Student-Centric Methods

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Student-Centric Methods

Alumni

Alumni

PHCET takes great pleasure in forming an active Alumni Network. Alumni Association is administered by an Alumni Committee. The alumni association is very active in promoting interactions and a feeling of fellowship amongst students, faculty and the management. The alumni association lends support to the college to achieve its cherished goals, vision and mission. The aim of this platform is to facilitate easy communication amongst REC alumni and also provide an opportunity to reconnect with their Alma Mater. This will strengthen our efforts in placements, project work and Industry-Institution interaction by providing a conducive environment and the right platform.

The alumni meet aims to foster a sense of community among alumni, while supporting a sense of connectedness back to the institution. Alumni meet helps new professionals to meet with people they have met before, to establish or renew friendships and acquaintances. The professionals can exchange information about their work, experience and help each other with networking needs such as hiring, referrals for specific expertise, or looking for a new job. The young students can meet with alumni of their Department. This allows them to meet others who share the institutional connection and to start their academic career with new social connections. In the future, we also have plans to have our Alumni set up start-up industries in our institute by providing subsidized office space and computer infrastructure.

Alumni Meet 2018 on 10th March, 2018

The Objectives of the Alumni Meet are:

  • To act as a bridge between professionals for interaction on new developments in different areas of education.
  • To promote and foster interaction amongst the Alumni and the faculty members.
  • To associate the Alumni in the developmental activities of PHCET
  • To instil and organize scholarships and funds to help the needy and deserving students of PHCET.
  • To distribute prizes and awards for outstanding project work, research papers and other professional activities by the teachers, alumni & the students of the Departments, and to suitably recognize outstanding social and community services rendered by them.
  • To arrange teaching and training classes to the students studying in the college and also to the members to upgrade technical and general skills.
  • To gather and maintain database of employment information and to assist the members in securing suitable jobs.
  • To further strengthen the linkages between the PHCET Faculty with the students and corporate world.
Animation Videos and PowerPoint Presentations

Animation Videos and PowerPoint Presentations

PowerPoint presentations are an avidly used teaching tool with user-friendly functions to edit and visualize data and can be adapted to a diverse student population. The use of animations is becoming increasingly widespread in academic presentations. There is fairly extensive literature showing that animations are more effective than static sequential images. Appropriately designed animations can attract and retain students’ interest in a course presentation much longer as compared with static images.

At PHCET, PowerPoint is used as a versatile, multi modal presentation tool that can be used as an advanced knowledge organization and delivery tool to present content to learners. Multimedia software is also effective at communicating audio-visual materials, charts and documented research addressing learning paradigms with PowerPoint and enabling teachers to retain learners’ concentration and interest. A Majority of the PHCET students believe that PowerPoint lectures are more interesting and captures students’ attention much better than traditional lectures.

Designing an animation in PowerPoint to contain a number of multimedia elements, including text, graphics and sound can add interest and excitement in the teaching-learning process. The Custom Animation features in PowerPoint provide a list of effects that users can apply to objects such as pictures, text, and other graphics to animate them during a slide show. Most of the PHCET faculty members use PPTs and other Smart Teaching tools to aid in effective teaching. Additionally, many faculty members share the MOOC videos as well as in-house recorded videos of concepts with students. We also share recommended MOOCs provided by NPTEL, IITs and other sources like Khan Academy and MIT Open courseware.

Bridge Course

Bridge Course

Bridge course is one of the initiatives taken by Pillai HOC College of Engineering and Technology (PHCET) to give students the confidence and skills for successful transition from high school to college. Bridge courses for newly admitted students are conducted every year at PHCET before the commencement of the first semester classes.

The main objective of these courses include

  • To bridge the gap between subjects studied at Pre-university level and subjects taught in Engineering.
  • To act as a buffer for new entrants and make them comfortable with the curriculum.
  • To focus on fostering a strong sense of ethical judgement and moral fortitude
  • To promote applications based self-learning and exchange of a large cross section of students from different backgrounds
  • To promote active, project based learning

The orientation program is conducted by respective departments. At the beginning of the first semester, three days bridge course on ‘Application of Mathematics in Engineering’ is organised by Mathematics faculty in collaboration with the other departments. The essential concepts that are prerequisites for engineering courses are taught to students on a priority basis.

PHCET invites Experts from different Institutions to interact with the new entrants and brief the students with their expertise in various fields of Engineering. Along with expert talks, the students are exposed to course orientations and Industry visits for furnishing their social as well as technical side of learning. Guest lectures on Upcoming emerging technologies, Plumbing Engineering and Concepts for Smart Cities are organized by the respective departments. These assist in creating strong fundamentals of the Engineering subjects, and lay the foundation for the entire four year programme.

The orientation program of Computer Engineering students is aimed at familiarizing the fundamentals of programming languages and thereby teaching them to write small programmes in C language which is a part of the FE curriculum for all branches. Short term training program on ‘Internet of Things’, ‘Ethical Hacking’, ‘Cyber Security’ leads to deeper understanding of the subject. At PHCET, students who underwent the bridge course have fared extremely well in Examinations. Also,most students who have attended the bridge course in the previous years have appreciated the initiative. Series of Workshops on ‘Effective Problem Solving’ enable students to boost their critical thinking and problem solving skills. One day workshop on ‘Network Security’ and ‘Data Centre Technology’ organised by Information and Technology Department equipped students with the knowledge and confidence needed to take on bigger challenges as future Engineers and Data Scientists. Lecture on ‘Building Quality Consciousness’ organized by PHCET has proven to be an eye opener. It was found that the students felt motivated towards the end of sessions and satisfied with the content as well as experience shared by the Experts.

'Application of Mathematics in Engineering' Three Days Bridge Course

'Application of Mathematics in Engineering' Three Days Bridge Course

Expert Lecture on Application of Remote Sensing and GIS in Surveying

Expert Lecture on Application of Remote Sensing and GIS in Surveying

Building Quality Consciousness Program

Building Quality Consciousness Program

Classroom Instructions

Classroom Instructions

Classroom instruction is the purposeful direction of the learning process and is one of the most significant class activity along with course planning and management. Classroom instruction includes interaction and discussion during lecture hours and during contact hours of the teacher. Teaching-learning process is carried out to deliver concepts and link those to industry / product functional requirements as directed by the Mumbai University Curriculum. The frequency of contact hours is limited to course credits.

At PHCET, tools used to deliver lectures effectively in classroom include charts, models, power point presentations for visualization of concepts, case study analysis and more. To enhance students’ grasping abilities and improving thought processes, unique individual assignments are framed for each student. Students are provided assistance to solve these assignments in class during assignment contact hours or extra lectures. A sample of the individual student assignment is illustrated below.

Individual Student Assignment

Student concentration, attention, ability to learn, time utilization, healthy atmosphere of classroom are achieved through a 5 minute meditation session in the classroom. Problem-solving during class hours in the form of mock tests are conducted to nurture expertise in relevant areas as preparation for the University Examination.

Meditation Session

Study Camp schedules during classroom instruction hours motivate weak student to practice the subject concepts, problem solving abilities and make them pass in subjects and improve academic performance. During classroom interactions, faculty members try to maximize students’ learning capacity and time utilization by providing the right atmosphere. PHCET develops a variety of models for classroom instruction which acts as guidelines on which the approaches to teaching by instructors are based. Students are engaged in identifying similarities and differences through comparing and classifying, which helps them to understand more complex problems by analyzing in a simpler way. Students are encouraged to identify essential information and capture key ideas and concepts.

Students are provided with facilities to recognize the achievements of special goals to enhance performance and stimulate motivation. Students are provided with homework and practice, to use skills and deepen the understanding on content already available. Students are demonstrating acquired knowledge using drawings and several hands-on activities which enhances their team building capacity and prepares them for Industry.

Coding Club

Coding Club

PHCET, Rasayani has always believed in creating engineers who are technically sound and motivated making them ready for the industry. As a part of the training system, PHCET has created a ‘Coding Club’ for students who have interest in coding. The club includes basic, intermediate and advanced computer programming activities which are part of the campaign called the coding club. This is an initiative for introducing coding concepts, and the power of computer programming, to as many students as possible across all departments of the institute. This initiative also aims in preparing students for placements by conducting practice tests which are based on the format of questions that are asked in the top IT / Tech Firms.

No matter what field you are in you will face a situation where you need to code up something and see. So want to learn what programming is? Or you have an interest in algorithms and need to know how to implement them in real life? Or you are interested in the development of software? Well, in that case, Coding Club is the place for you.

