In many ways, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore is different from other colleges. Established by Dr D G S Dhinakaran and then taken over by the current Chancellor Dr Paul Dhinakaran, this Deemed-to-be University offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes in different branches of Engineering, Biotechnology, Food Processing and Agricultural Sciences. Currently hosting 8491 students and 452 faculty across 18 academic departments, we spoke to the institute's registrar Dr R Elijah Blessing to find out what was next for them. Excerpts:
Tell us a little about your journey in Karunya
I joined Karunya in 1997 as a lecturer. It's been an interesting and challenging road since then. A few years later, the university sponsored my PhD programme. The exposure I got in that time helped me a lot. Later, I took charge as the HOD of the Computer Science department. Currently, as the Registrar, I also manage the International student exchange programme.
What sets the exchange programme here different?
We have foreign students coming here for 4-6 months, mostly from July to November. These students take up stipend-inclusive internships and choose the projects that they like. Similarly, our UG and PG students too go abroad for internships. Every year, we get around 50 foreign students.
Given the large student population here, is it difficult to manage things?
Not at all. It was always easy to manage things. We have our systems are in place. The campus is fully automated. We have an ERP system to upload presentations, assignments and quizzes. Students can also upload their assignments there on the deadline. Academics are always streamlined and most things happen online. Also, the students can select the faculty of their choice. Fees are also paid online. The system here is very transparent. Not just that. We have cameras everywhere to monitor student activities. Even internal exams are held in a room with CCTV cameras around, to ensure that there are no malpractices.
What do you do to make learning more interesting?
Our faculty focuses more on research. We also have state-of-the-art facilities like smart classrooms. It is a peer learning initiative. Also, there are debates and case study discussion. The learning isn't monotonous here. Lectures are also planned prior and are uploaded in the learning management system. Also, it is very systematic. We even take faculty feedback after each lecture. These days, everyone wants to participate in the feedback mechanism. It helps the faculty too to improve themselves.
Can you tell us a little about the industry interaction and placements?
Our placements are really good. Almost 80 per cent of our students get placed. Others go for higher studies or pursue entrepreneurship. We are always trying to connect to industries, bring up more innovative ideas and streamline patents.
Do you have any new courses planned for the coming academic year?
Our focus is more towards Cyber Security now. We have a research lab here and we're starting a new course on it. We are also starting courses on Artificial Intelligence, Machine learning and data science.
