries employ a large number of engineerstrained in India.But these jobs do not offer enough challenge and res-ponsibility to the engineers working there and there is a lot of frustration among them.The industries are still wary of the ability of theengineering graduates and the schools which produce and train them, and2hence, lean heavily to foreign expertise.So they 4not provide enoughopportunity for native engineers to prib.ye themselves, which has resultedin many engineers leaving their jobs to hold better and more challengingjobs abroad.This situation has to change if there is to be progressthrough self-sufficiency.What is needed is a good prograp of interaction,between the industries and the edudational ihstitutiona so that studentsmay be trained specially to suit the needs of the industires planning toemploy them.-"(Schools shOuld also revise their curricula to suit in-:-\'sdustrial needs and demands.Hence,, this interaction has to work bothways if it is to be Successful and effective.CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENpATIONSProfessional Engineering in India has progressed impressively in thlast, 20 years and has produced responsible, creative engineers.A greatdeal of time and money has been invested in establishing top grade schoolsand prograps.tionate.But the results from these programs have hot been propor-Before embarking upon further investment of time or money, theschools must carefdlly consolidate what has already been achieved.Theschools need to train their engineers to suit professional needs after15

14:.i.14J --;JP-evaluating the situation realistically.There are several innovative pro,.grams that could, be introduced with a little investment.One of them isthe Co-op programe.which, have.been succesefulin.the U.S. for the lastfew years.It is encouraging to note that many people are thinkingalong innovative lines and have shown preference for newer concepts like.6the Open University, proper.interactinn between universities and in.dustries, etc. whicare positive steps toward, the progress of engi-neering educatiThe curriculum also needs periodic revision and updating so as tokeep in pace with industrial progress, and to suit the local, nationaland societal needs.The quality of teaching, faculty, expertise and thephysical facilities in schools must be modernized periodically.Schoolshave a paramount role to play in research and development by introducinginnovations in methodologlies,of technology and engineering.Audio-visual---.%-;aids (whatever is available) should be given primari importance in class".7room teaching.duced.The Personalized SSrstem of Instruction could also be intro-These are more successful teaching methods than the classicalblackboard teaching method.The examination system needs radical revision,so that examinations will tot be looked upon by a student as a DoomsdayCourse, but as a necessary step in the proces!" of learning.The pressuresof one examination at the end of ail nac ademic year can be alleviated bythe introduction of quizzes (one-hour tosts),, technical papers, course.J.projects and other innovative techniqued.Emphasis on graphics must beLaid so that the young engineer can learn the art of proper report-writing.cAn important aspect lacking iii engineering education both in India a.anrin the UeS. is the emphasis, on technical communication. in terms of writing.This must be introduced even at the undergradUate,level.is to be attained in all faCeis of education.16A uniform standard/

,The role of any university is to, teach the fundamentals, to-acquaintthe student with the principles of engineering science and scientific methodsand to train them to confront and solve new problemsthat they may encounter.The typical Indian graduate is conscientious, well- dibciplined, well-drilledand hard working.But he should approach any problem with a positive at-7titude, realizing that he is playing an important role in the developmentof his country.He should do his work with dedication and learn toidentify himself with the people and their problems.He should think ofhimself as a practical engineer and must be able to assume leadershipeasily and-not be diffident.One of the drawbacks in the past has been lack of communication between the'student and his teacher.Faculty should encourage active studentparticipation in classes and it must be realized that learning ib a two:way process.Students must be given a chance to evaluate their learningmethods and importance must be given to student remarks on faculty, teaching methods', curriculum and the like.The-aim of any education is to produce individuals who would benetitthe society.In this respect, the engineering schools have an added res-.pongibility of training engineers to be of maximum benefit to soci ty.For this, the univergilies should develop bilateral relationshipththe industries, both in private and public sectors.IndustriesCollateralshould encourage Indian engineers and offer them responsible a d challengingjobs.The industries should also disclose their technical pr blems andman-power needs to the schools.In this respectpe CentreGovernmentcan play an important role as a liadion between the school and the.industries and help to achieve meaningful progress in eng neering education.This, in turn, would benefit the country and is people.1'7It./

,016.may be worthwhile to,'set up a body, commission or board to act on behalf(of the goyexwetto,see that both schools and industries work cooperatively/andnge negessary information desirably.To an extent the councilAs./Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) fills this gap.English would continue,to be the medium of instruction for theifforseeablie future, especially for professional engineering education./IThis i eran absolute req*rement today, though it should be recognized.that oine day regional languages would be adopted.This is possibleonly when the lexicongraphy of engineering of, these languages hasreached the minimum required level.The professional education pattern in India should eventually beructured with that the future Indian graduates would be capable oflaying a ;146ding role not only in the development of India but alsoI.pZay a ieadIng role in the industrialization of several developingicOuntrie6:1ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSrr,frThd author is thankful to Drs. W. W. Cannon and W. J. Wilhelm forgiving him the opportunity,to write and present this paper.He isigrateful to Drs. S. H. Advani, N. K. Annamalaip H. V. S. Gangarao, A. K.Mallik, A. V. Peddada, S. Yusuff, and several other Indian graduate studentsto West Virginia University for their usef

DOCUMENT RESUME. 5 '. ED lie 462. SE 020 362. AUTHOR.venkata, Subrahmanyam S. TITLE. Profession4l Engineering Education in-India.-PUB DATE 16 Jun 75 NOTE 21p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of tfie. American Society for Engineering Education (Colorado. State University, Ft. Collin