Objectives:
The major objectives of this club are:

  1. Motivating students to learn to programme with enthusiasm.
  2. Teaching various methods of solving programming problems from different perspectives.
  3. Improving overall programming skills of students.

Who can join the team?
Anybody who is:

  1. Interested in programming.
  2. Needs to take part in various programming events, both inter-college and intra-college.
  3. Wants to learn to programme with fun.
  4. Likes to get the latest updates in the programming field.

In this club, case studies will be assigned and students will have to design algorithm & test cases for the same. All the interested students need to register their names with the departmental coordinator. Once the names have been registered, club coordinators then share the schedule of the session.

Under the banner of Coding Club, we have organized various competitions including the latest on 25th September, 2018 by Virtual Campus League (VCL) with around 200 students of PHCET registered for the competition. VCL is an inter-college National level programming / coding event where best programmers and tech-enthusiasts from engineering colleges come together to compete against each other. The winners walk away with job / internship interviews in renowned companies and / or attractive prize money / recognition. Our vision with Virtual Campus League is to create a platform for all engineering students and graduates to have a fair chance to showcase their skills to the industry. We call it “Democratization of the fresher hiring process”.

Promoting Coding Culture at PHCET Campus

Are you looking for a job or an internship in top-notch software companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon or Flipkart? Do you want to create something that helps transform the world for good? Do you have an online business idea that you want to bring to life?

-All that is possible if you can code well and inculcate a coding culture at our campus.

Coding Club Member Certification
Component Library

Component Library

The Component Library facility is an unconventional and innovative idea started by PHCET. This facility is currently functional at the Pillai center for innovation and research located at the ground floor of the engineering building.

The PHCET Component Library works on the same principle as any library except that students can borrow electronic components at this facility to complete their projects. Once the projects are completed, students return the borrowed equipment to the component library. Electronic components which can be borrowed include like RaspBerry PI, Arduino UNO, motors, sensors, resistors, jumper cables, batteries, actuators, wireless controllers and transformers. This facility is used by students for PBL (Project Based Learning), final year graduation projects, tech-fest events, mini projects, post-graduation projects and also Ph.D. projects. The facility is also used by faculties for conducting workshops for students as well as pursuing independent research.

This facility was started with an aim to promote research and enhance innovation as well as entrepreneurship among students. Hundreds of students can avail this facility every semester given the ease of accessibility using the component library.

A few projects that were built using the component library facility include the gripper bot (robotic bot with grippers to pick and place objects). These robots have wide applications in industries where robots pick and drop objects between designated locations. Students were facing a problem with the availability of components within a radius of 50 km. With the availability of the component library at PHCET, these students were able to work on prototype development on the robot model on the campus. The robot consists of a joystick module, potentiometer, resistors, sensors and multiple motors issued from the component library.

Concept Inventory

Concept Inventory

Concept Inventory is one of the best student centric methods of teaching and learning practiced at the Pillai HOC College of Engineering and Technology. First version of this concept was introduced by the Principal, Dr. Chelpa Lingam in 2012 for the benefit of students at PHCET. The purpose of this concept inventory is that minimum time is spent in searching for literature, reference materials and reference books such that maximum time can be availed by students for studying. The objective of concept inventory is to increase the self-learning strategies by the students. It gives a stock of the concepts required to learn and repaire for a particular domain and eventually for the course.

Within the concept inventory process, students are given the concept inventory of all the subjects at the start of a semester. Concept inventory gives complete information regarding the syllabus concepts, recommended books per concept for complete understanding, number of pages required to study along with the minimum time required to understand the concept. It is one of the best ways to promote self-learning among students. Students can sit in library with available books and with the use of concept inventory it becomes easy for them to prepare notes and to learn or understand a concept. Concept inventory gives the information in best possible way, whereas in its absence, understanding a particular concept might require searching through all available books in the library. Further, this process is upgraded annually and recommendations for procuring additional books are submitted to the library. Students can use the concept inventory and save precious time by avoiding the exhaustive search in available reference books. This becomes especially significant during the exams when time is extremely important for students.

Digital Library

Digital Library

The information age has led to the transition from hard copy to paperless library editions, which has taken the form of a digital library at PHCET. Here, information is stored in the digital repository in the form of electronic data inclusive of text, images, audio, video and other media formats. Objects can consist of digitized content like print or photographs, as well as originally produced digital content like word files or social media posts. In addition to storing content, digital library provides a means for organizing, searching and retrieving the content in the collection. The digital content may be stored locally or accessed remotely via computer networks. In the future, we plan to provide this feature to researchers and students on their mobile devices. These information retrieval systems are able to exchange information with each other through interoperability thereby enriching the environment by saving paper and trees.

PHCET Digital Library has got twenty dedicated computers and several additional electronic resources with Wi-Fi connectivity for users to access the subscribed e-resources. Users also access the internet, for assignments, projects and for MOOCs related courses. At the beginning of the academic year, the Library organizes orientation for e-resources. Orientation and training on the digital library is also provided to users on request. PHCET Library has a dedicated separate space of 40 Sq. mdedicated for the Digital Library with a subscription of 6,533 e-journals and 2,094 e-books altogether.

E-Learning

E-Learning

Learning of technical subjects online is helpful in enhancing students’ understanding and identifying technical abilities as well as practical challenges. A fundamental need for developing technical concepts and correlating them with design and mathematical models need smart teaching methods with 24/7 access to all materials and tools. Further, solutions of technical problems obtained through online apps and software can include interpretation of numerical and analytical results with a step by step guide to the conclusion of results.

Learning through online techniques requires the following basic infrastructure facilities: (a) Hardware, (b) Software and (c) support system and human resources.

Hardware used for online learning requires server systems, concurrent database, sufficient bandwidth and server configuration. Server types may include a dedicated server, shared server or cloud server. PHCET establishes in-house data center, data base and concurrent user systems in addition to high performance server bandwidth and high performance core processors for fast processing of requests, a higher RAM for quick response time and a hard-disc with sufficient space for storage, archiving and uploading online training courses.

Learning Management System is a Software system for online learning techniques in addition to which PHCET establishes software including the in-house built MOODLE and AMS (Academic Management System) with dedicated servers, customized features including reporting and assessment tools. Support system provides services to database users and concurrent users in the creation of online learning courses and editing course and student accounts. Dedicated support team helps in maintaining the standards for quick search and accurate reporting schemes. Support system team provides services for getting the required reports of ROI analysis on training. Additionally, support system caters to several services resulting in higher efficiency and real-time reporting.

The following online learning tools are available at the PHCET campus to synchronize distance learning include web conferencing tools allowing for live chats – individual or course-wide, as well as streaming video platforms. Asynchronous tools are also available to record online and access online courses as per requirements by faculty members and students. Asynchronous tools are downloadable pre-recorded lectures, Microsoft power point presentations with voice streams, forums and discussion boards, Google drive, collaborative tools, virtual tutoring centers and virtual resource centers. There are digital class rooms developed at PHCET to enhance the effectiveness of online learning performance. The digital room equipped with digital tools with learn-boost tool allows to track students’ progress in real-time using a digital grade book ‘MOODLE’ (Modular Object – Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment).

The PHCET campus follows online courses floated by NPTEL for our faculty members and students with a large number actively registered in the NPTEL programmes. Some of these courses include Concrete Technology, Geoenvironmental Engineering: Landfills, Slurry Ponds and Contaminated Sites, Principles of Construction Management, Design of Reinforced Concrete Structures and Introduction to Fluid Mechanics, Introduction to Electromagnetism, Solid State Physics, Theory of Groups for Physics applications and Advanced Quantum Mechanics with Applications.

Entrepreneurship Cell

Entrepreneurship Cell

The Entrepreneurship Cell in PHCET was launched on 20th January, 2016. This Entrepreneurship Cell was set up for the young and vibrant students who aspire to become an entrepreneur or have their own family business and would like to join it after completion of studies. E-cell is a place for sharing ideas, networking, learning about starting a business and understanding the nuances of managing a business. The mission of E-Cell is to provide a forum for exchange of innovative ideas that stimulate economic growth and help build sustainable businesses thereby developing entrepreneurship skills among the youth and job creation within the community while envisaging a responsible approach towards the environment.


Activities in E-Cell

PHCET launched its first Business Plan Competition in 2016. As the first step towards the competition, each team had to submit their business idea. The grading criteria were based on novelty of the idea, its feasibility, and impact on the society.

