Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham signs MoU with L&T EduTech for Experiential Learning in B.Tech in Civil Engineering
Hyderabad : Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, ranked the 5th Best University in India in the 2022 NIRF Ranking’s Department of Civil Engineering, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) EduTech, to offer B.Tech in Civil Engineering to aspiring students who will benefit from the experiential learning co-taught by the University and L&T experts. The collaboration will also facilitate the students to access the advanced course materials curated by the industry experts, and subsequently, qualify the students to take up internships at L&T.
The MoU signed recently, between Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and L&T EduTech for experiential learning, is in a bid to prepare the B.Tech Civil Engineering students of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham to have a better understanding of the industry requirements, gain hands-on experience in the construction industry and fully ready to address future technology challenges and be industry-ready and employable.
Dr. Sasangan Ramanathan, Dean – Faculty of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham remarked that “This collaboration is a great step towards bridging the Academia-Industry gap and will ensure that Amrita students are ready to tackle technology challenges. Amrita students can register on the L&T-supported talent exchange platform as part of the collaboration. This site is intended to serve as the industry’s entry point for finding students with specific skill sets for their projects. Once more, this raises the likelihood that Amrita students will be hired immediately after graduation”.
Dr. Sasangan Ramanathan further accentuated that with the recent push in infrastructure development by the Government, Amrita students can contribute positively towards the Nations sustainable development.
Understanding the gap between academia and pragmatic knowledge, and calling the graduates to draw attention to upskilling, Er. Febin M F, Head-College Connect Business at L&T said “Modern surveying techniques are a great way to show how different college-level skills are from those needed in the workplace. The methods such as the chain survey, theodolite, and plane table demand a sizable crew and are labour-intensive. Industries use cutting-edge methods like drone surveying to determine the same parameters obtained using traditional tools effortlessly with minimum workforce”.
The collaboration between Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and L&T EduTech strives to achieve the same by equipping the students with contemporary knowledge. This would eventually give students of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham an edge over others in the career market. Er. Febin M F, Head-College Connect Business at L&T, also added that “Since they know how to meet the industry challenges, they would be an asset to any company. Currently, companies spend approximately 6 to 12 months to train the fresh graduates to address industry challenges. However, if the students receive this training at college, they are prepared to handle the obstacles from the start of their work. The training must expose students to advanced industry practices and would increase students’ skill set which in turn contribute to their employability.”
This collaboration will be beneficial to all the stakeholders – faculty and students. Dr. Mini K. M., Chairperson, Department of Civil Engineering reflected that, “Faculty in the Department of Civil Engineering are highly research-oriented and contribute a lot to the research domain in the form of sponsored projects, publications, invited talks etc. Collaboration with L&T would involve an active interaction between the faculty and the L&T experts. Thus, the faculty would become aware of the recent trends in construction sectors and reorient their research towards solving industry defined problems. This in turn will benefit the students during their regular classes”.
The courses curated by Amrita and L&T are a perfect blend of traditional fundamentals courses and advanced practical information. The entire curriculum is designed in a way to expose students to the current industry challenges which includes 11 advanced courses and two internships, about cutting-edge industrial techniques in areas such as geospatial remote sensing, sustainable building design, building information modelling, the design and construction of structural steel buildings, metro rail transportation design and construction, and high planning and functional design.
In addition, industry experts will offer technical seminars to Amrita’s students on the industry needs and the necessary skill sets. The collaboration will offer Amrita students to (a) register for additional online courses offered by L&T and (b) enroll in internships at L&T at the end of the second and third years which is an invaluable industry exposure.