Teegala Krishna Reddy Engineering College, Principal: Dr. K Venkata Murali Mohan Interview

Dr. K Venkata Murali Mohan, an accomplished Electronics & Telecommunications Engineer from Nagpur University, Nagpur. He has completed his M.Tech from JNTU, Kakinada, Ph.D. from Acharya Nagarjuna University in Computer Science Engineering (2016), and Ph.D. from Rayalaseema University, Kurnool in Electronics and Communications Engineering(2019). He is a hardcore academician who believes in powerful learning which transforms students into practically skilled serviceable engineers. Dr.K Venkata Murali Mohan has more than 20 years of experience in teaching & administration and in the field. As a resolute educationalist, he has endeavored to publish textbooks and research papers which outline his educational tendencies. He is a paragon of energy, enthusiasm, productiveness, and competence whose intellectual ability and propriety go all the way in nurturing the students and faculty members to create a collaborative partnership. He is an optimist who believes in close connectivity among students, parents, teachers, and support staff, striving to create a milieu that sustains excellence. His distinction lies in his commitment to the cause of the students, to help them to focus on confidence building, while nurturing an intense sense of social and environmental responsibility through academic and co-curricular activities. He continues to strive toward the attainment of his organizational goals in the interest of the TKRES.

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What is the latest program that you are offering in your institute/ dept. which will help students outperform and stand apart from the crowd?

Teegala Krishna Reddy Engineering College was established in the year 2005 by the TKR Educational Society with the approval of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Teegala Krishna Reddy Engineering College is a lush green campus located at Meerpet, Hyderabad, Telangana State. The college has achieved UGC 2 (f) & 12 (B) status and has been approved by the Government of Telangana State. As per government rules for affiliation, the college has been Affiliated with JNTU, Hyderabad since 2005. Accredited by the NBA and NAAC with an ‘A’ grade, the college has also been conferred autonomous status for 10 years for its excellent academic infrastructure following all the norms of AICTE, JNTUH, State Govt., and SBTET. The college has excellent infrastructure with independent buildings, blocks, an auditorium, labs, sports grounds, a gymnasium, and hostels with all amenities. The college has been a preferred institute by students for engineering education and management in the region since its inception. 100% of engineering seats are filled under the convener quota every year. The college offers 2 Postgraduate and 6 Undergraduate programs covering Engineering and Technology and Management. B.Tech. program is offered with the specializations of CSE, ECE, IT, EEE, AIML, and CIVIL. The college started offering the emerging course Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AIML) in the academic year 2021-22 along with regular computer science engineering. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a fast-growing branch of computer science focused on enabling computers to perform a wide range of tasks that previously required human intelligence. The developments in the AIML field have altered the fundamental essence of employment in the IT sector. Having a clear understanding of the job requirements and work culture allows the students to align their skills and experiences to their needs. 

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

Today, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used to power a wide range of tasks, such as image recognition, language translation, and prioritization of email or business workflows. This specialization in an engineering degree will definitely enhance career opportunities in the software industry as AI has become an integral part of software development. Learning artificial intelligence is right for the students if they plan on becoming an AI Developer, Machine Learning Engineer, Data Scientist, or Research Engineer or if they want their company to become better at using AI.

What would you say are the ‘best practices’ in the course you’re offering?

The college invests heavily into academic and professional development of teachers to ensure effective teaching-learning practices in classrooms. AIML department organizes a number of academic programmes such as FDPs, workshops, guest lectures with the aid of resource persons and reputed institutions. The department has association with reputed institutes for knowledge sharing and collaboration. Our teachers work to become better educators by exposing new areas of study, learning about new techniques, and exploring innovative ways to connect with students. The more that teachers are exposed to learning principles, the more they can apply them in their own classrooms — helping them impact student outcomes and improve their own teaching practices. This awareness allows them to identify areas of improvement and build upon their strengths in order to become better teachers. Teachers have more autonomy to make decisions about their classrooms, which allows them to focus on what works best for students.

What are some valuable insights of the program that you are offering at your institute/dept.?