The elimination round of the business plan competition was held at the Panvel Campus on 27th December, 2016 and at Rasayani Campus on 28th December, 2016. About 20 teams participated in the same. The Final rounds of the Business Plan Competition 2016-17 was held on Friday, 10th March 2017 at Conclave, Dr. K. M. Vasudevan Pillai Campus, Panvel. Five teams competed for the prize money of Rs. One lakh.

Abrigo India team from PHCET was adjudged the winner of the competition and received the trophy from the jury.


Experiential Learning in Computer Labs

Experiential Learning in Computer Labs

Experiential Learning is the process of learning through experience, and is more specifically defined as learning concepts by working on a project which uses the same concept. Experiential learning is a method of educating through first-hand experience. Skills, knowledge and experience are acquired outside of the traditional academic classroom setting. Experiential learning requires self-initiative, an “intention to learn” and an “active phase of learning”.

PHCET has always believed in creating innovative ideas for dissemination of concepts thereby increasing understanding to the students. With the help of experiential learning in computer lab, PHCET has added another dimension to the same. Following are some initiatives taken for experiential learning in computer labs.

Security club:

Pillai HOC College of Engineering and Technology held inaugural ceremony of Security Club on 3rd November, 2016 with 17 students. Security Club was initiated to spread awareness about cyber threats and to learn about Ethical Hacking and Cyber Security. Many students enrol in the club to gain knowledge about hacking and cyber security. The activities conducted under the security club are seminars on various topics, practice about Penetration Testing and Vulnerability testing, tips and tricks on cyber security.


Workshop:

Different workshops are organized for students in computer lab to provide hands-on experience on new technologies by industry experts or academician. PHCET has organized workshops on JAVA and SQL, PC Assembling, The Internet of Things, Embedded Target board’s workshop, PCB Workshop Software Session and Power Electronics Application to Renewable Energy Resources to provide effective training to students.


Exhibition on the Internet of Things Innovation:

The Internet of Things (IoT) is expanding at a rapid rate, and it is becoming increasingly important for professionals to understand its working and usability. Pillai HOC College of Engineering and Technology organized The IOT Innovation Exhibition on 12th October, 2018. Total 21 groups have participated in this Exhibition.


Computer Museum:

Students create computer museum based on a theme. Students design different models for generations of Computer, different hardware, Space X models, space control room and Flying Space Craft.

Simulators:

Various simulation programs and modelling are taught to the student during this practical session. This helps them to relate to the real world of engineering in simulation. Different simulation software like NS2, JFLab and CPU-OS Simulator are taught at PHCET.

Identifying Failures involving Parents

Identifying Failures involving Parents

Faculty-Parent Joint Effort for Student Improvement
Failure Analysis:

As a part of our ZERO KT program, PHCET conducted a study on failure rates in students to analyze the reasons of failure eventually resulting in dropouts. The reasons behind failures were grouped into seven main categories, including motivation, study habits, academic preparation, external factors such as access and commute, attitude and mind-set and finally class instruction. Motivation and study habits are primarily the root cause of student failures at college level. These two factors, as well as academic readiness and student attitudes are fundamentally under the control of the students. The instruction, instructional materials and instructors’ quality are controlled by the faculty, educators and college administrators. Students are aware of the reason of failure which often is within their control and responsibility. Student motivation is the leading cause behind academic failure. Motivation influences student attitude, study habits and academic readiness. Though the college learning environment, learning materials and instructional pedagogy, faculty, educators and college administrators can help students in succeeding, students who have a good understanding of the content being taught are generally more motivated with a relatively positive attitude and therefore a greater probability of better performance in academics. At PHCET, we have adopted some methods to alleviate failures among students as listed below.

How to help a Failing Student:

  1. Involvement of parents in child’s academics: In spite of their responsibility to their wards, parents are unaware of the performance of their wards due to lack of communication, illiteracy or negligence. PHCET makes a special effort during Parent-Teacher meetings to brief them about the scheme of academic activities and involvement of parents whenever needed.
  2. Encourage students: Failure disturbs and troubles the student mind-set and the focus is shifted from studies. Through constant mentoring and interaction these students are motivated for further improvements. Psychological counselling is also used decided on individual case basis.
  3. Involvement in Academic Pursuit: An exercise to walk the student through self realization and activity specially design in the form of questionnaire including – reasons for the failures, their future plans to improve any assistance from the concerned faculties or any other form of help that they require. Help in the form of question bank, handwritten notes and easily accessible reference books are given to them to assist in their approach to studies.
  4. Look for Underlying Problems: Efforts are made to check for any learning disability that the student is unaware or for any personal reasons at home that is perhaps coming in the way of their academics.
  5. Don’t give up on them: Not only students but also teachers are motivated to maintain personal level of contact with the students via WhatsApp, Emails and even telephonic calls to maintain their focus and follow-up on their progress. Parents are also kept in touch and are invited regularly to participate in the Parent-Teacher Meeting.

Efforts taken by PHCET:

Extra Classes: As per the requirement for difficult subjects, extra classes are arranged which helps them to clear doubts and difficulties in challenging subjects. At PHCET, we have arranged crash courses for difficult subjects.

Visualization Support: PHCET has arranged special coaching with simulation tools in engineering many subjects requiring visualization such that below average students are able to visualize specific concepts.

Parent-Teacher Meeting: Regular Parent-Teacher Meetings are conducted with separate meetings for the dropout students. Special efforts are made by the Principal for full support and guidance to dropouts and weaker students.

IIT Spoken Tutorial

IIT Spoken Tutorial

Spoken Tutorial is an initiative under the program ‘Talk to a Teacher’ by the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (ICT) launched by the Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD), Government of India and developed by the IIT (Bombay). The objective of Spoken Tutorial is to spread knowledge on technology using Free Open Source Software (FOSS) across the country providing equal access opportunities for underprivileged students in learn various software and simulation tools.

In the Computer Engineering Department at PHCET we have included a course on “C programming” for second year students and “Java” for third year students. The current enrollments for these initiatives include 154 and 140 students, respectively. Since the same courses are a part of the current curriculum defined by the University of Mumbai, this activity becomes even more beneficial for students in understanding basic concepts. “A picture speaks a thousand words” – an audio-video tutorial helps in explaining the activity performed on the computer by seeing and hearing someone explain a process and considerably assists in improving understanding of concepts. This learning method is highly beneficial for self-learning students as the audio content is available in 22 Indian languages including Hindi, Kannada, Marathi and Malayalam thereby overcoming existing language barriers. Students are able to enrol in Spoken Tutorial Programs in various disciplines and topics including but not limited to programming languages, office tools, Design thinking and Circuit design tools through audio-video tutorials. Further, students are allowed to take online examinations and obtain certification which are free and open source. At PHCET, final year students usually complete multiple course certifications along with their UG Degree by the end of the degree course.Thereby leading to improved analytical thinking and confidence with adequate employability indices suitable to work on live projects in industry and research centres.

Industrial Visit

Industrial Visit

Industrial Visit (IV) turns out to be an integral part of the teaching-learning process during which students visit industries to learn actual functioning and working of processes in industry. This gives an insight into the internal working environment of the company and practical aspects of their courses which cannot be comprehended during lectures. Industrial Visits present students with practical perceptive and hands-on learning experiences that are essential for better understanding of their processes and functions at the workplace. The interaction between students and industry helps students to improve their skills and competencies to become employable. Industrial Visits introduce students to all the advanced materials, tools, technologies and techniques used in the industry. Thus it helps to broaden the student’s attitude to their career and professional choices. It gives greater clarity about various management concepts for students as they can practically see how these concepts are put into action. Realizing the importance of site Visits each department of the Institute (PHCET) conducts Industrial Visits from time to time considering it as a mandatory part of the curriculum.

The Department of Automobile Engineering and Mechanical Engineering had conducted Industrial Visit at Reliance Thermal Power Plant, Dahanu, Maharashtra for third year students on 6th April, 2017 wherein Students got knowledge of Thermal Power plant, Turbines and Electricity generation.

6th April, 2018 – Group photograph at Industrial Visit to Reliance Dahanu Thermal Power Plant, Dahanu, Maharashtra

Further, an Industrial Visit was organized at Gokul Milk Dairy, Turbhe, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra for final year students on 12th April, 2017 for the subjects Refrigeration & Air Conditioning, Power Engineering and Production Processes, during which students became aware of the functioning of a Bottle filling plant, Packaging system, Milk storage and handling, Refrigeration and process equipment used in this Industry.

