Orissa accounts for only about 5% of the graduating engineers in the country. This is inspite of the Governments encouragement to setup private engineering colleges in Orissa. The total number of private engineering colleges in Orissa is now 32 as compared to only 7 in 1996. However there is much debate and concern about the quality of technical education being afforded in the engineering colleges. Are we churning out large numbers of "graduated but not educated" engineers into the market who feel hopeless in competition with better equipped graduates from other colleges of the country? The recent list of top 10 engineering colleges in "India Today" clearly delineates the characteristics of the top colleges which makes them so different from the mediocre colleges. In this context it is informative to look at the issue of quality engineering education in Orissa and the role of National Institute of Science & Technology (NIST) in fostering technical excellence in the state.

Established in 1996 at Berhampur by a group of NRI technocrats from USA, NIST has grown from strength to strength. The main promoters, apart from being educated in prestigious US universities share a common vision of imparting IIT-comparable quality education in the state of Orissa. Right from its inception NIST has followed a syllabus designed by top academicians and industry experts in sync with the IITs and top US schools. In addition to the regular syllabus each student is exposed to market-driven specialized courses through a tough 60 hour lab-based program. Courses such as VLSI Design, Simulation, Embedded Systems, IT enabled services, ERP, Web-based technologies, PLCs, Microcontrollers, Object Oriented Technologies, Virtual Instrumentation are taught by trained faculty with a distinctive industry flavor. Such courses have made NIST the number one among private engineering colleges for campus recruitment in Orissa for companies such as IBM, Satyam, Wipro, HCL, PCS, TCS, Tata Steel, Research Engineers, REISYS (USA) to name a few. The final year projects of the students are completely based on current industry requirements and the work is of industry caliber.

       The success of any higher technical institute depends largely on the quality of its manpower, i.e., faculty and supporting teaching staff. NIST has uncompromisingly upheld the standards of its faculty. Recruitment is done through a seminar-based approach and only consistent toppers in M.Tech and Ph.D from the best Indian and US graduate schools make it through. While recruiting faculty there is much focus on communication skills and life skills apart from academic and research background. NIST does not believe in hiring part-time faculty who are unable to do justice because it is only throughout-the-day interaction between the faculty and students which yields benefits. Faculty are put through a orientation-cum-training program to perfect their skills in educational methods, classroom techniques, student psychology and use of audio-visual techniques. Faculty get updated on latest research areas through post doctoral fellowships, sabbaticals, training programs and conferences. Faculty is provided with complete freedom to design and implement state-of-the-art laboratories in their research areas. NIST faculty have published more than 200 research papers in refereed journals and conference papers, won prestigious Boyscat fellowships, Orissa Young Scientist Award, IETE awards, Post Doctoral fellowships, etc.

          NIST has introduced many student-oriented services chiefly among them is the Counseling Services. Every ten students are assigned one faculty counselor who serves as an interface between the student and the Institute and provides personal attention. Parents are informed of their wards academic progress through a web-based private information system. In addition the Institute publishes a monthly news letter called NIST E-news and NISTIAN which satisfies the writer in every student and is circulated to all parents. Special coaching classes for GRE, TOEFL, IELTS (for higher education in USA, Australia, Europe), GATE (for M.Tech) and CAT (for MBA) are held right from the first semester. Pre-Placement Training courses are held to develop attitudes, teamwork, spoken English, presentation skills, analytical skills, etc. All the necessary information is provided to the student through the Placement cell. Considering the globalization aspects of the Indian industry foreign language coaching like French, Japanese is shortly being introduced in the Institute.

       Although a young institute by IIT standards, this Institute has put its alumni in all parts of the world. More than 80 students are working in a global company like TCS alone! Students are working on their M.S. in US Universities, IITs and other top Indian Universities. Tomorrows top managers and entrepreneurs are being groomed at NIST and top MBA schools of the country. NIST envisions new challenges in the tumultuous days ahead but they are well prepared with the leadership, moral  values, discipline, go-get approach and the roadmap to the future.

                                                NIST can be contacted at 0680-2492421, 2492422 or at   www.nist.edu

© Copyright National Institute of Science & Technology, Berhampur, Orissa, India
Website Maintained by NIST Tecnology Consulting Services