Dr. Gandi Satyanarayana is the Head of the Department of Computer Science Engineering at Avanthi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Cherukupally (Village), Vizianagaram (Dist). He holds an M.Tech in Computer Science and Technology with a specialization in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. Thereafter, he earned a Ph.D in CSE from GITAM University. He has over 26 years of teaching experience, 18 years of administrative experience, and 15 years of experience in research. Besides, Avanthi Institute of Engineering and Technology, he had also worked with Raghu Engineering College, Nadimpalli Satyanarayana Raju Institute of Engineering and Technology and Dadi Institute of Engineering and Technology.

Dr. Satyanarayana holds memberships at the Indian Society for Technical Education, the International Association of Engineers, the Computer Society of India, and the Teaching and Education Research Association, among others. He has published 27 papers in reputed journals in SCI, Scopus etc and has four patents filed in his name. Additionally, he has written two books and book chapters and has taken part in numerous FDPs, Workshops, Conferences, and Seminars in his area of expertise.

Avanthi Institute of Engineering and Technology

What are the factors that make this program the best for the students to opt?

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering offers four programs. The programs are: B.Tech CSE with an intake of 180 students, B.Tech CSE AI & ML with an intake of 120, B.Tech CSE Data Science with an intake of 60, and an M.Tech CSE with an intake of 18. The core strengths of the department is its sophisticated infrastructure, well-experienced, knowledgeable, and committed faculty which comprises 50. The department is recognized as a Research Centre by JNTU-GV. The department has Ph.D research scholars and provides education and guidance for students from UG to Ph.D levels in three aspects namely training, placements, and higher education.

How does the curriculum of your program ensure the Best Practice of the industry?

Our curriculum includes Basic Science Courses, Engineering Science Courses, Professional Engineering Courses, Professional Elective Courses and Open Elective Courses so that the students are encouraged to multi-disciplinary learning approaches. In Professional Electives, we offer various advanced courses like Cyber Security, Data Science, AIML, IOT, etc as per the requirements and demands of the industries. At the same time, the department prioritises on Internships to the students in every summer duration so that the students gain a lot of industrial exposure by working with men and machinery in various industries. The department encourages students to do apart from 160 credits, 15 minor and major degrees. The students have the freedom to choose their electives according to their interests. There are regular laboratory sessions besides regular classroom sessions. The students are also encouraged to take Skill-oriented programming courses. Our curriculum also includes major, minor and community projects that count towards end credits. The institute has also collaborated with various organizations like Graphics IT Solutions, Datapro, and Hacker Rank, to hire our students for internships. Students are encouraged to learn MPTEL and various MOOC courses. 

All of these together give the students a vast learning and practical exposure about the working of various companies. The department organizes various club activities, professional body activities, social responsibility activities which paves way for the holistic development of the students. 

How does the program ensure that students are being prepared for the future?

The department provides training in several ways not only for the all round development of the students but also for the societal and nation’s development. To meet the demands of the industries, CCC training, Full stack training and In-house training are conducted. The Training and Placement cell of the college provides training to the students in Verbal, Aptitude, Technical and Soft skills right from the first year. At the same time, we have also collaborated with Pega International University, USA for academic programmes where in over 100 students are doing PEGA training. Students who undergo these trainings earn two certifications, a Level 1 certification and a Level 2 certification. We also have companies that visit our campus through PEGA to hire our students. All of these together account for 100% of placements in our department. Apart from PEGA, we also provide company-specific training such as Infosys, TCS, Accenture, etc through both internal as well as external training agencies like Igurukul, Newleaf, Talent scope Campus Training Institute, FACE Academy, Omega, etc. These trainings make them eligible to work with companies like Infosys, TCS, Virtusa and other MNCs.

Check Avanthi Institute of Engineering and Technology Placement

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

The main benefit of our CSE is that students can get the opportunity to be hired in leading IT companies and contribute to nation’s development. The career opportunities for students include placements in Multi-national companies, Central and State Government organizations including Public Sector Undertakings, Banks, Start-ups, Entrepreneurships, etc. India is one of the leading countries to produce IT products and IT companies constitute up to 90% of our placements that our students can take advantage of. We ensure to teach our students technical and interpersonal skills that will make them eligible to work for these IT companies. We have internships along with minor and major subjects in a wide range of IT specializations for the students to choose from. Many of our students who do internships at these companies end up gaining full-time employment at the same organizations. Another percentage of our students go abroad to complete their MS degrees at International universities. Our students get exposure to higher education at the best colleges and also get placed in branded corporate companies. The department focuses on providing hands-on learning experience to its students, excellent placement system, along with added fun of co-curricular activities, and expert faculty guidance that act as a lighthouse, helping students sail towards success. 

What are your roles and responsibilities as HOD CSE at Avanthi Institute of Engineering and Technology?

My role and responsibilities is to work towards fulfilling the vision and mission of the department. As a head, I coordinate with all faculty members in effective implementation of the curriculum, professional activities, societal development activities, inclusion of value added courses, to ensure transparency in examination-evaluation process, research activities, addressing students grievances, mentoring, placements, higher education activities, students progression activities and faculty development activities. I am primarily responsible to look after the administration, academics and placements at the department. 

Our department plays a crucial role in research activities and encourages students and faculty in this area. We have our students working on various research projects, including those related to industries. I delegate and coordinate tasks and duties within the department to ensure best value practice in Computer Science. Our faculty also takes part in research and regularly publishes research papers in various journals and conferences. At the same time, we help students to identify and solve problems using programming languages like Python, C, or Java. The department works collaboratively with other colleges and universities to support the college and further in subject or course development. We counsel students to help them succeed in their careers. We involve parents in our efforts, as their support is essential. Our department focuses on improving course structures and contributing to accreditation quality of teaching and learning through effective staff appraisal system. Quality of teaching and learning is monitored at regular intervals to improve the teaching pedagogical tools. We all share the responsibility for the department's growth, student success, and institutional development.

How do you tend to build an industry- connected with this program?

In the past, our curriculum and the real working world were quite different. But now, a number of changes are made to the curriculum to match with the industry needs. We have collaborations with many companies that are also helping our students to attend their training and internship programmes. Every semester, the department organizes industrial visits. Expert talks with industry experts are regularly conducted to bridge the gap between industry and institution. Interactions with the alumni who are well settled are also organized to encourage the students and to boost their confidence levels. During the fourth year of our programme, students do internships at various companies and go for industrial visits as well. After they get hired, students work on projects with them. If they end up doing exceptional work, they are hired as full-time employees by the companies. This way, our students learn about the projects, the work environment, and the technology used in the industry before they start working. They also learn how to solve problems and implement viable real-world solutions and improve their soft skills like communication skills, team working, time management, leadership, decision-making along with their hard skills. All this knowledge and exposure comes from interactions with the industry/industries while they're still in college. In this way, we follow the tradition of connecting students with opportunities for valuable, real-world experience which in turn helps them to build skills, gain professional experience that will enable them successfully launch their careers.