Bengaluru: The admission process for the Polytechnic Diploma studies in the State with 8 newly added courses in emerging areas and new C20 curriculum (revamped curriculum) of the earlier existed courses was launched by Higher Education Minister Dr. C.N. Ashwathnarayan here recently.

Speaking on the occasion, he said these steps have been taken with a focus on increasing the employability of students and to align the courses with NSQF (National Skill Qualification Framework) and global standards to suit the current developments and demands. The eight new Diploma programmes offered by Department of Technical Education (DTE) in emerging areas include Alternative Energy Technologies, Cyber Security, Food Processing and Preservation, Travel and Tourism (including logistics management), Cloud Computing and Big Data, Automation & Robotics, Direction, Screenplay Writing and TV Production, Cyber Physical Systems & Security and these are being introduced in the Colleges at Gowribidanuru, Shiralakoppa, Kudligi, Rabakavi, Banahatti, Aurad, SJ Polytechnic of Bengaluru, Chennagiri, Koppa, Honnali and Kapu (Udupi).

The Minister said besides the newly added courses, 33 courses exist in the Polytechnic Diploma. Apart from this in the 3rd year, specialisation pathways will be provided in 12 subjects which include Data Science, AI and ML, Power Engineering, Renewable Energy, Industrial Automation and Industrial Electrician, Structural Engineering, Sustainable Built Environment; Infrastructure Engineering; Net Zero Buildings, IoT, VLSI and Embedded System, PCB Design & Fabrication and  Medical Electronics, he added.

He said the admission process has also been changed to enable students walk into nearby Polytechnics and seek admission for the course of their interest. Except for the select 26 Polytechnics (out of the total 87 Govt. Polytechnics) where merit based admissions are offered, students can walk into the remaining Polytechnics and get admission on first-cum-first-serve-basis for the courses of their choice.

 “The DTE has designed new courses and new C20 curriculum after extensive consultations with industry, academia, alumni and Government. In addition to this, suggestions for Diploma courses from Colleges in Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore have been adopted. Polytechnic studies have been facilitated with LMS to enable access to learning from anywhere and at anytime. This helps students to assess themselves continuously and to apply corrective action. Polytechnics are equipped with Smart Classrooms to facilitate digital learning in classrooms. There would be increase in number of admissions to the Polytechnic Diploma courses in the current year,” he noted.

On the occasion, newly designed logo of the State Polytechnic and a promotional video were launched. A State-level Diploma admission prospectus was also released.