12th April, 2018 - Processing at Industrial Visit to Gokul Milk Dairy, Turbhe, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra

12th April, 2018 - Group photograph at Industrial Visit to Gokul Milk Dairy, Turbhe, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra

Department of Civil Engineering: Each year Department of Civil Engineering conducts Industrial Visits for most of the subjects. The following Industrial Visit was conducted by Civil Engineering at CIDCO Construction Site, Sector-15, Roadpali, Kalamboli on 7th April, 2018 for M.E. second semester students.

Industrial Visit to CIDCO Construction Site, Sector-15, Roadpali, Kalamboli, on 7th April, 2018

These Industrial Visits were conducted by Civil Engineering at CIDCO Building Project, Kharghar on 28th March, 2018 for second year students. This site was selected in order to study various equipment used in the construction industry.

S.E., Civil Engineering students, Industrial Visit to CIDCO Building Project, Kharghar on 28th March, 2018

S.E., Civil Engineering students at Industrial Visit to CIDCO Building Project, Kharghar on 28th March, 2018

The below Industrial Visit was conducted by Civil Engineering at Common Effluent Treatment Plant, MIDC, Patalganga on 23rd March, 2018 for final year students.

Industrial Visit to Common Effluent Treatment Plant, MIDC, Patalganga on 23rd March, 2018

The below Industrial Visit was conducted by Civil Engineering at Ultra Tech RMC Plant, Khopoli on 24th March, 2018 for second year students for concrete technology subject. This site was selected as it will cover all the process involved in manufacturing, i.e. batching, mixing, handling, transportation of concrete. Lab testing and equipment used for testing were also of importance during the visit. Batching cabin manger discussed in detail about how batching is done as per recipe of concrete which is dependent on grade of concrete.

Industrial Visit to Ultra Tech RMC Plant, Khopoli on 24th March, 2018

Industrial Visit to Ultra Tech RMC Plant, Khopoli on 24th March, 2018

The Industrial Visit was conducted at Sewage Treatment Plant, Nerul, Navi-Mumbai on 9th October, 2017 where the students observed the working of screen, grit chamber and C-Tech Process etc. The students were also made aware about the difficulties involved in the treatment of large quantity of waste generated every day in the city / area. In addition, the students were enlightened about the use of advance treatment methods and their advantages in the treatment. They also learnt about the importance of conservation the water.

Industrial Visit to Sewage Treatment Plant, Nerul, Navi Mumbai on 9th October, 2017

The Industrial Visit to Landfill site, Ramky Industries, Taloja was conducted for final year civil engineering students, as per curriculum of elective subject Solid Waste Management on 17th November, 2017. Students observed and noted down the method of separation of different types of waste received from the government agencies, method and operation of land filling, working of incinerators.

Industrial Visit to Landfill Site, Ramky Industries, Taloja on 17th November, 2017

Department of Civil Engineering has conducted Industrial Visit to Metro Station – 7, Kharghar for M.E. students on 2nd November, 2017. 7th station of Belapur-Pendhar-Kalamboli-Khandeshwar metro rail project of the Phase 1 of Navi Mumbai metro project. CIDCO has envisaged developing metro rail corridors in Navi Mumbai to establish better North-South and East-West connectivity between all the residential nodes and to improve connectivity with Mumbai’s transportation system. This site had an efficient and versatile attributes, due to which it was an enormously fruitful experience to Visit the Navi Mumbai Metro Station No-07 site.

Industrial Visit to Metro Station – 7, Kharghar on 2nd November, 2017

Department of Civil Engineering has conducted Industrial Visit to NIFT CAMPUS, Kharghar on 18th November, 2017 for M.E. students. Presently this project is monitored by Honorable Prime Minister due to the urgency of completion of the academic complex for the utilization of facility at Plot 20. At present, the work progress is very slow due to various architectural changes made by the architect for the fulfillment of the modern academic amenities.

Industrial Visit to NIFT CAMPUS, Kharghar on 18th November, 2017

Department of Computer Engineering has conducted Industrial Visit at I-Medita, Pune Cisco Networking Labs. Over 52+ students from Computer Engineering Department Visited I-Medita Networking Labs and were introduced to the world of Networking. The motto of this Industrial Visit was to give practical insights about Networking Industry and to discuss how they can start their high flying careers in the Networking domain. Medita has Pune’s Biggest Cisco Networking Labs which consist of a large number of Racks consisting Cisco Routers, Switches, Firewalls etc. Students visited these labs and interacted with CCIE experts. During this Industrial Visit, details about Networking Devices and their Industrial practices were also discussed amongst the students.

Industry persons explaining various processes at Industrial Visit to I-Medita, Pune Cisco Networking Labs

Industry persons explaining various processes at Industrial Visit to I-Medita, Pune Cisco Networking Labs

This Industrial Visit made students aware with industry practices, role of network engineers in companies like Airtel, Vodafone, HCL, Accenture, etc, increase practical awareness of Networking and Big Data Hadoop Industrial sectors among students, acquaint students with interesting facts and breath-taking innovations in Networking, Network Security and other networking domains, information shared on the key certifications involved in Networking and their importance in industry, explanation of how all the networking devices and Data Centers Works and their role in Industry, few Hands on Practical were also shown to students.

The Electrical Engineering Department organized an Industrial Visit for the Second year students to Pawana Hydro Electric Power Station on 11th October, 2018. The Visit facilitated a short overview over the control room Reservoir, Dam, Spillways, Forebay, Surge tank, Penstock, Turbines, Powerhouse, Tail races and various Site Selection aspects.

Industrial Visit to Pawana Hydro Electric Power Station on 11th October, 2018

The Electrical Engineering Department also organized an Industrial Visit for the third year students to Western Railway Virar Carshed on 12th March, 2018 with an interest of linking the theoretical knowledge with the practical aspects of Traction system. Students got opportunity to see the locomotive driving section. Mr. Mishra has briefly explained how the train is provided traction and brake by Motorman with the help of joystick. The different parameters displaced on screen in motorman cabin like supply available, braking status, event occurred, master key, cabin occupation, status of light, fan in different units.

Industrial Visit to Western Railway Virar Carshed on 12th March, 2018

Industrial Visit to Western Railway Virar Carshed on 12th March, 2018

The Industrial Visit to MSEDCL fully Automatic NABL meter testing lab at Bhandup for B.E. Electrical student on 8th March, 2018. Mr. Kotnis, Executive Engineer Mr. Raut, Assistant Executive Engineer, Mr. Bharat Kadam guided the students. Mr. Raut gave a brief idea about the purpose of lab and the different tests performed on meter. Mr. Bharat Kadam had first explained theoretical concept on how energy is measured, what are the different types of energy meters, advancement in digital energy meter, so accurately energy and different parameters are measured, different IS Standards for Testing Meter.

Expert guiding the students at Industrial Visit to MSEDCL, Bhandup on 8th March, 2018

Expert guiding the students at Industrial Visit to MSEDCL, Bhandup on 8th March, 2018

Expert guiding the students at Industrial Visit to MSEDCL, Bhandup on 8th March, 2018

Expert guiding the students at Industrial Visit to MSEDCL, Bhandup on 8th March, 2018

The Electrical Engineering Department organized an Industrial Visit for the Second year students to Shri Transformers on 8th February, 2018. This Industrial Visit was very informative and interesting as it gave an opportunity to students to familiarize with the different equipments of transformer and its applications. The Visit facilitated a short overview over the Cores, Windings Cooling, Buchholz Relay, Conservator Tank, Oil Level Indicator, Breather, System Ground Terminal, Primary Winding, Secondary Winding, Transformer Oil, Insulation drying and Bushings.

Industrial Visit to Shri Transformers on 8th February, 2018

Industrial Visit to Shri Transformers on 8th February, 2018

The Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department organized an Industrial Visit for the fourth semester students to Maharashtra state load dispatch centre on 17th March, 2017. All the fourth semester Electrical Engineering students along with faculty visited premises with an interest of linking the theoretical knowledge with the practical aspects of power transmission & distribution. This Industrial Visit was extremely beneficial in familiarizing the different equipments and working of a substation. The Visit facilitated a short overview over the control room aspects, feeder, relays and various protection schemes. The Industrial Visit was helpful in upgrading the practical knowledge of students and also benefited them to translate their theoretical knowledge with practical concepts.