Artificial intelligence and machine learning offers an incredibly wide range of computer-related jobs. AIML is a fast-growing field and it will also help the students hone their Python skills for data science. Data scientists rely on machine learning and deep learning skills in their daily work, applying various data mining techniques to both structured and unstructured big data in order to produce valuable insights for a wide variety of businesses. More advanced learners can dive deep, with courses and specializations in AI engineering and deep learning. Even the students can benefit from various courses geared towards their field, such as the use of machine learning for trading and other business professional.

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

The department of AIML offers students a special training i.e. Job Skills Inculcation Program for skill development. The Job Skills Inculcation Program runs concurrently with the academic calendar of II and III year B.Tech. program and students will have opportunities for hands-on experience along with subject knowledge. Students begin to feel more comfortable with their own abilities, which can lead to better performance in advanced areas of their related subjects. They also experience increased motivation and a desire to learn. In addition, networking plays a crucial role in job searching in the IT sector. Our placement cell is playing a crucial role to get connected with industry professionals and encourage students to attend training programs and expand their knowledge in the related areas.

How did you train yourself/faculty to deliver this program to the students?

The college provides support for teachers by making sure they have the resources needed for effective teaching. The college also focuses on the importance of meaningful student work, and empowers teachers to design learning experiences that encourage students to apply knowledge in new and challenging ways. Hence, the department creates opportunities for teachers to reflect on their practice, such as professional development or coaching sessions. It also fosters a culture of feedback, and makes sure that students are involved in the learning process. Workshops are organized in advanced areas of AIML inviting resource persons from industries and related institutions. Teachers and students are trained by experts in guest lectures and workshops. Faculty members are encouraged to attend seminars and conferences to update themselves in related areas. Books prescribed for each course in the programs are ordered and made available to the faculty and students in the library. Our college library has been active in promoting learning resources with DELNET remote access to faculty and students. Computer labs are equipped with computers with required configurations to facilitate all the students during lab sessions.

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

The college takes steps to organize guest lectures, seminars, workshops, training programs, industry visits, internship opportunities, and career counseling sessions to promote technical as well as employability skills of the students. For unveiling the real-life working and functions of any company, short industrial visits and internships are arranged and organized by the concerned department. In internships, the students undergo training at the actual physical location or company. These internship programs are of utter importance as they give the students the much required experiential learning and they let the students ponder their choices. Through these visits, the students are exposed to situations and more adapt to taking on the challenges as they venture into the professional workspace.

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What were the challenges that you faced while inculcating this program in your curriculum?

There would be few challenges while inculcating a new program in the curriculum of higher education institutions. We too faced some challenges before we established the department of AIML and accommodated the required infrastructure and teaching and learning resources. Establishment of new department development of infrastructure for the same. Design of syllabi for all the courses in the program based on current trends. Taking academic permissions from the university. Making arrangements for computer systems with the required configuration in newly established labs. Identifying and recruiting experienced faculty to teach courses in the emerging program. Identifying resource persons and inviting them for delivering guest talks for teachers and students. Organizing workshops and seminars for faculty development. The college overcame the above mentioned challenges with the collaborative efforts of the management and the staff.

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

With the help of AIML, the IT sector is looking for projects, which have the ability to automate tasks and make sense of complex data. There is a lot of demand for such projects even in other sectors like medicine and agriculture. The students are given the training to identify the most in-demand skills in their desired field and invest time in mastering them. The department is planning to design innovative projects for various industries. The college takes initiatives for improving the technical acumen of the students by encouraging them to innovate and design useful gadgets relevant to the industry. This has led to the designing of affordable electric vehicles and gadgets such as hybrid scooters, compact electric cars, mini tractors, seed dropping drone.

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

In today’s rapidly changing work environment, it’s essential to keep pace with the latest trends and continuously upskill and reskill to stay competitive in the job market. AI and its subfields are in very high demand for popular computer science jobs. As artificial intelligence touches more and more areas of our daily lives, it is becoming useful to more and more career paths. Indeed, at least some background in this field is required for a growing number of jobs, and it can give the students a significant advantage over the competition in many others. In addition, a background in AI can help students in more and more jobs outside the realm of computer science. Advanced AI skills can put the students on the cutting edge of computer programming, working on teams seeking to achieve ambitious goals like self-driving cars or autonomous robots. The college makes the students industry-ready with Job Skills Inculcation Program (JSIP). As a result, we witness improved academic performance and enhanced career achievements.