AICTE Member-Secretary Dr. Rajeev Kumar at VVCE International Conference

Mysuru: The 10th International Conference on Transformations In Engineering Education (ICTIEE) – Transforming Engineering Education for Sustainable Development – 2023 concluded at Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering (VVCE), Mysuru campus in city yesterday.

The five-day Conference began on Jan. 4 and was jointly organised by VVCE and the Indo-Universal Collaboration for Engineering Education (IUCEE).

The chief guest for the valedictory was Dr. Rajeev Kumar, Member-Secretary, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi. In his address, Dr. Rajeev said that he learnt what is best for technical education at this Conference and invited IUCEE to help AICTE in formulating regulatory policies by providing recommendations.

He said that the AICTE has changed itself from a regulator to a facilitator to empower around 10,000 institutes to provide quality education. He emphasised that faculty, institutes and students to play a vital role in transforming engineering education.

He called upon the faculty to adapt to the changing environment and play the role of mentor along with the facilitator.

“Such conferences help the faculty accustom themselves to a fast-changing environment in teaching. The AICTE has taken an initiative with the National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training & Research to train the teachers in which the faculty will complete carefully crafted eight modules with one month of internship and one year of teaching under the mentorship of senior teachers. Over 40,000 teachers have completed the course and there are still a large number of teachers who are yet to complete it,” Dr. Rajeev added.

Expressing the possibility of collaborating with IUCEE to upskill teachers, he expressed his concerns over the lack of interest of students in core engineering which the AICTE is trying to mitigate by introducing the concept of minors in engineering.

This has already shown positive results in the form of improved admissions in core engineering this year, he revealed and stressed the role of institutions in implementing NEP-2020 in an effective manner.

IUCEE Executive Director Dr. Krishna Vedula presented a report on the ICTIEE-2023 and expressed his happiness over the large number of good-quality research papers related to engineering education presented at the Conference.

ABET Executive Director and CEO Dr. Michael Willigan appreciated the Conference theme and said that environmental issues are the issues of a lifetime and it is everyone’s responsibility to care for our planet.

Karnataka State Higher Education Council Executive Director Dr. Gopal Krishna Joshi said, he believes that education has the power to transform and contribute to on socioeconomic development and harmony with nature. He encouraged the faculty to work in hostile environments devoid of policy, patronage and innovation in the education ecosystem wherein all are resonating with each other.

Gundappa Gowda, Hon. President, Vidyavardhaka Sangha (VVS), in his presidential address, urged the people to heed the words of experts on environmental protection.

Dr. Shobha Shankar, Dean – Academics, VVCE and Organising Chair of ICTIEE-2023, proposed the vote of thanks.

Dr. B. Sadashive Gowda, Principal, VVCE welcomed the gathering, Hon. Vice-President, VVS  B. Shivalingappa, Hon. Secretary Er. P. Vishwanath, Hon. Treasurer Srishaila Ramannanavar and others were present during the occasion.