Factors like global pedigree, industry focus, unique pedagogical model, efficient faculty and excellent infrastructure, put an institution in a class of its own.
Engineering education must mirror the changing needs of the industry. From pure manufacturing orientation, today the focus of engineering has shifted to services. To ensure future-ready engineers, the engineering schools must focus on an integrated curriculum that ensures practical learning.
In addition, their horizons must be broadened by ensuring that they learn before entering the classroom. Education delivery needs to be more interaction oriented.
Today’s engineering curriculum needs to be interdisciplinary, since gone are the days when functions worked in silos. Today’s engineer is a problem solver, a manager, a communicator and often a part of a multi-disciplinary team.
The ideal curriculum should be a unique blend of fundamental sciences, engineering and social sciences. The focus should also be on developing of creative and critical thinking skills and applying them to complex engineering challenges. Teachers must emphasise on case and problem based learning through team projects.
Students must be equipped with a basic knowledge of the scientific-technological-social-business environment they are going to work in as practitioners. They must be aware of the prerequisites for working as global engineers — analytical, critical, design thinking, experimental approaches, project management and communication skills.
The future of engineering lies in synthesis. The sector is moving away from pure mechanics and requires more rounded engineers who are equipped with not just analytical skills but those who also know how to look at a problem holistically and come up with creative workable solutions.
If our education systems and regulatory bodies do not become more dynamic in understanding and adapting to industry requirements, colleges will need to work towards imparting these essential abilities to their students.
We need to develop the leadership potential of future engineers and encourage them to “patent and prosper” and not “publish and perish”.
Technology can also be used effectively to improve the quality of education. For instance, a blend of online and offline imparting of knowledge and tutorial sessions along with lectures can be a promising model of teaching.
This makes subjects more discussion oriented and facilitates pre-processing, processing and post-processing of information and concepts, which improves learning.
Engineering education has to be more people oriented. We need to understand the context, the problem and the solution and none of them can exist in absence of the people. A good education will impart problem solving skills with critical and analytical skills to ensure applicable real world solutions.
The focus in engineering education should be on imparting a rigorous study of theoretical principles, hands on training and projects, interdisciplinary learning, innovative thinking, leadership skills, and research. Inculcating these will lead to attaining valuable knowledge for life.
The writer is director, Mahindra Ecole Centrale.