Amritsar College of Engineering and Technology

Dr. Vijay Kumar Banga is the Principal of Amritsar College of Engineering and Technology. He has experience of 20 years in the field of education as a Principal, Dean, Professor. He emphasizes the importance of research culture in the education sector which will help in developing a workforce with the best skills and knowledge.

What are the key factors that keep you connected with the education sector?

“Playing an important role in nation-building”

Education is a profession that makes you a lifelong learner. I enjoyed this profession at all levels of my career. I had worked in various positions, as a teacher, and as an administrator. In this profession you are learning with every new student you come across. I feel very content as we can contribute toward the growth and future of the students.

What is your philosophy of leadership? How would you describe your leadership style?

“Fixating on the importance of transformational leadership”

As a leader, you require two very important qualities - to be impartial and transparent. You must own the responsibility of your institution. You are responsible for carefully selecting your team members who are ready to own the system. I always assume that all members of my team can handle their responsibility very well and keep my faith in their capabilities. I try to create an environment that supports everyone around us so that they can deliver their best. I make sure to take responsibility for the mistakes or failures and give credit to individual members when it is a success.

In your experience, what can an inbound student gain from studying here in your institute/ university/ school?

“Keeping the learning environment updated according to the global standards”

At ACET, we have a student-centric approach along with a flexible approach. To fulfill the institute-industry gap, we aggressively work on project-based learning and have strong tie-ups with the surrounding Industry. We have a culturally diverse environment at our campus as we have students from every state and 7 Nations. On our campus, students get to experience a complete cosmopolitan culture.

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How does the curriculum of the Amritsar Group of Colleges ensure the best practice of the industry?

“Developing soft skills necessary for the overall development of an individual”

Being an Autonomous Institute, we regularly revise our course curriculum where the members of the Board of Studies give their valuable suggestions. We value their feedback and try to incorporate their suggestions into our curriculum to fulfill the gap between the Institute and Industry. As a result, we can produce industry-ready manpower. Our focus is more on project-based learning and continuous evaluation. We incorporated communication skills, professional English, and aptitude building courses in each semester for better overall grooming of the students.

What do you think your roles and responsibilities to the Institute and the students are?

“To keep the management effective which in turn will benefit the students”

The institute is meant to play its role as a facilitator and extend its support for the betterment of the students which helps in fulfilling their dreams. Institute should work in the direction of the overall grooming of the student so that they can face challenges of the real world. Students' responsibility is to take maximum benefit from available resources in the institute. The most important factor for the students is time management so that they can take care of themselves and work in the direction of overall personality development.

What do you think should be the Institute’s top priority over the next 10 years?

“Making the New Education Policy a successful initiative”

As per the New Education Policy, their focus is toward autonomy in higher education and skill development. We are already moving on the same track. ACET became an autonomous institute in 2014. We are working on developing digital content, which is the future of learning. We will work more closely with industry to fulfill the gap between Academia and Industry.

When you first came to Amritsar Group of Colleges, what was your vision for the university? Has it evolved, and how far along in implementing that vision is you?

“To provide a conducive environment that emerges only as progressive”

In 2009, I joined this Institute as a Professor and Head in the Electronics and Communication Engineering department. In 2013, I joined as the Principal of Amritsar College of Engineering & Technology. I worked to contribute to the development and growth of the learning environment, enhancing academic and administrative efficacy, fostering excellence in research and institution building. I have always aimed at encouraging tie-ups and signing up of MOUs with Canadian, Indonesian, French, and Thailand Universities for student-teacher exchange programs developing eco-friendly campuses, strengthening student support, promoting value-based conduct and governance. Amritsar Group of Colleges now has an even bigger role to play in society as an education service provider. Under AGC three colleges are running which are ACET, APC (Amritsar Pharmacy College), and ALC (Amritsar Law College).

What are some of the biggest challenges you see, both for higher education in general and for the Amritsar Group of Colleges specifically?

“To adapt to the upcoming digital era of living and learning”

The biggest challenge for higher education is making the shift to digitization along with industry-ready manpower generation. At AGC we are training our faculties to adapt to this new mode of teaching and they are delivering very well through online teaching. We are having a strong tie-up with the surrounding Industry for making Institute-Industry Interface and as a result, the industry will get trained manpower.

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Any suggestions you would like to give to the current youth and the aspiring students?

“Look after yourself with a holistic approach”

Believe in yourself and accordingly choose your career path. Don’t follow others and avoid being a part of the crowd. There are no shortcuts to success. You need to work hard along with learning life skills and maintaining your good health.

How do you tend to establish a healthy relation and environment in your institute?

“Providing a supportive environment to get the best out of everyone”

As our approach is very student-centric, so everyone is responsible for the betterment of students. I assure them to be flexible and impartial toward students. There is an online web-based feedback system AGC-LMS for students which are directly monitored by me. It has proved very helpful in making the system transparent. I strongly believe in the capabilities of my team members and never doubt their intentions.