Industrial Visit to Maharashtra State Load Dispatch Centre, Airoli, New Mumbai on 17th March, 2017

Industrial Visit to Maharashtra State Load Dispatch Centre, Airoli, New Mumbai on 17th March, 2017

The Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department organized an Industrial Visit for the fifth semester students to HOCL, Rasayani 220 kV substation on 14th July, 2016. All the semester V Electrical Engineering students visited the yard and premises with an interest of linking the theoretical knowledge with the practical aspects of power transmission and distribution. The Visit facilitated a short overview over the control room aspects, feeder, relays and various protection schemes. The Industrial Visit was helpful in upgrading the practical knowledge of students and also benefited them to translate their theoretical knowledge along with practical concepts.

Industrial Visit to HOCL, Rasayani 220 kV Substation Rasayani on 14th July, 2016

Industrial Visit to HOCL, Rasayani 220 kV Substation Rasayani on 14th July, 2016

The Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department organized an Industrial Visit for the fifth semester students to Ambernath Substation (440 kV Substation) on 5th April, 2016.

Fifth Semester Students, Industrial Visit to Ambernath Substation (440 kV Substation) on 5th April, 2016

Department of Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering arranged Industrial Visit to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Kala Talao, Kalyan on Friday, 24th March, 2017. Three guides were allotted to students for guiding the three broad section of BSNL. The three sections Mobile technology (GSM/CDMA), Landline Telephony Technology (Switching, Telephone Exchange, Tax), Broadband NIB.

Industrial Visit to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Kala Talao, Kalyan on Friday, 24th March 2017

Industrial Visit to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Kala Talao, Kalyan on Friday, 24th March 2017

Department of Electronics & Telecommunication went for Industrial Visit to Institute of Satellite Telecom Pvt. Ltd., Pune on 3rd February, 2018. The main objective behind the Visit was to make students aware about practical aspects related to satellite communication and telecommunication Industry. They oriented the students to understand operation carried out in the satellite company and guided about various trouble shoots of their customer issues in all technical aspects. Demonstration about transmission of signals through satellite, types of antennas was also performed by the students. It is rightly said that “See & know’ is better than ‘read & learn’. Students have got real feel of satellite communication working after this Visit. They got a chance to transfer their theoretical knowledge to practical implication.

Industrial Visit to Institute of Satellite Telecom Pvt. Ltd., Pune on 3rd February, 2018

Industrial Visit to Institute of Satellite Telecom Pvt. Ltd., Pune on 3rd February, 2018

Industrial Visit to Institute of Satellite Telecom Pvt. Ltd., Pune on 3rd February, 2018

Industrial Visit to Institute of Satellite Telecom Pvt. Ltd., Pune on 3rd February, 2018

Department of Information Technology has conducted Industrial Visit on 30th January, 2018 for second year semester IV students at I-Medita, Pune for the subject Cisco Networking Lab. This Visit made students aware with industry practices, awareness about the role of Network Engineers in companies like Airtel, Vodafone, HCL, Accenture, etc. increase practical knowledge of networking and Big Data Hadoop Industrial sectors among students acquaint students with interesting facts and breath-taking innovations in Networking, Network Security and other networking domains.

Industry Expert explaining process on 30th January, 2018 for Industrial Visit to I-Medita, Pune

Industry Expert explaining process on 30th January, 2018 for Industrial Visit to I-Medita, Pune

Industrial Visit to I-Medita, Pune on 30th January, 2018

Department of Applied Sciences and Humanities organized Industrial Visits conducted Industrial Visit on 9th September, 2013 for first year semester I students at Shri Sai Plastic Industry, Lohop, Rasayani for the subject environmental science. Due to this Visit students became aware of environmental problems and they could think of a solution of recycling of Plastic.

Industrial Visit to Shri Sai Plastic Industry, Lohop, Rasayani on 9th September, 2013

Industrial Visit conducted at Taloja CETP CHS Ltd. on 6th October, 2014. During Visit students could get knowledge of treatment of chemicals, Bulkdrugs, drug Intermediates, Fertilizers, Glass, Petrochemicals, Dyes and Intermediates, Specialty chemicals, Engineering and Textile, Food and Fish processing.

Site Visit to Taloja CETP CHS Ltd. on 6th October, 2014

Industrial Visit conducted at Solar Power Plant, PIIT, Panvel on 4th October, 2015. Mr. Padmnabhan explain the importance and working of solar power a renewable energy source. Students became aware of current energy scenario and could think of possible solutions for the energy crisis.

Mr. Padmnabhan with PHCET students on 4th October, 2015 at Industrial Visit to Solar Power plant, PIIT, Panvel

Industrial Visit conducted at MIDC Water Treatment Plant, Patalganga on 10th October, 2016. Industrial Visit to Water Treatment Plant as a part of IV on 4th April, 2018. Water Treatment Plant In-charge Mr. Kawale guided the students on various activities held at the plant. Students were given a brief idea on the technical aspects of water treatment and the working of various machines.

Industrial Visit conducted at MIDC Water Treatment Plant, Patalganga on 10th October, 2016

Industrial Visit conducted at Water Treatment Plant, Rasayani, 4th April, 2018

Industrial Visit to Water Treatment Plant, Rasayani, 4th April, 2018

It is expected that strong practical and analytical problem-solving skills among the students will be achieved with Industrial Visits and training as an intervention. When the study is implemented, the findings will contribute to the stakeholders (engineering students, universities, industries) and the overall knowledge bank. Stakeholders can identify loop holes where they can improve the Industrial training with better planning and implementation. Consequently, students clearly understand the objective of Industrial Visit which is not only to integrate theory and practice in a real workplace setting in addition to development of soft skills.

Invited Talks and Expert Lectures

Invited Talks and Expert Lectures

Lately, engineering education has become evolutionary, demanding the development of critical thinking, problem solving and innovative skills from upcoming engineering graduates. These skills must be developed to enable them to design and develop a range of products across diverse industries. Expert lectures have been incorporated at PHCET for augmenting the educational experience of these students.

While teaching focuses on theory and labs, invited guest lectures and seminars introduce current trends in the industry and research domain. These lectures present different possibilities and perspectives on the same topic taught in the curriculum. At PHCET, we invite experts from the industry to conduct guest lectures, seminars, and workshops on various topics and trends related to the current curriculum. Till date, more than 50 delegates have visited PHCET and shared their valuable experience and expertise with the students and faculty.

The college conducts various Expert Lectures and Invited Talks for students. These lectures are conducted to address the gap between the curriculum and the industry. Students are exposed to advanced technology providing an insight and perspective into the Speaker’s field of interest. One of the most important benefits derived from having expert lectures is the enhancement of the student’s educational experience. Students attend these lectures for current trends and challenges of the industry. Students are encouraged to attend and interact with various experts in engineering and allied fields.

Some of the extra ordinary talks include:

  1. Dr. Shirish Ravan (Head of UN-SPIDER Office, United Nations, Beijing) delivered a seminar as a Resource Person on “Role of United Nations in Disaster Management”
  2. Dr. Shreenivas N. Londhe, Professor in Civil Engineering, Vishwakarma Institute of Information Technology, Pune was invited for a lecture on “Research Outcomes with Special Reference to Research Proposal Writing, Publications and Funding Proposals”
  3. Mr. D. R. M. Samudraiah, Deputy Director (Retired), Space Applications Centre (SAC), ISRO Ahmedabad delivered a lecture on “Principles of Space Instrumentation”.
  4. Mr. D. R. M. Samudraiah Deputy Director, (SAC)
  5. Another eminent speaker, Dr. Shashikant A. Sharma (Scientist, SAC -ISRO) delivered expert lecture on “about Veda-Space Technology – its Applications in RS and GIS” in his Expert Talk he explained about research & development experience in the field of Satellite data and GIS and its application in mapping & management of natural resources.
  6. Dr. Shashikant Sharma from ISRO
  7. Dr. S. R. N. Prakash, Expert in Power Electronic and Storage System, Bangalore delivered a lecture on importance of Alternate Sources of energy and highlighted “Solar Energy – to be the best alternative in this part of the country”
Laboratory Safety

Laboratory Safety

Pillai HOC College of Engineering and Technology aims to provide a safe and healthy laboratory environment to all laboratory occupants through the establishment and maintenance of Laboratory Safety Instructions. It provides control measures essential for protecting all laboratory occupants from common hazards associated with the labs. These controls consist of, but are not limited to guidelines, standard operating procedures and personal protective equipment. Using laboratory equipment to perform any kind of experiments contains some elements of risk. Safe working habits are essential for the safety of oneself and co-workers in the lab.

