Dr. A.S. Shanthi has been working as the Head of Admission and Computer Science & Engineering Department at Tamilnadu College of Engineering, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. She has done BE, ME and PhD as part of her academics. She did her UG and PG from Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College and her Doctorate from Anna University in Chennai. Her area of specialization is Data Mining and Image Processing. She has published more than 12 papers and has 19 years of rich and amazing experience in the field of Education. 

Tamilnadu college of Engineering

What is the Vision and mission of your Computer Science & Engineering Department?

"It is to empower students with best skills and values"

The Vision of our Department is to equip our students with the latest skills in the field of Computer Science and Engineering to help them serve the evolving needs of the modern computing industry and society. In addition to this, we aim to produce the finest quality competent computing professionals by imparting innovative technical education, ethical values and leadership skills through an effective teaching-learning process and support them to conduct creative research in the emerging areas of technologies to have a real time industrial exposure.

What are some of the plans you would like to implement as the Head of department at TNCE?

"I would like to upgrade the education pedagogy as per changing industrial demands"

Being the Head of the Admission Cell and CSE Department, the scope of my responsibilities is very vast and I am planning to introduce new methodologies and educational practices to train our students as per needs of the corporate world. We keep them updated with respect to development in the corporate world and if I talk about the placements, we frequently conduct Alumni interactions programmes where juniors learn from their seniors. These interactions help our students comprehend their level and help them to mold themselves for the industry. And it gives a clear overview to us as well to plan effective learning programs for students.

How do you ensure that faculty members of your department stay updated on the latest trends?

"Faculties are upskilled via FDPs and NPTEL certification courses"

All the faculty members of our college keep them updated about the latest trends and developments of the outside world through the Faculty Development Programme, which is organized and supported by Anna University and approved by AICTE. Beside this, they upskill themselves through the six-month mandatory NPTEL courses and certifications.

How would you describe your leadership style?

"I believe in collaborative and independent way of working with others"

I firmly believe a leader should serve as an example for everyone and he/she should be capable of advising and helping their subordinates based on their available skills and resources. Hence, I take suggestions and ideas from my team of highly qualified and experienced faculty members while making decisions for college and students. 

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How do you strategize the curriculum to make it beneficial for the students?

"It is prepared by the expert team of University who are highly experienced in their respective areas"

We prepare and update the curriculum of our college after rigorous consultation with the Placement Trainers who give us valuable inputs about the expectations of industries. And based on their suggestions, we include new programs and training and discard the old one to make the curriculum more helpful for students' academic needs. Also, we consider students' perspective before finalizing these things. 

How does your department train its students for placements? 

"We train them via rigorous training programs, mock interviews and expert sessions"

We start preparing our students for placement rounds and actual interviews from the 1st semester itself. In the 1st year, we train students for their soft skills enhancement, followed by placement specific training programs which are generally arranged by the Placement Cell of our department. And in the third year, expert lectures and mock interviews are conducted by the Alumni of our college and post these training, constructive feedback is given to all students for their performance, as it helps them to improve their knowledge and learn new skills. 

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How do you prepare your students for the outside competitive world? 

"They are made competent through events like professional visits and apprenticeships"

From the 3rd semester onwards, internships and industrial visits are compulsory for students no matter which course they are pursuing with us. The main objective behind this is to make sure students learn more and utilize their knowledge to develop some amazing projects in their final year. And for the CSE department, we have a strong alumni network of 15-20 Alumni from Accenture, so this helps us a lot in arranging industrial visits and training for our students. Post training, students update their juniors about things they learn with respect to placement during those visits and internships. This in return prepares students of 1st and 2nd year to gather more information about their dream companies and its requirements. Lastly, I would like to tell the companies where our students go for internships include organizations like CTS, TCS and LnT.

Any valuable advice which you would like to give to students for a good career ahead?

"Keep your fundamentals clear and be a good human being"

I would suggest to my students to keep their fundamental concepts clear in their mind and also develop their communication skills, because these two are the most crucial to have a good career in future. Apart from this, learn the difference between personal and professional ethics, as your character and the way you interact with others matters the most. Be a good human being and try to serve your society in the best possible way.