10th International Conference on Transformations in Engineering Education for Sustainable Development at VVCE

Mysore/Mysuru: The Tenth International Conference on ‘Transformations in Engineering Education for Sustainable Development (ICTIEE) – 2023’ was inaugurated at Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering (VVCE) by Dr. S. Vidyashankar Vice-Chancellor, Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Belagavi, on Jan. 6.

Over 400 delegates from renowned institutes across the world and all over India are attending the five-day conference that will conclude tomorrow, Jan. 8. The conference is seeing many leadership sessions, panel discussions, over 16 workshops, 18 keynotes by global experts and the presentation of 92 research papers.

In his address, Dr. Vidyashankar spoke on the transformations of engineering education and how it has brought about a dramatic change to meet global challenges and deliver higher sustainable and knowledge-based development levels.

“From merely a chalk-and-board classroom engagement, teaching practices have moved to a platform where a holistic approach to engineering is being promoted. The current curriculum developments have moved from teacher-centric pedagogy methods to student-centric learning methods,” he explained.

Rapid advancement in technology and economic globalisation necessitates education to be designed towards an outcome-based education model, he opined and emphasised that Karnataka is the first State in India to adopt the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 proposed by Dr. Kasthurirangan, former Chairman of ISRO and his team to bring in a multi- and inter-disciplinary approach.

He lauded the efforts of Dr. B. Sadashive Gowda, Principal, VVCE and Dean (Faculty Affairs, VTU) for instituting training for teachers through online programmes and courses for outcome-based modules.

Executive Director, Indo Universal Collaboration for Engineering Education (IUCEE) Dr. Krishna Vedula set the context for the conference in his talk on outcome-based learning. His mantra “I am teaching, are they learning?” focused on introducing aspects of problem-based learning and design thinking, and sharing best practices in developing an ecosystem for improving the quality of                             engineering education.

He remarked that the IUCEE family now encompassed 52 institutions with 10,000 faculty members and 2 lakh students of which 1,000 faculty members have received IIEECP (IUCEE International Engineering Educators Certification Programme) certification. 31 of these institutes have active teaching and learning centres and are taking a zonal approach to transforming engineering education.

Gundappa Gowda, Hon. President, Vidyavardhaka Sangha (VVS), emphasised ‘Jnana’ or knowledge. He lamented that the forest cover is down by 75 percent and there is no river in India which is left unpolluted. This situation has to be changed, he said.

The conference souvenir was released to mark the occasion. Er P. Vishwanath, Hon. Secretary, VVS, Shrishaila Ramannanavar, Hon. Treasurer, VVS and Dr. B. Sadashive Gowda, Principal, VVCE were present.

An exhibition is also being held in which edTech companies such as Dassault Systems, MathWorks, Linquid Instruments, Ion Education, L&T EduTech and Vigyanlabs innovation are demonstrating                     education solutions.

The student teams are also showcasing sustainability-based projects.