Dr. P. Sirish Kumar has been working as an Assistant Professor of Electronics Communication and Engineering Department at Aditya Institute of Technology and Management, Tekkali, Andhra Pradesh. He has done M.Tech and Ph.D. as part of his academics and has 14 years of teaching experience.

Aditya Institute of Technology and Management

Being a Faculty of the ECE Department, what are your responsibilities towards the students?

"Taking lectures, assessing students and participating in department activities and meetings"

As a faculty of Electronics Communication Engineering Department, the ambiance of my responsibilities is very vast. I am responsible for taking lectures, internal assessment and examinations of students on a regular basis. Along with this, I am accountable for developing methodologies to educate students via discussion sessions about topics which are not in curriculum but essential for them to learn. Development of course material, audio visual/multimedia study materials , completion of syllabus within the stipulated time, guide students and address their academic and non-academic issues and queries, keeping a secure record of each student's results both electronically and in hard copy, attend meetings with the Department Head, guide students about available job opportunities in market, preparation of lab workbook, conduction of research programs in the department, organizing need based workshop, seminars, symposia, visits and excursions for students by coordinating with the concerned HoD, inviting guest speakers to interact with our students are some of my other duties I need to adhere on daily basis.

How do you establish healthy relations with the students and fellow faculty?

"By being a good listener, communicator, trustworthy and real person while interacting with them"

For the purpose of ensuring a healthy relationship with my students and colleagues, I stay in touch with my students during and after classes and try to understand things from their point of view. And I never leave any opportunity to appreciate my students whenever they'd achieve their goals or perform well in exams and if required, I also visit them at their homes. And with faculty, I have provided them a transparent and trustworthy communication environment and whenever we interact, I listen to them very carefully and make myself available whenever they need my support and lastly by being my true self, I ensure healthy relations with them.

How do you introduce a practical and industry oriented approach towards subjects?

"By keeping ourselves updated with trends of industrial world and inviting experts to take sessions"

I firmly believe that we can only ensure an industry oriented approach by keeping ourselves updated with the latest trends and technologies of the industrial world and involving industry people to educate students on various things. Hence, I regularly invite eminent people from the corporate sector to do workshops with our students and teaching staff because through this I get fresh ideas and inspiration on how we can teach our students in a better way.

Which best practices are offered by your department to the students to help them gain necessary skills?

"We offer MOOC courses and latest e-learning platforms in addition to counseling sessions"

The campus of our college is equipped with high speed internet connectivity. And we conduct activities and events like industrial visits to acquaint students with practical and basic engineering knowledge, blood donation camp to encourage students to help others by donating their blood and adhere to their ethical duty of being a good human being, Engineering day celebration on 15th September every year, poster presentation, paper presentation on a regular basis. Apart from this, an incubation center is there in our campus to inculcate entrepreneurship skills in students and give support to their business ideas and we offer MOOC courses and other e-learning platforms to students to keep themselves acquainted with the latest technologies and skills. Counseling sessions for weak students and remedial classes for slow learners are also arranged by us. Students also have 24 X 7 access to archived study material, digital library and central library even in off academic hours. Internal academic audit is conducted twice a year to monitor and assess planning, delivery, evaluation and attainment levels for every course and to improve the quality of teaching-learning process through counseling and appreciation. Guest lectures, seminars are a few other facilities we offer to our students to help them secure a good future for themselves.

How do you strategize and update the curriculum to make it benefiting for the students?

"By regularly including industry experts in curriculum development process and taking feedback from them"

I strongly believe that the most important aspect of curriculum development is to build student confidence so that students can make wise academic decisions by utilizing resources and facilities of college. And we update our curriculum every two years after rigorous analysis of industrial requirements and discussion with industry experts. Taking into consideration holistic development of students, a hybrid teaching-learning model is the best use case scenario. Our interdisciplinary curriculum lets the students explore regions they have never visited before, in other words, the education and research facilities which we offer to them helps them to transform their ideas into reality. In addition to this, we regularly take feedback from students and teachers and include their suggestions in the curriculum.

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How does your institute prepare students for placement and higher education?

"By grooming their overall personality through essential trainings, mock interviews and certification courses"

Our college does have a dedicated Placement and Training Cell whose responsibility is to make the students job ready by organizing necessary certification programs, aptitude training, resume writing sessions, mock tests and mock interviews. The final year students of our college also undergo technical training under the mentorship of industry personnel. In addition to this, we have Career Counseling Resource Centers having counselors who stay updated with contemporary industry trends and regularly guide our students about Placements, Entrepreneurship and Higher Studies. Workshops to give insights to students on the topics such as designing an impressive CV by using latest tools and techniques, training on Aptitude, Logical Reasoning and Quantitative skills, employability assessment tests to check the progress of training and assess the skill level of students, training on latest technologies, mock interviews: Interviews, for some, are herculean tasks while to reduce nervousness of students, make them more confident and help them improve their weak areas, internships and industrial visits are some of the practices we use to make our students placement and job ready.

