Clear six addl courses, get honours in engg

Clear six addl courses, get honours in engg

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 16.11.2021

Around one lakh students who joined engineering courses in Tamil Nadu in 2021-22 can earn BE, BTech degrees with honours in four years by clearing six extra courses or 18 credits.

They can also earn minor degrees in other branches by getting 18 credits in them. This was decided in a recent academic council meeting of Anna University. “If students get high grades till fourth semester in BE, BTech programmes, they will be allowed to select specialised courses in ME or MTech degree programmes. If they clear six specialised courses in a related field or get 18 extra credits, they will be awarded with honours degree,” Anna University vicechancellor R Velraj told TOI.

If a mechanical engineering student or civil engineering student completes six courses in artificial intelligence or machine learning, he or she will get a BE mechanical engineering degree with a minor in artificial intelligence or machine learning, he added.

Colleges welcome the move, say it will increase placements

The university is also thinking about implementing it for the second year students after making necessary changes in the regulations.

As per the 2021 regulations of Anna University, a student needs to secure a minimum 160 credits to get BE or BTech degree.

Colleges welcomed the move saying it would increase placement opportunities.

B Chidambararajan, principal of SRM Valliammai Engineering College, said, companies are expecting interdisciplinary skills among students with the emergence of newer technologies such as IoT. “In the present trend, a mechanical student should know about programming to improve his chances to get placement. So, interdisciplinary courses are the need of the hour and it is a welcome move by the university,” he said.

P Deiva Sundari, principal of KCG College of Technology, said, the move to introduce interdisciplinary degree (minor degree) will improve admissions in core engineering branches. “An honours degree will encourage students to specialise in any particular area in their relevant field. For example, a computer science degree student can specialise in full stag or data science,” she said.