Dr. Anirban Mukherjee is currently serving as the Principal (Officiating) at RCC Institute of Information Technology, Kolkata. With a rich experience of around 25 years in non-formal and formal education, he had been working as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and then as Professor in the Institute for almost two decades. He has earned many accolades for the Institute and has made significant contributions in the academics and administration of the Institute. 

RCC Institute of Information Technology

What is the main agenda of RCCIIT and how futuristic is it?

“Excellence in imparting job oriented education and skill in IT and allied fields”

RCCIIT was created with the idea of developing it into a Centre of Excellence in the domain of Information Technology and allied fields. The institute has set up a standard model and strategy for quality IT education in the formal sector. Also, we have opened up allied disciplines like Electronics & Communication, Applied Electronics & Instrumentation and Electrical. We are very much focused on quality IT education in keeping with the demand of the IT industry and we hope that in the near future, with the initiative that we are taking, RCCIIT will be regarded as one of the best IT institutes in this region. 

What is the placement statistics of your Institute?

“Consistent placement with standard package in both IT & Core Sector”

Placement rate varies between 70% to 80% and has taken a good turn for the past year; This year for the 2021 batch so far our students have got more than 315 offers including multiple offers being bagged by many of them. Companies like Cognizant and TCS have taken more than 100 students each with TCS hiring highest (144) through CodeVita and NQT in the Ninja and Digital category. Infosys has offered a higher package in the Power Programmer category which is 8 LPA. The highest package offered by TCS and Cognizant are 7 LPA and 6.75 LPA in System Engineer and TBA category respectively. Considering other categories of hiring by these MNCs and companies of the likes of PWC, Hexaware, Global Ids, BYZUs, Coditas, the average package stands somewhere around 4 LPA. 

What is your philosophy of Leadership? 

“Engaging and mentoring team members with sharing of responsibility”

I like being an affiliative leader, where I want to work as a team-member, rather than giving directions and advice to others. I want to work hand in hand with my team, I fully believe in their abilities and potential. As I’m given a responsibility to lead the institute, I am trying to make sure that everybody feels comfortable and gets a reasonable job with a target. My prime responsibility is to monitor and sort out the problems of the teammates, if they face something in executing the tasks and meeting deadlines. I believe in independence and delegation of work but love to see accountability and perfection of individuals. 

Check RCC Institute of Information Technology Courses & Fees

Some brief about any new programs you have introduced in your Institute?

“Dynamic emerging area courses and programs for better placements”

We have changed the nomenclature of one of our M.Tech programs, earlier it was M.Tech in Telecommunication Engineering, and now it has been changed to M.Tech in Microelectronics and VLSI Technology. We have already applied to AICTE and University for change of M.Tech in Information Technology to M.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering (Artificial Intelligence). Last year, our society opened up a new institute, named RCCIIT (Non-AICTE), where we will run programs like BCA and B.Sc (Computer Science), B.Sc (Data Science) etc. affiliated by MAKAUT, from AY 2021-22 onwards. We have proposed a syllabus of B.Sc (Computer Science) with most of the emerging area courses like AI, ML, Data Sc., IOT, Cyber Security, Cloud Computing etc. to MAKAUT to be accepted and approved by their BOS. Once approved, RCCIIT will be the first college to offer B.Sc (Comp. Sc.) and M.Tech Comp. Sc. (AI) under MAKAUT. We hope there will be more employment opportunities with the introduction of these new programs as there is a demand in the IT industry. 

How do you enhance the skills and expose students to real world challenges?

“Special skill enhancement programs and training programs being offered in the campus”

One of the co-curricular activities pursued by our students is the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) which are offered by NPTEL/Swayam/Coursera. We have a dedicated team and SPOC who are looking after the Swayam Local Chapter of RCCIIT and MOOCs certifications by students. These are something extra apart from ther regular curricular courses and University also allows credit points against submission of the MOOCs certificates achieved by the students. Also, we have a tie up with NASSCOM, which has recently launched a flagship program of the MeitY, Government of India, called Future Skill Prime. In this platform, they offer foundation and higher level courses of NASSCOM and many academic partners like Udemi, Adobe, CISCO, Microsoft, AWS. Analytica TreasureHunt, Digital Vidya etc. where RCCIIT students can register and do certification courses on emerging technology like Blockchain, Cyber Security, Big Data Analytics, Web & Mobile, AI, ML etc. 

