“The well being of the world largely depends upon the work of the engineer. There is a great future and unlimited scope for the profession; new works of all kinds are and will be required in every country, and for a young man of imagination and keenness I cannot conceive a more attractive profession. Imagination is necessary as well as scientific knowledge.” – Sir William Halcrow
As a student reaches 10+2 the career decision is almost made. If one has the aptitude for science and math, engineering could be the ideal career choice. Among the various engineering streams, Electrical Engineering offers an attractive career with many avenues.
Electrical Engineering is a very practical field and as an engineer, one is trained to solve problems. A background as an Electrical engineer prepares a student well for a variety of fields.
Since the laws that govern math, electricity, and physics are universal, one can find well-paying jobs all over the world. As an engineer, one never has to worry about his work becoming stagnant. There are always new opportunities and developments. The technology that an engineer works with is constantly evolving giving the person an opportunity to work on the forefront of the industry, helping to make innovative products and experimenting with new ideas. Electrical engineering offers much variety, with work available in diverse fields from telecommunications to laser technology.
Electrical Engineering degree has the immense advantage of covering an array of specializations, making the field very flexible. Some Electrical Engineering degree specializations one could find interesting are: Power system, Control Systems, Signal Processing, Microelectronics, Telecommunications and Renewable Energy.
One of the most important challenges is however choosing the institute to pursue engineering.
JEE main is the widely accepted entrance test and most of the engineering colleges in India accept JEE main score for B.Tech admission. Apart from JEE main, state level entrance exams are also there which are confined to respective states. In Assam, CEE is the test conducted by Assam Science and Technology University for admission to the various engineering colleges.
The technical institutes in Assam are at par with the best in the country. Girijananda Chowdhury Institute of Management and Technology (GIMT), located in Guwahati and founded on September 7, 2006 was the first non-governmental engineering institute in Assam.
With a dedicated group of professors, academic excellence is its primary objective. The students are not only taught to excel in academics by providing excellent environment for education but also groomed for success in life by inculcating a strong sense of discipline and interpersonal skills through various extracurricular activities. GIMT has also been selected as the network institute of Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) outreach network, an independent unit of ISRO.
The 4-year Bachelor of Engineering course of Electrical Engineering under Gauhati University was started at GIMT in July, 2008. Since 2013, Bachelor of Technology degree programme has commenced and is affiliated to Assam Science and Technology University (ASTU). The course covers theory of power system analysis, control, economics, protection, computer oriented analysis, industrial drives and control, high voltage engineering and other electives which are industry oriented with practicals, seminars, training, projects forming an integral part of the total course. The Electrical Engineering Department has state of the art laboratory facilities which provide excellent opportunities to the students to apply practically the various theoretical principles. The department also has a virtual control laboratory which was established under MODROBS scheme of AICTE and also a PLC & SCADA and Process Automation Laboratory established under RPS scheme of AICTE.
Keeping up with the changing times, in the period of lockdown, the Electrical Engineering Department has taken utmost care to keep its students engaged with online classes on various technical subjects. Webinars, workshops, etc. were conducted during lockdown where eminent persons from various reputed organizations were invited as speakers.
The B.Tech programme is also provisionally accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) for the Academic year 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-2019-a sign of qualitative competence of the programme. The norms of NBA accreditation are in line with international standards framed for technical institutions. The department till date has produced several batches of electrical engineers, a good number of them being placed in several well known companies through the Training and Placement cell of the Institute. Many of them have also cleared different competitive exams and are pursuing higher degrees in reputed institutes and some are working in railways, APDCL, and even in state public service.
After completion of the engineering degree, students can also opt for appearing in the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) that primarily tests the comprehensive understanding of various undergraduate subjects in engineering and science. The GATE score is used for admissions to various post-graduate education programs (e.g. Master of Engineering, Master of Technology, Master of Architecture, Doctor of Philosophy) in Indian higher education institutes, with financial assistance provided by MHRD and other government agencies.
GATE scores are also being used by several reputed Indian Public Sector Undertakings like IOCL, GAIL, NTPC, PGCIL, BHEL, ONGC, HPCL, CIL, etc. for recruiting graduate engineers in entry-level positions.
Engineers are in the forefront in the history of human development. GIMT Guwahati offers the students in Assam at their door step a unique opportunity to learn and pursue a rewarding career that has a wide ranging potential to contribute to the industry, government and society for building a better tomorrow for all human kind.
(The author is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering, GIMT Guwahati)