General Laboratory Safety Rules

  • Smoking including electronic cigarettes is prohibited in all laboratories.
  • Shoes should be worn that provides full coverage of the feet and appropriate personal clothing (e.g., boiler suit)to be worn in laboratories.
  • Students should be familiar with the locations and operation of safety and emergency equipments such as emergency power off, emergency telephones and emergency exits.
  • Students should not displace or use laboratory equipment without Instructor’s or Technician’s authorization.
  • Students should never open or remove cover of equipments in the laboratories without Instructor’s authorization.
  • No laboratory should be performed in the absence of laboratory Instructor.
  • Be familiar with the locations and operation of safety and emergency equipment such as emergency power off in your Lab
  • Do not use damaged cords, cords that become hot, or cords with exposed wiring. Inform the instructor immediately if you are aware about damaged cords.
  • Inform your Instructor if experiments are left unattended. Such experiments should be isolated from the supplies.
  • If for a special reason, equipment is to be left on, a barrier and a warning notice are required.
  • Equipment found to be faulty in any way should be reported immediately, and not used until it is inspected and declared safe.
  • Report accidents as soon as possible to the department Head, department secretary, EEE technician and the faculty in charge for the lab.
  • Lights and fans are to be switched off when not in use.
  • Immediately contact campus security (ext. 101) in case of emergency.


Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)

With the advent of technology, e-learning is rapidly gaining importance and popularity for updating job-relevant skills. Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs facilitate participants with free access and unrestricted participation to a course of their choice. Besides the conventional modes of teaching such as lectures, videos and reading material, MOOCs also provide a platform for interactive forums. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) are fast gaining popularity among students and working professionals since one can complete courses and specializations at one’s convenient location and time. Initiatives such as edx.org and coursera.org illustrate a real-time list of available open source online courses from various institutes across the world.

PHCET has always believed in creating innovative ideas to assist in disseminating concepts for better understanding by students. Taking MOOCs as an inspiration, PHCET has added another dimension to the same. Using the concept of MOOCs, an initiative was taken to make difficult concepts clear for students coming from vernacular medium. In-house, mini-MOOC videos of difficult topics in regional languages were made by expert faculties. These faculties had first analyzed results for specific courses with low passing percentage, particularly for topics which were challenging for students. After analysis of the course contents and discussion with the management, it was decided to follow a similar initiative and develop mini-MOOC videos. The videos were then uploaded in Google classroom for open access. Students could download these videos for viewing and also discuss their doubts regarding the same with the concerned faculties. With the introduction of such an initiative, there has been a commendable improvement in the final exam outcomes.

The Advantages of MOOCs include – (a) Free course videos offered by expert faculties, (b) Course content availability to a vast and diverse audience, (c) Both, professors and learners get wide exposure, thus improving pedagogical techniques and knowledge sharing, (d) these courses can be used as a tool for bridging the course and syllabus gaps for some programs, (e) the concept of self-paced learning helps students to learn from videos and slideshows at their own pace.

At PHCET, we are proud that some of our Faculty members have received full financial aid for enrolling in courses offered by top ranked universities like the University of California as illustrated in the picture below.

Meditation

Meditation

Meditation is essential to well being and a contented lifestyle. Meditation can help us to eliminate negative thoughts, worries, anxiety and other factors that can obstruct our path to happiness. It has been proven that the practice of meditation if carried out on a regular basis will mitigate the symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression even alleviating memory deficiency. Meditation can assist in inculcating important qualities including:

  1. Concentration – If one can concentrate in the work he does, the same task can be completed efficiently and in shorter time.
  2. Focus – meditation helps to keep us focused on goals and reduce distractions
  3. Relaxation – It helps to keep the mind and body relaxed.

PHCET has taken the initiative to include meditation as a part of the curriculum. This healthy practice was started by training the faculty members how to meditate and relax by the Principal, Dr. Chelpa Lingam. Regular sessions were conducted for faculty before the start of the semester to spread awareness of the benefits of meditation and how they can encourage students to cut down on their stress levels, increase focus, improve academic achievements and support confidence building.

From the beginning of the semester in July 2018-19, faculty started practicing a ‘quiet time’ period in between their lectures for ten minutes when students were taught to meditate, reflect on what had happened that day or simply rest and refresh their minds. Faculty members explained the process of meditation, starting with a deep breath and then to clear their minds by focusing on their breathing. However, if thoughts occur or their minds wander, they were told to accept this and simply be aware of what they were thinking and attempt to return back to the meditation state.

Initially, the students found it challenging to control their “monkey minds” during a 10 minute meditation. Interestingly, with practice for over three months, ten minutes became short for them, and they felt motivated to practice more at home. For most of the students, meditation was a first time experience, and gradually they began to experience calmness and equanimity once their mind and body were habituated to meditation. Meditation allowed them to know themselves better, helping them feel more relaxed and peaceful. It seemed to increase students’ level of physical, mental and emotional awareness. Most of the interviewed students said that they enjoyed meditation and felt happy that they could do experience this activity on campus at PHCET.

Ten to twelve minutes of meditation also enhanced positivity and creativity among students by reducing restlessness, nervousness and boredom. More importantly, ten minutes of meditation enabled students and faculty members alike to connect with one’s inner self and get acquainted with our innermost feelings and consider better plans for future. A meditation practice does not require any sophisticated equipment, infrastructure, support system or financial resources. It requires only commitment to dedicate at least ten minutes every day and a small space to sit or stand comfortably. It is time for schools at all levels to acknowledge meditation practices as an important part of any curriculum for the benefits of students and society as well. In order to fully optimize quality of life by reducing stress and increasing cognition performance, it is important for students to embrace a healthy diet, exercise, a regular sleep schedule and meditation. While it has never been a part of the curriculum, PHCET is one of the pioneering institutes in India to implement this small piece in the overall puzzle of good health and well-being.

Mentorship Program

Mentorship Program

Pillai HOC College of Engineering and Technology practices an active Mentorship Program for the benefit of students. In recent years, mentoring program has emerged as a strong response to the plight of purposelessness among students. Mentoring is a valuable strategy to provide students with emotional and academic support throughout their undergraduate degree which can assist in planning the often intermingled emotional and professional stability for their entire life. By providing information, guidance and encouragement, mentors can play an important role in nurturing students’ college aspirations and helping them prepare for the coming years. This includes advise them on transitions from their first year on campus to becoming a successful professional Engineer.

Mentors and students develop their relationship as they participate together in social, cultural and recreational activities, community service. Whatever the activity, mentoring provides guidance and support to vulnerable are as which are essential part of student life and the college experience.

Each faculty member is allotted with a group of around 25 students for mentorship. In this way all the students in a classroom are divided among different faculty members. Each student will have a faculty member which will be his / her mentor throughout all his / her entire engineering degree. This helps students to have strong bond with the faculty members or mentors for their overall academic and personality development. The mentors have an observation report or feedback record of their students after several interactions and activities with them. This way the Mentorship Program helps to contribute towards a student’s academic excellence and overall development as a professional Engineer.

Mini Projects

Mini Projects

A Mini Project or course project is a technical project to be submitted together with a brief report in which a group of students (Generally 3 to 4) have to design / fabricate / assemble a unit to demonstrate any principle of that particular subject. In some subjects where actual physical model is not possible (e.g. Computer branch), a case study including algorithms for various identified functions / perform error analysis / use software to demonstrate any principal or any advanced topic of that subject.

The mini projects are incorporated in the syllabus designed by the University of Mumbai for some subjects of Second year, Third year and Fourth year engineering of all branches.

Now-a-days many engineering students are trying to improve their knowledge and skills by creating new prototypes / designs in various fields. These projects give them an opportunity to practice their engineering skills as individual and team effort is needed to complete the projects within the stipulated time.

At PHCET, it is ensured that the mini projects are not only limited to one academic task but it should be overall fruitful to students’ knowledge and employability. It should be used as a tool to enhance their practical knowledge and a bridge to fulfil the gap between theory and practical.The primary objective of assigning mini-projects is that students should apply their theoretical knowledge and analytical thinking to make prototypes.

Learning Outcomes of mini project:

  1. To acquire practical knowledge within the chosen area of technology
  2. To identify, analyse, formulate and handle projects with a comprehensive and systematic approach
  3. To be a Team worker

Value Addition through mini project:

Mini-projects are helpful to students since they provide chance to showcase their creativity, talent and enhance their knowledge. Mini projects can be used as a tool to study the basic principles of the subject. Apart from these benefits, mini projects make a firm base for the final year Project in which they have to work on a dedicated project for one year with group members. Sometimes students stumble on their final year project as an extension of one of the mini projects.

