Dr. M.V. Rajesh is the Head of the IT Department at Aditya Engineering College. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Information Technology. He has a total of 16 years of teaching experience. He has published 18 papers in international journals. He has presented one paper at national conferences and four papers at international conferences.

Aditya Engineering College

Being a HOD of IT Dept., what are your roles and responsibilities towards the students?

As a HOD, my primary focus is to ensure that academics meet industry standards. Guide students to receive career guidance. Maintaining healthy relationships between students and faculty. Encouraging faculty to excel in their academics in terms of research etc.

How do you tend to establish healthy relations with the students and fellow faculty members?

We make some space for students to feel comfortable discussing academic challenges, and personal issues, we also create mechanisms for students to provide feedback anonymously, such as suggestion boxes or online surveys, and take constructive criticism seriously. Providing opportunities for faculties to grow professionally through research, attending conferences, and acquiring new skills. Recognizing and appreciating students and faculty for their achievements and contributions of faculty members through incentives, awards, acknowledgments, and celebrations.

How do you try to bring in a practical approach towards subjects and make it industry-oriented?

Regularly review and update the curriculum to align it with the latest industry trends, and technologies. Inviting industry professionals to give an insight into emerging technologies and real-world challenges to students. Facilitating internships. Maintaining MoUs with companies. Establish startup incubators or innovation hubs within the department. Offer courses or workshops on effective communication, teamwork, and leadership. Involving alumni who have successful careers in the industry as mentors, and guest speakers to current students.

What are the best practices offered by the department to the students that help them gain the necessary skills?

Providing an environment for students to practice coding, configure systems, and work with software tools. Organizing coding bootcamps. Providing workshops or courses on effective communication, presentation skills, and interpersonal skills. Working on aspects like Career Counseling, Internship Opportunities, Mock Interviews, Industry Interaction Library and Resource Access, and Ethical and Professional Conduct.

How do you strategize the curriculum and how often does it get updated to make it beneficial for the students?

The curriculum development strategy includes an assessment of industry needs, input from faculty, student feedback, interdisciplinary integration, curriculum development process, curriculum committee, periodic reviews, course mapping, experiential learning, frequency of updates, regular review cycles, industry feedback, technological integration, and flexible course design.

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What are your views on the placements and higher education of the students from your department How does your department prepare students for higher education?

We establish strong relationships with industry partners and regularly engage with them to understand the needs and expectations of our graduates. These partnerships often result in internship opportunities, on-campus recruitment drives, and industry-relevant projects for our students. We encourage students to strive for academic excellence, as a strong academic record is essential for admission to reputable higher education institutions. We provide resources and support for students preparing for standardized graduate admission exams.

How do you help your student cope with the competition being so high in the outside world?

Coping with high competition in the outside world can be challenging for students. We implement various strategies like mentorship programs, emphasize growth mindset, and industry-relevant curricula to help our students navigate and excel in a competitive environment.

Do you have any extracurricular activities/ programs to enhance the skills of the students or expose them to real-world challenges?

We recognize the importance of extracurricular activities and programs to enhance students’ skills and expose them to real-world challenges. Some of the extracurricular activities and programs offered are hackathons and coding competitions, tech clubs, and student organizations, innovation challenges, industry visits, etc.

What are the challenges you faced/ are facing to uplift the quality of education in your department?

Challenges can vary depending on institutional, departmental, and external factors. Here are some common challenges: Faculty recruitment and retention, curriculum relevance, adaptation to online learning, assessment and accreditation, balancing research and teaching, diversity and inclusion, technological infrastructure, and student mental health and well-being.

When you came to college, what was your vision and how are you trying to achieve the same?

My vision was to establish the department as a center of excellence in technology education, producing highly skilled graduates who are well-prepared to meet the evolving needs of the IT industry. Strategies to achieve this vision include curriculum enhancement, quality faculty, experiential learning, research and innovation, student support services, industry engagement, adaptive pedagogy, ethical and social responsibility, and alignment with institutional goals.