What is Industry student interaction?
In engineering colleges teachers taught what is in curriculum given by their universities or by technical board, depending upon type of college. They do their duties as per any normal college does. When a word comes Industry student interaction, above things get changed. Along with teaching teachers shows them actual practices in industries or send them for training in industries or invite faculty from industries or arrange small workshops to understand relation in industry and curriculum.
Due to which students understand atmosphere of industries, actual link between theory and practical's, concept of engineering, applications of engineering and last but not least respect for their parents as they understand in which conditions our parents are working.
What are ways to increase Industry student’s interaction?
Well there are many ways as follows.
1) Industrial visits
The things which are learned in colleges are cleared in industries by visiting it. For example if we learn any process in class room, we can see it actual in industry and we are now clearer about it.
During visits we understand various departments in industries, how it is co-related with each other, what is sequence of operations, which is first department, which is last department, why it is at last or first? What is organization chart? What is top most post in industry?
Answer of all this things helps to choose the field or career in which students have enter. It also improves some of their qualities like behavior, curiosity, decision making etc. Faculties of respective subjects also visit the industries along with students to show them theoretical concepts and reality in industries.
Visit to industry of Mechanical Engineering students, Experts explaining the process of manufacturing.
2) Guest Lectures
Unlike visit in this case students don't have to go directly to visit the industry but colleges invites a persons from industries to provide information's about new trends in industries or to provide some knowledge in industries.
The session may be of 1-2 hours or more than it, but it helpful for students clears their doubts. Generally college decides a subject according to which experts are invited. Subject is selected by considering syllabus of students and gaps between current trends in market or industries.
Here also students get ideas of new trends, and collects needful data for future planning about career. Sometimes experts are invited to provide information about personality development, career guidance, communications skills which does not provide any technical information but improve their skills, guide them to choose right path, help them to face interviews.
Experts lecture to Mechanical Engineering students.
3) Workshops
We visited industries, we called experts from industries then why we need workshops? In visits we spend few hours but we didn't do any practicals, in case of expert lecture we just listen about the things but in Workshops we perform some practical work. That’s why we need workshops.
Workshop may be arranged for a day or for 2-3days or for weeks and months. This helps to improve some skills in student’s especially motor skills, intellectual skills as they are working on some of devices or machine or software's.
At same time they are getting some extra knowledge apart from syllabus. They are directly coming in contacts with machines, their parts, instruments, measuring devices. It doesn't mean that it happens with them first time, it was happened with them during college practical sessions but this time they are spending more time and getting more knowledge of new things which are apart from syllabus given by universities or Boards.
Some of the workshops are arranged apart from syllabus but having part of Engineering in it.
4) Industrial Trainings
We can consider it as bunch of all above (Industrial visits, Expert lectures and Workshops). As in Industrials Trainings students have to visits Industries daily up to 15 days or up to months. There they have to observe the things going in industries, have to stay with experts and perform task given by them if permitted.
Generally students in group of four to five visit industries, understands processes from stating to end, studies it well, prepare a report over it and submit to college. During these days they have to visit each department and try to understand their working.
While living in industries they have follow some safety rules, to avoid accidents and proper working of industry. In few words they experiences actual industry life in college days.
5) Industry Sponsored projects
In the syllabus of Engineering on last year students have to prepare a projects on related course of engineering .Either they can work of their own idea or they can go to industry to work on live project.
Sometimes companies allow working on their projects to students. Students help them to complete their task within given period of time. At the end of project company provides a certificate to student in which they mention student’s contribution in company project.
In this case both get benefited. Students get idea of working atmosphere in company, working with experts, problem solution within time, customer interactions, team work etc.
These are the 5 basic ways to interact with company. All the colleges doesn't full fill all the criteria's discussed above, only few Colleges are able to do so and one of them is Pimpri Chinchwad Polytechnic,Nigdi,Pune. Which are includes in Top polytechnic colleges in pune.
In Mechanical Engineering department of Pimpri chinchwad polytechnic (best diploma college in pune) at every semesters at least 2 visits are conducted for every class, at least 2 experts are conducted for every class, at least 1 workshop is conducted for every class, near about all students of 2nd year goes for industrial trainings and at least 2-3 projects are industry sponsored.
Conclusion:
This makes Department strong in knowledge, healthy in admissions, good feedback from companies about students’ knowledge and behavior. This is also helpful for placements point of view, as students can add the things like workshop attended or industrial training which makes impression over interviewer.
Prashant M Khirapate
Mechanical Department
Pimpri Chinchwad Polytechnic,Pune