Steps followed in PHCET for implementation:

The following steps are generally followed for successful implementation of mini projects

  1. The group of students is formed. (Generally 3 to 4 students)
  2. The topic of mini project is given by Subject teacher or chosen by students by consulting the Subject teacher
  3. While selection of topic it is ensured that the principles use dare relevant to the subject and can be demonstrated through the project.
  4. After the selection of topic, the students start working on the project under the guidance of the subject teacher. Students have to make a plan prior that is approved by the faculty.
  5. Students should regularly meet the guide / faculty to show their work done, progress of the project and also to solve their challenges.
  6. One or two Progress presentations are done to see the progress of students and to ensure that the correct path is followed. In this way, the mistakes have been corrected in early phase.
  7. Final mini project presentation and demonstration of the model in front of faculty is done along with the report
  8. The evaluation is done by subject teacher on the basis of the subject knowledge, quality of work and degree of achievement

Some initiatives taken by PHCET:

Apart from technical guidance, this activity provides state of art laboratories, library and a Research lab where students can complete their project. There is also a component library from where students can borrow different components required to make the model.

Example:

For Mechanical engineering, there is a subject named “Kinematics of Machinery” in Semester IV. This subject is mainly deals with the concept of kinematics and kinetics of machine elements in which students learn about various basic mechanisms, their components and inversions.

As a mini project, students have to design and fabricate any one mechanism with a group of maximum 4 students. This task tests students’ knowledge about different mechanisms and how they apply that knowledge to make a working model of any one mechanism. As an example, the image below shows a model built by the students to demonstrate the working principles of the subject.

Mock Interviews and Aptitude Training

Mock Interviews and Aptitude Training

Aptitude Test has become a way of entering the Information Technology Industry. Every Company has this as a First round of evaluation and only the students who pass this are eligible for the further rounds of interview, including the Technical round. Engineering students are generally not exposed to Online Testing and definitely have not encountered Aptitude test.

At PHCET, we realise this situation and to ensure that the students cross this round and can show case their technical skills. Therefore, Pillai HOC College of Engineering & Technology, Rasayani has a tie up with Campus Credentials which is a fast-growing training institute that has established itself as a forerunner in competitive exam training. Their Camp Test Series are revolutionary systems designed to enable students to crack competitive exams effectively. The training is conducted in weekends and it is covered in 40hr’s.

Their training covers following aspects:

  1. Aptitude Test Preparation – Arithmetic / Logical reasoning / English / etc.)
  2. Group Discussion / Interview
  3. Resume Preparation
  4. Grooming & Communication
Model Building

Model Building

“Engineering is that profession in which knowledge of the mathematical, computational and natural sciences gained by study, experience and practice is applied with judgement to develop economically effective use of matter, energy and information to the benefit of humankind” IEEE

At PHCET, the final year project is one of the primary mechanisms used to provide students with an opportunity to gain experience in the practical, effective, efficient and beneficial application of what you have been studying for the past several years.

There is another reason why your final year project is so important: it will inevitably be used as a discriminator to decide how good an engineering student you are. If you end up with a result in your degree examinations which is on the borderline between one grade and another, the examiners will look at how you performed in your project and then they will make a decision as to which grade you should be assigned.

Finally, your final year project counts for 25% of your 5th Year marks and 17.5% of your overall degree mark.

So, for the next 8 months, you should devote yourself totally to your final year project. Think of it as your passport to the engineering profession – your formal studies are your ticket but without your passport, you can’t travel. Note, however, that you shouldn’t neglect your other studies in the pursuit of your project: a passport is useless without a ticket!

Now that we have established the importance of your final year project, let’s look at the important issues in pursuing it.

There are four principal concerns:

  1. Choosing a project
  2. Planning, executing, and managing your project
  3. Documenting your project
  4. Assessment of your project

We will look at each of these in the following sections.

Picture yourself as a spectator for a magic show watching the magician levitating his subject or breaking a person apart into 2 or 3 pieces. How do you feel while witnessing such bizarre acts? Amazement, excitement, fun? We have taken this idea into deep consideration while designing science experiments for Big Bang. When we witness something bizarre, strange and fascinating or “Big”, it creates a strong imprint in our minds. Science can be fun too by this way.

Why Models and Examples Help

Educational modeling can be defined as giving students a demonstration or example of a process or product that is representative of the skill or content they are expected to perform themselves. It’s more than just giving a visual representation of content; rather, a model is a product or process students can imitate to develop their own skills and understanding.

There are numerous benefits for providing students with examples to supplement our raw instruction. First, models help students see what it is that they’re supposed to produce. We could abstractly explain to students how to perform a certain task, like write a paragraph, but when we give them an actual sample paragraph, they can literally “See for themselves” what their own product should look like. When we combine the general explanation of a task with a concrete model of what their process or product should look like, we give students a direct image of their targeted outcome. It makes for easy guidance and comparison, as students can orchestrate their work to emulate the model and ask themselves, “Does mine match the example or do I need to make improvements?”

Also, models can help students see the relevance of the tasks we ask them to do. It might be difficult for students to understand before doing something what the point is. Just ask the Karate Kid when he was frustrated painting Mr. Miagi’s fence. But a clear demonstration of what the outcome looks like will help students see how the individual tasks they’re performing contribute to their growing set of skills and knowledge.

Also, we can’t forget that sometimes we lose sight as teachers of what our assignments look like to students. Creating or finding an example of our own requirements helps us sit in the student’s chair for a few minutes and understand our task from that lens. It’s not uncommon to have to recalibrate or rethink our tasks once we do them for ourselves, so even the process of model creation can help us create more meaningful and coherent tasks. Plus, doing our own assignments can help validate our competence and expertise to students.

Modeling is an effective teaching strategy for almost any skill we may want our students to develop. Whether it’s reading aloud, giving a sample speech, walking through the thought process for solving a word problem, troubleshooting technology, discussing an idea, composing a story, or using a piece of lab equipment, “Showing” rather than just “Telling” students what to do will enhance their understanding.

Provide Variety and Explanation

When giving examples, sharing a variety is always a plus. Since our models help illustrate to students what it is they’re striving toward, try to find a combination of personal, professional and student samples that can inspire your students. Giving one model will help students picture their work along that one narrow line. But providing several models that demonstrate that there’s “More than one way to skin a cat” will help students find the method that’s best combined with their own creativity and ambitions. Remember that it’s just as important to give bad examples, or examples of what not to do, as it is to give high quality examples. Examples are tools for giving shape to the otherwise general instructions we give. So that shape can best be wrought when we demonstrate for students what both the upper and lower bounds are.

I recently showed students two sample paragraphs, one that modeled what I did want students to do and one that modeled what I didn’t want them to do. When students saw the “Bad” example, they realized they had been guilty of making some of the mistakes in it and were able to see for themselves what to avoid. The “Good” example showed them what they ought to do instead. This combination works well when students reflect on their own performance, giving them both high and low elements to compare. (And I never use student work as a “bad” example).

Finally, make sure that you don’t just hand out or post up examples and assume students get the message. Models are meant to be discussed and explained, so students can acquire an understanding of what about the model is or isn’t appropriate. I try to include lots of discussion surrounding the examples I give, and if I can, I put the examples into a form that students can study outside of the classroom when they’re doing their own work as well.

Helping Students Go Beyond the Models

Now, one very fair critique of using models is that when we show students the “Good” examples of what to accomplish, this narrows the students’ opportunity for creativity. This critique is absolutely true. Models, when used effectively, give students a target toward which to drive their efforts. The result, though, is that many other possibilities for processes and products are eliminated.

So yes, models are great for helping students achieve a certain level of competence, but they also may constrain what would otherwise be unique student approaches. I frequently remind students (and myself) that models show the basics. Even the exceptional examples I give illustrate only certain elements. I try to share a variety of examples with students so that they see the range of possibilities, but I also encourage them to “Color outside the lines” and, if they have an idea they’d like to develop that doesn’t match one of the models, they have the freedom to do so.

It would truly be unfortunate if, instead of students struggling with a task and producing a great, original piece of work, they all ended up producing cookie-cutter work that looks exactly like my example. But on the other hand, models are for students who would struggle and fail, for students who need a guide, and for students who are learning about a particular element for the first time. Although we want to provide models to help students achieve, we must avoid habits with models that would expect all students’ work to look exactly the same and reduce their originality.