How do you prepare your students to cope up with this competitive world?

"By offering them relevant training programs and industrial experience in association with industry partners"

We have collaborated with renowned industries and institutes to bring the best facilities in college for the benefit of students. Also, our faculties regularly assign projects, consultancy and testing assignments and arrange interaction sessions with society people to inculcate problem solving approaches in students. Our highly qualified and experienced faculty have close relations with government and nongovernment organizations and they are also reviewers for national and international journals, hence they ensure students get the best education along with finest society and industrial exposure. Lastly, complete support is provided to students to appear for government exams and undergo internships.

Which extracurricular activities are organized in college to enhance the skills of students?

"Community service programs, cultural events and musical concerts are organized by us"

As we all know that co-curricular activities help students to showcase and enhance their skills and make them more confident to face this world with more courage. And hence a wide variety of activities including volunteer and service-related activities are regularly organized by us and we also encourage students to do community service projects, such as rebuilding homes, planting trees or tutoring students during their college spring break. Apart from this, cultural activities are conducted to make students aware about each other's culture, religion and community. Last but not the least, for students who are interested in fine arts, plays, musicals and dance concerts are arranged by us to give them a platform to showcase their talents.

What challenges are you facing to uplift the education quality of your department?

"Unavailability of funds to establish modern college infrastructure and developing curriculum as per industry standards are major issues"

The lack of sufficient funds is the main problem which we are facing currently and this affects us in many ways including. Because on one hand, the infrastructure of college gets affected and hence hampers students' learning. And students' academic performance and results get degraded day by day. In addition to this, curriculum development, the problem of brain drain, issues like bribery to get a seat in college, inculcating latest technologies in our day to day work and curriculum are some of the other noteworthy issues. But we are striving hard to overcome all these issues with the support of our management and faculty members.

When you joined this college, what was your vision for it and how are you trying to achieve the same?

"To make my students technically proficient by offering all kinds of support and guidance"

When I joined this college, my objective was to create high-quality engineering professionals by offering them the finest quality education, research and innovation opportunities. And to make my vision into reality, I try my best to make my students technically, mentally and ethically strong and resilient and make appropriate opportunities available to help them realise their actual potential. I am always curious to know what they actually want in terms of training, internships and interview preparation sessions.

How does the curriculum of your college ensure the best practices of industry?

"It comprises of best programs, teaching methodologies, trainings and industry exposure"

Our curriculum is a perfect blend of theoretical and practical learning experience which will ensure overall growth of students by inculcating skills like positive attitude, good communication and technical skills enriched with good character, self-confidence and leadership qualities, which are actually mandatory for students to work in a corporate culture. We also conduct industry interaction sessions from time to time to educate our students about opportunities and challenges of the outside world. Furthermore, students work with many different companies like Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, AMD, IBM, Cadence, Maven Silicon etc. and in various projects as Project Managers, Developers or Designers.

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How does your college enhance the skills of faculty and prepare them as per industry standards?

"Through workshops, FDPs, webinars and by assisting them financially to conduct pursue higher studies"

We encourage our faculties regularly to participate in the Faculty Development Programs, workshops and webinars to make themselves aware about the latest trends and developments in the industrial and academic world. Apart from this, they are motivated to publish research papers in national and international journals, involve themselves in research and development activities, attend conferences and join PhD programs. And college provide full support to them by offering 24*7 high speed internet facilities on campus, high performance Laptops to improve their research performances, and financial assistance to pursue PhD programs.

What approaches do you bring in apart from curriculum to teach the students?

"I brief them about their academic performance and use result oriented teaching techniques"

For this, I give feedback to my students on a regular basis about how they are performing in academics and where they need to improve themselves. And I continually monitor progress of my students be it academics or in co-curricular activities. Next technique which I generally use is that before starting any topic, I clearly state my objectives and learning outcomes to my students so that everyone comes on the same page. Last but not the least, I encourage them to rephrase what I taught to them to ensure they retain the content for a long time.

Any valuable advice which you would like to give to the students to have a prosperous career ahead?

"Make best use of your time by enrolling yourself in work-study programs and internships"

I would advise my students to keep looking for suitable internships where they can utilize their existing skills and build new one. Also enroll yourself in work-study programs, keep learning new technologies and skills, stay focused towards your goals and maintain a balance between your personal and professional life. Also pursue what you like to do, don't get affected easily by others opinions, stay motivated and build your network by using the best use of social media.