Dr. M. Hema Latha is the Head of the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) at Sree Rama Engineering College. She is a distinguished academician and able administrator with more than ten years of experience. She has grown through the ranks right at Sree Rama Engineering College, starting her teaching career as an Assistant Professor in 2012. Dr. Latha obtained her PhD from SV University, Tirupati and her Masters from BITS, Warangal. She has published 20 research papers in various reputed national and international journals, besides a couple of patents to her credit. In her impressive teaching and administrative career, she has consistently promoted innovative teaching practises and imaginative thinking.

Sree Rama Engineering College

Being a Head Of Department of ECE at Sree Rama Engineering College, what are your roles and responsibilities towards the students?

My duty is to fulfil students' basic requirements and oversee the continuous monitoring of students and staff on the campus. Besides my major duties, I also need to plan for day-to-day operations and run the department smoothly. It is also within my capabilities to train and manage the staff members in our department.

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

I will try to solve all of my students and faculty member’s problems whenever they need my help. I try to never put much pressure on co-faculty. I will divide the work equally among all the faculty members. I will also try to maintain rapport with class representatives and the student coordinators to solve their problems in a better manner.

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

I will motivate all the department students to participate in mini-projects and conferences to gain practical knowledge. I will motivate the students to learn new tools to gain practical knowledge. I will motivate the students to develop good models that are useful to society. Our students also complete internships and attend workshops and conferences to interact with industry professionals.

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

We will conduct seminars, give papers, give presentations, attend workshops, complete add-on-courses, and attend guest and expert lecturers on current technologies. This is heavily emphasised so that students can acquire knowledge and also get a chance to practise the classroom teachings. We will also conduct quizzes and poster presentations for the students to further enhance their skills.

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How do you strategize the curriculum and how often it gets updated to make it befitting for the students? 

Our curriculum is updated and strategized to keep up with industry trends. We want our students to meet the industry’s requirements when they start working. By following NPTEL lectures and videos, we can update ourselves and also motivate the students to update themselves. We also follow Coursera videos to teach the students in a better way.

What are your views upon the placements and higher education about the students from your department or How does your department prepare students for Higher education?

We are of the view that students should be provided extra placements and practice sessions before they sit for job interviews. We provide special training classes on reasoning, aptitude, and verbal. These sessions not only help with higher education but also with competitive examinations. We will conduct special classes where the faculty will teach subjects like C, C++, Python and JAVA.

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

We keep our students updated on industry trends and requirements in terms of skills and technical knowledge. We will suggest that students learn C, C++, python, java, cloud computing sales force and other subjects that employers look for. We also suggest students improve their communication skills and other transferrable soft skills to enable them to work in any industry and work profile.

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

We conduct cultural programs frequently so that students can enhance their hidden talents. We also hold an annual college day, freshers day and farewell for the graduating class and motivate the students to participate in cultural programs. All winners in these competitions receive prizes and certificates so that they can be motivated to participate more in such events.

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

We try to improve the quality of our education by continuously taking feedback on our subject from our students. We work on them, rectify our mistakes and try to do better at providing quality education to the students. We concentrate more on derivations and analysis. Our teachers are also instructed to concentrate more on slow learners and train them by conducting reinforcement classes.

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

My vision when I joined the college was to contribute to its success. Today I work to render effective technical education with innovation and invoke enthusiasm among the students to pursue higher education. I also aspire to work to prepare my students to compete globally and make a significant contribution to society in the field of Electronics and Communication Engineering.

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How does the curriculum of your department/college ensures the best practice of the industry? 

We have several best practises in our department that align our education with the industry. We plan more industrial visits so that we can give the students more practical knowledge. We provide internship opportunities for students in good companies and organisations so that they gain practical, hands-on experience working in the industry.

How does the department/ college/University enhance the skills of the faculty and prepares them according to the industry standards?

We ask our faculty members to attend FDPs, conferences and workshops conducted by industrial experts. Our teachers also receive support from guest lecturers and expert lecturers in other institutions. The teachers also get a chance to conduct FDPs, conferences and workshops themselves. Our teachers are also actively participating in research and publishing papers that contribute to keeping up with the industry.

What are the interventions and approaches you bring in apart from curriculum to train/teach the students? 

Apart from our curriculum, we can tell our students to learn advanced software related to AI and ML to solve real-time problems. These are on-demand skills that would do well for the students during job search. To improve the student’s knowledge we suggest them to participate in technical events and competitions as well. These train our students to work in real-life situations and also gain confidence to work and thrive in the industry.

What do you see the department’s/ college’s greatest strengths and how it can be enhanced?

Our department's greatest strength is unity. We are a team and all members put in 100% of their efforts and hard work towards one common goal. We are highly dedicated and work hard towards our vision. We can reach our goals only when the target is too big. We can succeed at 90% when the target is high.

What valuable advice would you like to the students for them to have a prosperous career ahead?

I would suggest students learn anything in a practical way. Furthermore, I also tell them to learn advanced languages. They must concentrate more on the analysis part rather than mugging up theory. I would suggest students participate in extracurricular and co-curricular activities so that they can improve their talents.