BML Munjal University Bridges the Gap Between BTech & Industry with “Practice School”
New Delhi: A New Delhi-based employment solutions company, Aspiring Minds, conducted an employability-focused study based on 150,000 engineering students who graduated in 2018. As per the results 95% of engineering graduates are unemployable.
BML Munjal University was founded in 2014 by the promoters of the Hero Group with the aim to bridge the gap between education and employability. BMU’s curriculum is designed to nurture technically sound, multi-skilled and ethical leaders.
The Practice School programme at BMU, a unique internship concept, for B.Tech. students gives students hands-on learning and working experience with various sectoral business organizations for a period of 28 to 31 weeks. Throughout the duration of the programme, students gain invaluable practical experience by applying interdisciplinary and integrated learning to real-world problems.
The Practice School program gives students first-hand experience of working on real-life projects with the experts from the industry and graduate ‘industry ready’. The programme also gives students a chance to leverage their work experience during placements. The program is jointly mentored by a faculty and the industry expert who later evaluate the programme. Unlike the other internships, Practice School comprises credit units and contributes to the final university score.
Commenting on BML Munjal University’s Practice School programme, Dr. M.B. Srinivas, Dean, School of Engineering and Technology, BMU said: “Practice School is designed for institutionalized linkage between the university and the industry, with the aim to make students industry-ready even before they are formally part of the industry. Through Practice School, our students have got opportunities to work with leading Indian and global organizations. I am happy to share that many have already got placement offers from these companies.”
Practice School is applicable for all the programmes at BMU. “Practice School-3 provided me with a lot of exposure. The most important aspect of my learning was the emphasis on respecting all your professional peers, something which I have carried forward and has helped me in my current organisation as well. I also learnt how to work in and across teams in a large organisation and coordinating with individuals working at the other end of the globe to complete tasks,” says Dhruv Dua, BTech alumni from BMU.
Companies like Maruti Suzuki, FIAT, L&T, Tata Motors, Airtel, Ashok Leyland, Yamaha India, Honda, Huawei, Amazon, Digital Product (Germany), NYX (US) have offered internships through PS3. Companies like Dell, ServiceNow, Rane Group, Synopsys India, Hero MotoCorp, XEBIA, TekSystems, ZS Associates, Lutron, Zest IOT, Polaris, DBS, and others have offered jobs to students. The response from the industry has been encouraging and would have a positive impact on the placement season.
Practice School 1 is for 1 week. This phase is the first handshake with the organisation. It is an industrial visit, giving students the experience of 5 different industries’ such as mechanical industry, automotive company, BFSI or software industry. They learn how the organisation works, the atmosphere inside, the culture, the people, etc. After completion of PS 1, the students come back to the campus and write a report on their overall experience and views. The report carries one credit unit that contributes to their credit point average.
At the end of Second Year, students attend 8 weeks of Practice School 2. Here the students implement the two years of their academic learning and experience in a live project. Throughout this phase they are guided by a faculty mentor and an industry mentor.
Towards the end of a students’ engineering programme, the last semester comprises 22 weeks of mandatory graded internship – Practice School 3. Different companies come for campus recruitments and offer a 6-month internship also, which can also lead to a job offer.
At BMU, students spend up to 45% of the contact hours learning outside the classrooms in labs and workshops, on projects, research assignments and in Practice School (supervised internships). BMU students have the opportunity of exchange programmes with Singapore Management University, Carleton University, Canada, and Imperial College London. Along with its mentor, Imperial College London, BMU focuses strongly on research and innovation.