Dr. Sai Ram has been working as the Head of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department at Dhanekula Institute of Engineering and Technology, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. He is an experienced professional and has passion to educate students and youths of our society. He has done B.tech and M. Tech from JNTU Hyderabad, M.S from Bits Pilani and PhD from JNTU Kakinada as part of his education. Also, he has an amazing 21+ years of experience in academics, research, teaching, training and consultancy. He is actively involved in guiding and performing research on various facets of Technologies and he firmly believes that powerful learning can transform students into practically skilled serviceable Engineers. As a purposeful educationalist, he has endeavored to publish text books and research papers which outline his educational tendencies. He is an optimist who believes in close connectivity among students, parents, teachers, and support staff, striving to create a milieu that sustains excellence.

DIET

Being a Head of the EEE Department at DIET, what are your roles and responsibilities towards the students?

"My responsibility is to ensure overall growth and development of my students"

As a Head of the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department of DIET, my main responsibility is to mold our students such that they should have a strong foundation in Electrical Engineering along with Mathematics, Sciences and allied Engineering subjects. Apart from this, inculcating good problem solving skills, design skills in them and making them capable enough so that they can use modern engineering tools properly also comes under the scope of my responsibilities. Last but not the least, making them ready for an outside competitive world and a lifelong learner is also part of my day to day job.

How do you establish healthy relations with the students of your college?

For the purpose of ensuring a healthy relationship with my students and fellow faculties, I regularly interact with them on an individual basis so that I can understand their academic and non-academic issues properly and resolve them on time. Apart from this, I try to figure out their passion areas and interests so that I can provide them with appropriate learning opportunities, then we also share our success stories with each other and keep the classroom as well as the outside environment full of humor and friendliness. Lastly, I attend students' events regularly to encourage them and spot their hidden unique talents.

How do you bring in a practical and industry-oriented approach toward subjects?

While teaching my students, I communicate instructions and knowledge very clearly covering all theoretical as well as practical concepts so that students can understand each topic properly and in depth. And this approach has proved to be quite helpful for me as it helps students create an action plan by which they can effectively use their theoretical knowledge in real-life situations and industries they will be employed in the future.

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

We follow the approach of outcome based education, flipped classrooms and think-pair-share to help students gain necessary skills. Also we provide them abundant opportunities for e-learning and doing MOOC certifications and remedial classes along with additional coaching sessions are arranged for slow learners. In addition to this, we have interdisciplinary courses for advanced learners and industry experts are regularly involved in college activities, events and training programs to educate students beyond hard-coded curriculum and books. We also conduct counseling sessions for students having poor academic performance and every student has 24*7 access to archived study material, digital library, dedicated set of textbooks through central library and our curriculum itself has been developed in support with expert academicians, industry personnel and renowned pedagogical experts keeping in mind the dynamic requirements and standards of AICTE.

Last but not the least, we have well established and ultra modern laboratories to conduct experiments and we purchase high end equipments and softwares on annual basis to give best facilities to students for their research and development work and internal quality audit takes place regularly for question paper setting and assessment and we keep motivating our students to appear in competitive exams, summer internships and go abroad for higher studies.

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

"By thoroughly analyzing the weak areas of our education practices and defining our end goals"

While designing or updating the curriculum of our college, first we define the objectives and goals we have to achieve at the end and then we critically analyze the academic requirements of our students and existing gaps and problems of our educational practices and teaching methodologies. And if required we also take inputs from industry experts and academicians to make necessary changes in the curriculum.

Check Dhanekula Institute of Engineering & Technology Courses & Fees

What are your views upon the placements and higher education of students from your department?

"We provide every possible support to our students for both the things and also organize mock interviews and GD regularly"

As we all know that a good career requires advanced education and a college degree can be critical to overall success. Hence our department helps, assists and prepares students for the corporate world by conducting co interviews and group discussion and we also discuss with them about various tips and tricks they can use to prepare a smart resume and cover letter and nail during the actual interview.

How do you prepare your students to deal with the outside competitive world?

"By motivating them to believe in themselves and keep working on their weak areas"

For the purpose of preparing students for the outside competitive world, we regularly motivate them to believe in their skills and knowledge and never compare their individuality with others as they are unique and special in their own way. In addition to this, we ask them to set realistic goals for themselves, because once vision will be clear in their head they will be able to walk on even hardest roads with courage and confidence. Also they are involved in group projects so that they can discover the importance of teamwork and help each other to accomplish a goal.

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

"Sports events, NCC activities and volunteering activities are regularly conducted by us"

We understand the importance of co-curricular activities in students life as theoretical knowledge alone is not enough to prepare them for the challenges and struggle of the outside world. Hence our college regularly organizes NCC related activities and events, sports events and games to keep them physically and mentally strong and bring out their hidden talents, followed by volunteering activities to make students socially sensitive and responsible.

What challenges are you facing in uplifting the education quality of your department?

"Students focus has shifted from offline to online classes and it has impacted their learning pace which has become a problem for now"

As with the ever changing educational and technological world, there is a huge demand for lifelong learning to cope up with the challenges. And this covid pandemic has ruined students interest in practical learning as they want to study through online classes. Hence the imbalance which has been created between students' learning efficiency, pace of learning has become a challenge for us as it's very important to shift back to offline lectures.

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

When I joined this amazing college, my only aim was to provide best quality education to students and transform them into successful professionals and leaders. In addition to this, my goal was to fulfill students needs by creating an educational environment in which they can attain a variety of goals. And to make my goals true, we always try to maintain a high standard of integrity and performance which can help students grow both personally and professionally.

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

"We follow the curriculum designed by the University and there sits an expert team hence best practices are already included"

As our institution is not an Autonomous college, hence we follow the curriculum designed by the university. But industry representatives and experts are invited in our college on a regular basis to participate in the department Board of Studies meetings, scrutinize the syllabus of professional courses and suggest necessary changes and inputs. And we also propose the inputs received from experts to our University people so that they can do required modifications on their level.

How does your college enhance the faculty's skills and prepare them according to industry standards?

Although all the faculty members of our college are highly qualified and experienced, they also need to upgrade their knowledge with changing technologies and market demands. Hence our college regularly organizes in-house training programs and faculty development programs. Also Faculty members’ are assessed in four areas such as teaching, scientific research, community service and promoting quality assurance procedures as and when required.

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

We are implementing experiential learning as it is a great teaching method and encourages creativity among students, helps them to learn from their mistakes, fosters reflective thinking and prepares them for a better future. Apart from this, this practice of learning by doing is useful during science experiments, sports and group projects.

What do you see as your college’s greatest strengths and how it can be enhanced?

The main pillars of our college strength are our formal and written rules which have been written about two main dimensions including durability safeguards and enforcement safeguards.

Click Dhanekula Institute of Engineering & Technology Placements

Any valuable advice which you would like to share with the students for a prosperous career ahead?

I would like to advise my dear students to always work hard with full dedication and commitment until they reach their destination. And if you are not good at something, don't ignore it and try to improve yourself day by day. Last but not the least, always stay focused toward your studies and keep learning new skills