We also give them training on aptitude and soft skills in 3rd year by engaging external experts. To improve the coding skill of the students which is now checked by each of the recruiting companies, we have recently started special CSDM (Coding Skill development and Monitoring) classes right from 1st year to 3rd yr – best of the in-house faculty and external experts are engaged in CSDM classes. Training is given on fundamentals of coding (in C, C++, Java, Python) and also competitive coding required for cracking TCS CodeVita, NQT, HackwithInfy, InfyTQ, etc. 

We also have a Coding Club initiated by the 2nd Yr students and approved by the management for inculcating the coding culture within the IT & Core Engg. students.

How does the curriculum of RCCIIT ensure the best practice of industry?

“Introducing additional courses and specialized training by industry experts”

Institute runs programs which are affiliated to the University (MAKAUT) and the curriculum usually can’t be changed by the institute. However, while proposing the syllabus of B.Sc (Comp. Sc) and M.Tech CSE (AI) we have consulted industry experts to fine tune the curriculum. 

Besides curriculum we are arranging special training programs by industry experts and internships in industry whereby we ensure students are familiar with industry requirements and standards. We have formed an Advisory Committee with renowned academicians and industry experts and engaged an ex-Infosys executive as Advisor, Industry Alliance. The committee has chalked out a roadmap, where we can develop a long term relationship with the industry and inherit the best practice of the industry by involving the faculty and student community. We have signed up MoU with industries like North Drive System, Lynx (A unit of Lawrence & Mayo), Geetanjali Solar, Landis+Gyr and few more are to be signed for collaborative training and project on latest technology and industry problems to give the much needed industrial exposure to students and faculty,

To bridge the gap between industry need and academic outcome, Cognizant has started a special program called Digital Nurture program (DNP) for all students from 6th Sem – RCCIIT is one of the very few selected colleges pan India where DNP has lareday started; In this program students are required to successfully complete certain no of Technical and Life skill courses in 6th sem followed by internship in 7th sem. Those who would finally qualify are supposed to get pre-placement offers.

How do you guide the students to survive in such a highly competitive scenario?

“A disciplined and sincere approach to the fundamentals of the subjects – To be flexible and smart to imbibe necessary skills”

We have tried to identify what the industry is looking for. We preach to our students about learning by practice and develop a solid foundation of the fundamentals of the discipline and co-discipline, because these will be their bread and butter for their entire life. Nowadays University curriculum is not enough – in addition to that one has to acquire skills in emerging and co-curricular areas. Like the ECE, AEIE, EE students will have to learn Programming as also Blockchain, IOT, Web & Mobile, Cloud Computing etc. We are giving them quality input, providing them the right platform, and creating the exposure required - they will have to utilize and thrive on it. 

Discipline and sincere approach is important; those who are weak and find it difficult to cope up the challenge, we are there to help them out.

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

“Enhanced collaboration with industry and academia”

The top priority of ours is effective industry alliance. Secondly, preparing the students according to the industry needs with more specialized and industry requirement specific training. 

Also, we are keen to tie up with leading academic institutes so that the academic best practices automatically percolate down the line in our institute. It would eventually lead to permanent accreditation (NBA and NAAC) of all our programs. 

Click RCC Institute of Information Technology Placement

Any suggestions you would like to give to the aspiring students?

“Look for new technological learning with hands on”

The industry is moving towards emerging technology. No matter what a student is pursuing, he needs to have some exposure in any of these technologies to survive with the ever-changing industry. Although we are making approaches to provide the best to them, students must also put in extra efforts by themselves without waiting for the inputs from the institute. They must go for value-added programs and courses along with hands-on projects that help in in-depth learning and generating innovative ideas. They should not only aim for industry jobs but also have a look out for entrepreneurship opportunities. 

Besides studies they must nurture innovative ideas and special skills by getting involved in constructive activities, joining tech clubs, cultural clubs, sports club, language/debate clubs, NSS teams which also help develop maturity and personality and ability to work in a team.