Professor Prasanta Kumar Mahanta is the Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Aryan Institute of Engineering and Technology. He holds a B.Tech. degree from UCE, Burla, and an M.Tech. degree from IIT Roorkee. Mr. Mahanta has one year of work experience in the industry and 13 years in academia.

Aryan Institute of Engineering and Technology

What do you see as the biggest challenges facing higher education today, and how do you think your institution is addressing those challenges?

Nowadays, an uncertain job market is the biggest challenge for higher education institutions. Our college provides 100% employment through campus recruitment, which is one of our biggest achievements. We also motivate our students to do further higher studies and provide on-campus coaching at no cost for the same. As our college is a technical institution, technological advancement is also a challenge for both faculties and students. To overcome this, we are conducting technical seminars, conferences, technical festivals, faculty development programmes, and providing extra advanced courses beyond the syllabus. Access and affordability are also challenges for higher education, our institute provides a quality education at affordable tuition fees.

What are your primary responsibilities and how do you balance them with other aspects of your job?

Besides the primary responsibility of teaching, I have some extra responsibilities that I need to fulfill. Being the head of the department, I have to oversee the smooth running of the department, and the day-to-day operations, and coordinate and communicate with staff members and students with different types of issues. I think my entire department is a team, and I get full support from my team members for doing different types of work for the development of the department.

How do you approach decision-making in your role?

After recognising a challenge, I think about possible solutions within the available resources. I am open to suggestions from staff members, students, and also parents, and after getting these, I make decisions that best suit everyone and one that get the best possible result.

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What new initiatives and collaborations has the college established with Industry Leaders to promote industry-specific courses? 

We have signed MoUs with different organisations like CTTC, Bhubaneswar to provide different courses. These courses will cover in-demand subjects and skill-enhancing topics. Skill development is essential for students today to be competitive for jobs. We provide different types of certification courses for skill development. We also take our students for different industrial visits and study tours to gain some practical knowledge and see how work is done in the industry. We also encourage our students to carry out different social activities in the nearby villages and schools.

What do you think sets your institution apart from other colleges and universities and how do you communicate that unique value proportion to students?

Our institution has been certified an A grade in the NAAC review, which is a big achievement for our institution. Our students can realise this through the quality of our teaching-learning methods. The students can learn beyond their core syllabus courses and gain knowledge of the latest technological advancements. We also provide subsidised food in the hostel canteen for all and subsidised transport. Our college campus is a green campus, and we also have an NCC program which is available in very few colleges.

What are the benefits and career options after pursuing this course?

Mechanical Engineering is a core branch of engineering. There are various job opportunities for students in different sectors after completing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Being Mechanical Engineers, they can choose to work in both the software and core industries. We provide training and education to our students for both higher education and jobs.

What are the types of projects that the students are working on through this program?

Our students do several projects during the course of their degree. Some of the degrees are in different areas of Mechanical Engineering, like Robotics, Thermodynamics, and Production. The project may be a physical working model or a simulation-based one. We have a separate project lab with the latest facilities where students can do their projects.