The Engineering College of Alumni

The college needs to upgrade its course to the present scenario in industries. Also, infrastructure needs to be improved. Although the lab has a lot of instruments, they just touch the bare minimum level. The teachers also have to update themselves, as some, not all, teach the same things they did 5 years ago. Other than this, I'm quite satisfied with the college I'm studying in.

The exam is called Combined Entrance Examination or CEE for short. Out of 300 I scored 144 and got a seat in chemical engineering branch. The main reason for joining AEC is that after IIT Guwahati, AEC is the next best college. It has alumni and fraternity network which is quite strong and most of the placements take place by companies where previous AEC alumni are in strong positions.

To be honest, the course is outdated. We are still being taught subjects and methods which have been long removed by industries due to their inefficiency compared to new methods. In the 1st year, all students are taught the same course of basic civil engineering, mathematics, physics, chemistry, computer language etc, regardless of department. The branch studies begin from the 2nd year. Project work begins in the final year, with each semester we have to submit 2 projects. In the 7th sem, we have to choose a topic on our own for project. We are given a guide regarding the field in which we are doing. The guide generally has a masters or PhD in that field. In the 8th sem project, we are given a topic by our guides.

After the 6th semester, we are supposed to do a compulsory internship. For this we are helped by the training and placement cell and department. Although it is an unpaid internship, we are saved from the work we had to put in had we had to do everything ourselves. Every branch has a training and placement coordinator who represent the cell, and do work like collecting student information, forms etc. They are selected by the students, and if there are more than two people who wish to be a coordinator, the election is held among the class students. However, students can opt different institutions as well if they wish to do so. The college permits them. Moreover, every year, 2 students from each branch are taken to an overseas university for an internship. The selection is done on the basis of marks obtained till the present semester and performance in the interview cum viva. Its completely sponsored, from travelling to food expense.

As the title suggests, AEC has a network of alumni, who are from the 70-90s batch and are now in quite strong positions, even in PSUs like IOCL, OIL etc. Some have even succeeded in their startups. Hence every year they take students and the placement scenario is quite good. This year, IOCL provided an annual package of 17 lacs and selected 4 students from chemical engineering branch.

We have an annual technical cultural fest called PYROKINESIS, held every year in the month of February - March. The event itself lasts 3 days, and the 1st day is given to technical events, making a total of 4 days. The events include singing competition, dance, band, and even consists of a metal band competition. There are also LAN and mobile-based game competition. Pyrokinesis has over the year seen various artists come up and make everyone dance and enjoy to the core. Moreover we have an event called Mars and Venus, where students from not only AEC but other colleges as well, participate and show their talents, including ramp walks. All these events are held by the students themselves, including searching for sponsors, which is quite an experience.

they pay a sum of about rs10,000/- every year in the name of the admission fee. The semester exam cost about 2,000/- and the technical fest costs about rs.1,500/- per student. All in all, a student from AEC has to shell out about 13,000/- every year. Besides this, there are other costs like a club membership, sports membership, but they are not fixed as not everyone is a part of them.

AEC has a social welfare secretary who is responsible for finding and sharing scholarship opportunities. Not only the social welfare secretary but also others from the union body share everything they come across into the college Facebook group and notice board. The cost in AEC for the students is quite less, as mentioned above. But if anybody wishes, loans are easily available.

The AEC campus is very large. Most of it is filled with lush greens and water bodies. Hence the college life isn't too bad. Besides academics students can take part in other activities like music, coding, robotics etc. If a student wished to research on a particular topic and write a journal on that, the teachers are happy to help him/her. The clubs are quite active, and there is a social welfare group as well named SOVIC, which actively takes part in voluntary work, like spending time in orphanages, collecting old books and clothes etc. Being a government college, the students do not belong to only one community. There are students from the neighbouring states as well. Moreover they practice their religion and culture they bring with them, along with the festivals, and as such, there is always something special going on. The students live and study in complete harmony, but when the time comes they join hands and stay united, regardless of gender, caste etc. The gender ratio in AEC is not same for every branch. Some have about equal number of male and female students, while some branches have a very low percentage of the latter gender.

I'm not a boarder of the hostels, but I've eaten there. The food is good, not too fancy, but gives a homely feel. Mess dues are about 2,500/- and varies form hostel to hostel. Students preferring room or PG have to shell out about 4,000 - 7,000 every month. The food is average, but some of them provide really good food.

As mentioned, the alumni network is quite strong. Recently a hostel celebrated their diamond jubilee, and we witnessed people who are in quite strong positions in PSUs come and relive their past. They are also very helpful when they notice the name Assam Engineering College in their CV or while talking.

Every semester from the beginning the exams are - 3 class tests and one end semester exam. Sometimes 2 class tests are held instead of 3. Before 2017 a mid semester examination was held, but it has now been replaced by 3 class tests. Every subject teacher gives about 2-3 assignments to be submitted throughout the semester. Our department has lab up to 6th sem, but the only viva is held, no lab exams. The schedule is quite laidback in the initial phases and becomes hectic after middle semester.

After scoring the marks, admission and branch selection dates were given in the local newspaper. Every range of marks were given a particular date and time. When the time came, we filled up a form choosing the top 3 of our desired branches. Then as per marks, the students were called in for admission and surety of the branch. If the top 3 weren't left, they had to choose from the remaining ones or leave admission at that stage. After selecting the branch, we paid the required amount in the name of college fee, which is about ?10,000/- per annum.

Assessing AEC faculty as a whole is tough. In the branch that I'm in, i.e chemical engineering, the faculty is strong with years of teaching experience. The new teachers are quite in touch with the present scenario of industries, and share their experiences and advice us in terms of career choices. Other branches of mechanical, electrical and civil follow the same. However, the electronics and communication department has a faculty where the teachers lack experience due to being new. However, they are quite capable of teaching.