VTU revamps MTech curriculum, 3- way career path in final semester

VTU revamps MTech curriculum, 3- way career path in final semester

SruthySusan.Ullas@timesofindia.com .01.2025

 Bengaluru : Visvesvaraya Technological University has revamped the curriculum for MTech programmes, creating a three-way career path for students in the final semester. It has decided to offer the programmes as MTech in the main branch of study with specialisation in parentheses. The specialisations will be offered from the second semester. The new format will be launched from 2024-25, said vice-chancellor S Vidyashankar. This year, 2,301 students opted for MTech through Karnataka Examinations Authority. 

“Usually, MTech programmes come with various specialisations within each stream. For instance, there is MTech in machine design, thermal engineering, etc., within mechanical engineering. However, we noticed that colleges have to keep shifting between these courses depending upon the demand that year. It is a painstaking process to close one branch and open another one. Therefore, we decided to revamp the courses in such a way that we will have a main branch of study with a specialisation indicated in parentheses,” explained dean B Sadashiv Gowda. With this, irrespective of the specialisation, the students will study common subjects in the first semester. › 3 career paths, P 4 Students now have 3 career paths: VTU In the subsequent semesters, the students learn courses related to their specialisation. There are electives provided that allow students to learn the subjects of their interest. “So, it is possible for  an engineering institute to offer all these depending on the industry requirements. They need not close down or open a new course based on the specialisation,” he explained. 

Similarly, the university has also heralded changes in the final semester. Students will have three options in the final semester. Those interested in research will have the option to pursue it and submit a report. The other options are an internship, where students will go to industry and work, which might also result in placement. A third option is for those who do not want to take up research or internship but want to do courses in the institute itself. They can take more courses in the third semester and do project work in the fourth semester.

“So we have created three career paths depending on the student interests, location of the college, and industry-institute collaborations. The colleges can guide students in the right direction, creating a win win situation for all kinds of institutes in tier one, two, or three cities,” he said. The university wrote to the All-India Council of Technical Education about the changes, which duly approved them. It was later approved by the statutory bodies of the university.