The document discusses strategies for improving engineering education in India. It outlines a quality circle approach used to gather solutions from senior faculty on improving junior and middle level faculty as well as graduate students. The quality circles identified ways to enhance faculty development through summer/winter schools, increased pay, mentoring, and blended online programs. For students, suggestions included developing global curricula, internships, accreditation, and blended professional development. Overall the document recommends greater industry collaboration, national policy support, and digital technology adoption to modernize engineering education in India.

1. STRATEGIES FOR PROMOTING
GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE
ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN
INDIA
THANIKACHALAM.V., B.E., M.TECH., PH.D., M.S., FIE., FIGS., FFIUCEE
FMR FULBRIGHT SENIOR RESEARCHER AND FORMER PROFESSOR AND
HOD, CIA, NITTTR-CHENNAI

2. OBJECTIVES
• To assess the gross deficiencies in the current engineering
faculty development.
• To get solutions to improve the professional competencies of
the junior and middle level faculty members from the senior
faculty members through a set of quality circles.
• To validate the solutions through a small group of industry
experts.
• To plan the desired high faculty development courses through
a schedule.

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY- QUALITY
CIRCLE
• A series of three days Faculty Development Programs have been
organized under QIP in the following areas: Creation of Centers
of Excellence, Performance Improvement, Industry-Institute-
Government-Society Partnership
The following four case studies are given to the trainees solve
through Quality Circles: 1. Improving the quality of junior and
middle level faculty members, 2. Improving the Skills and
Competencies of Graduate Engineers, 3. Improving Human
Capital to meet the Challenges of the Fast Growing Indian
Industry, 4.Institutional Development

4. OUTCOME OF THE QUALITY CIRCLE: 1.
IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF THE FACULTY
MEMBERS
• Introduce sequential summer and winter schools in the
advanced areas.
• Provide more faculty development funds
• Increase the salary of the faculty members
• Introduce blended programs through MOOCS
• Introduce coaching of the junior faculty members and
mentoring of the middle level faculty members

5. 2. IMPROVING THE SKILLS AND
COMPETENCIES OF THE GRADUATE
STUDENTS
• Develop global curriculum to meet the needs of MNCs
• Evaluate learning outcomes and improve the students’ performance
• Introduce dual programs with industry focused dissertations
• Offer knowledge based internships with built-in credits
• Encourage high standards based on the accreditation
• Adopt continuous transformation in collaboration with the industry
experts
• Introduce blended programs based on the new MOOCS for
professional development

6. IMPROVING THE HUMAN CAPITAL TO MEET THE
CHALLENGES OF FAST-GROWING INDIAN
INDUSTRY
• Increase the intake in the PhD Programs through various State
Technical Universities, NITs, IITs and bilateral agreements
• Establish a national quality improvement which can coordinate and
offer new MOOCS
• Establish an Institute for Learning outcome research and
development
• Refine the programs to meet various cadres of the jobs like design
engineers, and manufacturing engineers
• Make transformation work through digital technologies
• Employ experienced design engineers as adjunct faculties
• Develop industry specific and flexible research projects as
dissertation topics and fund them.

7. INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• Encourage cooperation and collaboration of the industry and
national labs
• Eliminate barriers to change
• Convert all NITs and NITTTRs as Institutes of National
Importance
• Cloe down poorly performing institutes
• Maintain high standards in the approval of the institutes
• Create a culture of blended learning both for faculties as well
as for students
• Develop industry specific curricula in collaboration with the

8. DISCUSSIONS
• All the suggestions have been validated through senior
engineers from local companies and professors. They
emphasized collaboration with the Ministry of Industries and
the Ministry of HRD. There is a need for a National Policy which
can accelerate such initiatives. The companies can utilize the
CSR for the faculty development. MOOC s could be given
importance in the faculty development. There is a need for
digital technology. Periodically review the Indian engineering
program development with those of global development.
Constantly improve the programs.

9. SUGGESTIONS
• Develop model programs based on the digital technology.
• Encourage well performing institutes with adequate funds for
undertaking interdisciplinary research.
• Reward the excellent faculty members based on their research
and iinovation.
• Focus on the growth of Global institutes and learn their
outstanding performance.
• Encourage innovations in interdisciplinary programs.

10. CONCLUSIONS
• State Technical Universities, Deemed Universities and
Autonomous Colleges have to formulate strategic planning to
modernize their computing labs., training their faculty
members and introduce many up to date programs in AI, Cloud
Computing, Analytics, and collaborate key industry leaders.
They need sufficient fund, approval for the innovative programs
and ready to collaborate with fast growing industry with
sponsored research and development projects.
• They should not be lagging behind the competitors and the
leaders should undertake more global view and plan innovative
courses.