Master's program in engineering design

PUNE: Multiversity School of Professional Engineering -- an IT education institution promoted by Dishnet Wireless Ltd chairman Dr Vijay Bhatkar has launched a Master's program in engineering design -- an eighteen month full-time evening autonomous course.






Multiversity was founded in 2000 by Dr Bhatkar to advance the application of information technology in the areas of education, governance and services. Multiversity also works closely with various government, semi-government and local self-government bodies all over India in the areas of e-learning, e-governance and e-services.





Addressing a press conference in Pune, Dr Bhatkar pointed out that over 1,346 engineering colleges in India churned out over four lakh engineering graduates every year. "Our engineers lack creativity, are unaware of IPRs and patents, and are not introduced to the adventure of entrepreneurship. Even after four years of rigorous study, most engineers are not taught how things work and how they are designed. They have no knowledge of product development process or application areas such as systems engineering. In short, we do not teach graduate engineers to take on the challenges of the industry or real life work," he said.





Stressing the need for a new paradigm in engineering education, Dr Bhatkar said the Multiversity had proposed a School of Professional Engineering for fresh engineering graduates.





The course, defined by International Engineering Societies, is based on the Conceive - Design - Implement - Operate (CDIO) methodology of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he said. Students will have the opportunity to create innovations, launch a start-up or work in the industry.





The faculty consists of leading engineers from industry and academia. The School of Professional Engineering will be mentor-driven, a contemporary interpretation of the ancient Gurukul system, Bhatkar explained.





The eligibility for the course is B.E./ B. Tech. in Mech./ Auto./Prod./ Elect./E & TC/Instru./ Civil/ Envi./Arch or Diploma in Engineering with 2 years work experience.





Admissions for the program start from October 18, 2005. The course begins from November 21, 2005.