Project Based Learning

Project Based Learning

The vision of the PHCET is to develop professional engineers with respect for the environment and make them responsible citizens in technological development both from an Indian and global perspective, to achieve this, one of the novel method is PBL (Project Based Learning). Project Based Learning is an effective teaching method through which students identify critical problems and design solutions hence applying their engineering knowledge practical use. This method prepares the students to face challenges apart from their academic requirements. Students work on a project throughout the semester to gain knowledge and solve real world problems to get a industrial field. As a result, students develop knowledge and critical thinking. PBL also provides opportunities for students who are not high academic achievers yet exhibit analytical skills and emerge as team leaders. At the college and graduate levels, out of box thinking is paramount. This is the essential outcome of PBL. The concept of PBL is executed at college level, spanning across all the departments. The pictures illustrate some of the best projects in their respective departments.

The main objectives of Project Based Learning are as follows:

  • To develop the self-learning skills
  • To build the team work
  • To disseminate concepts and fundamental principles

2:30 p.m., 12th April 2018, Segregation of Solid Waste at (Material Recovery Facilities) MRF, Civil Engineering Department

2:30 p.m., 12th April 2018, Sway Frames, Civil Engineering Department

2:00 p.m., 29th September 2018, Generating Euforia Participant Ticket Through Mobile App, Computer Engineering Department

2:00 p.m., 29th September 2018, Gadget Shopping, Computer Engineering Department

11:00 a.m., 13th April 2018, Smart Lightning for Classroom, Electrical Engineering Department

11:00 a.m., 13th April 2018, Speed Control of DC Motor using Ardunio, Electrical Engineering Department

11:30 a.m., 29th September 2018, Cell Phone Detector Using CA3140, Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering Department

11:30 a.m., 29th September 2018, Cell Phone Detector Using LM339, Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering Department

11:42 a.m., 12th April 2018, Security Panel System using Arduino, Information Technology Department

11:42 a.m., 12th April 2018, Arduino Based Alarm Clock, Information Technology Department

12:30 p.m., 24th October 2017, Aeolipile / The Hero Engine, Mechanical Engineering Department

12:30 p.m., 24th October 2017 Catapult, Mechanical Engineering Department

Public Speaking Forum

Public Speaking Forum

Pillai HOC College of Engineering and Technology (PHCET) initiated the Public Speaking Forum (PSF) to empower students and faculty in developing the professional and life-skills. This novel concept provides a Public Speaking Forum for the students and faculty members. PSF is an energetic group formed by a group of students and faculty steadily working on generating more skilled and confident public speakers. The forum provides a supportive environment to enhance the confidence and communication skills. PSF provides an opportunity for development of congenial and amicable delivery of speeches.

The objectives of PSF include (a) Inculcating the art of delivering technical talks among student and faculty group; (b) Providing a platform to both students and faculty members for presenting their thoughts and ideas; and (c) To promote eloquent speaking traits and develop mind-set for working as a team and experimenting with different parameters of public speaking.

The forum aims at developing the speaking and interpersonal skills of its members. PSF meets three times every semester for two hours to plan various activities. These activities and competitions are conducted at departmental level during the semester. A faculty and a class representative from each department work as PSF coordinator and executes the activity organized by the forum. Inter-department competitions are scheduled on Saturday.

There are various other value addition activities conducted by the forum. Open Mic is one such ice–breaking activity where the participants are allowed to speak on any general topic of their interest and take their first step to overcome the nervousness and stage fear. Debate Competitions, Declamation, Group Discussions, Extempore Speeches, Poetry Recitation and Story telling are the series of activities conducted by the forum. After subjugating them through the first stage, more specific topics are allotted for longer talks.

Elocution Competition on ‘Role of Youth in Building New India’, organized by Mahatma Education Society and PSF helped imbibe self-confidence among the students. On the Occasion of the birth anniversary of Hon. Nelson Mandela (18th July, 2018), PSF along with Electronics and Telecommunication Department organized Elocution Competition on ‘Peace and Non–violence’. Public speaking competition on Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, organized by PSF was open for all the students of PHCET, there by providing a platform for the students to articulate their views in public. PSF provides opportunities to learn leadership and effective speaking skills in a fun environment. Public Speech Forum at PHCET is a place where students and faculty develop and grow – both personally and professionally.

Rare Documents Collection

Rare Documents Collection

From Left to Right: Charles-Edouard Guillaume (then Deputy Director of the BIPM, Nobel Prize in Physics 1920); Dr. Tripier (a friend of the Curie family); Maurice Guillaume; Mme Guillaume; Dr. Curie (Pierre Curie’s father); Mlle Helene Dubois (physics teacher at Sevres); Pierre Curie (Nobel Prize in Physics 1903); Marie Curie (Nobel Prize in Physics 1903 and Chemistry 1911).

“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained” – Marie Curie

“The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teachers, drawn from the entire planet and from all our history, to instruct us without tiring and to inspire us to make our own contribution to the collective knowledge of the human species. I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries” – Carl Sagan

Rare Documents are original documents including but not limited to patents, articles, standards, monograms, manuscripts, books, and national as well as international standards prepared by people or organizations during the initial phase of evolution of science and technology. The Rare documents collection is a part of our central Library of Pillai HOC College of Engineering and Technology. The primary purpose of the collection is to serve the teaching, research and the scholarly community. The role of the collection is to accomplish this purpose and to collect, preserve and make available for research the printed materials in various disciplines of engineering. Additionally, special interest groups are also considered while collecting rare documents according to the needs of PHCET students and faculties. Current areas of interest are based on special interest groups across various engineering departments. Further more, this strengthens the existing collection of the library.

The figure above illustrates a reverse CAM mechanism designed at PHCET which can move free objects like marbles up on a trajectory in a complete cycle. The objective of rare documents’ initiative is to foster a collection of original reference materials for students and faculty members and to make these materials accessible to all faculty members and students who wish to learn, and to preserve these for future users. It also aims to build an archive of original works and papers in various disciplines of Engineering. Rare documents may include documents which are out of print, beyond average student budget and distinguished for the originality of research characterized by its early printing date, limited issue, special character of the edition or binding and historical interest related to technology.

The collection, although not exhaustive, is useful for supporting educational needs of current science and technology educators and for supporting research on the history of science and engineering. Rare documents are essential to the ongoing initiatives of PHCET, especially for creating awareness about fundamental research. The types of rare documents in our collection vary according to the interests of certain faculty and their special interest groups. For example, patents of Henry ford, books written by Sir Isaac Newton and Sir George Gabriel Stokes, memoirs and scientific correspondence, first patent on airplane by Wright Brothers, requests for comments (RFC) and nationally and internationally recognized standards are represented in our collection.

The Rare documents collection of PHCET Library is aligned with the fields of Engineering and Technology. The rare document collection is non-circulating and is maintained in closed stacks in the central Library. It is also available in various engineering departments according to special interest groups (SIG). The collection is organized according to various engineering departments and further according to special interest groups of the department. The primary purpose of the collection is to extend this facility to the scholars to assist their endeavor for future research and to ensure preservation and protection of invaluable collection of manuscripts and rare books.

Rare documents are useful for pedagogical needs of science and engineering education. For instance, Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727) formulated calculus. He not only invented the law of gravity but also proposed the three laws of motion. He proposed the law of gravity in 1665 which states that everybody exerts over every other an attractional force proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. He has written series of three books titled Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica – Book-I and Book-II proposing various laws in engineering mechanics. He has defined and proved concepts such as equilibrium of force, momentum and mass. He stated his laws of motion relating to inertia, acceleration, reciprocal action and reaction and universal gravitation which is the foundation of classical dynamics. Using mathematical principle of his earlier books, he demonstrated the frame of the system of the world in his Book III. Reading such original articles will invariably inculcate insight and creativity in the mind of student as well as the teacher.

Rare documents will enrich and boost source of knowledge and also provide insight on evolution of various concepts in science and engineering. For example, father of the automobile assembly line, Henry Ford holds 50 patents relevant to the automotive industry. Wilbur and Orville Wright made the first sustained, controlled flight in a powered aircraft on 17 December, 1903. They were the first to design and build a flying craft that they controlled while in the air. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations which was founded on 23 February 1947. It was established to promote industrial and commercial standards worldwide. Request for Comments (RFC) is a type of publication from the technology community especially in the area of information and communications technology. These include methods, behaviors, research and innovations applicable to the functioning of the Internet and connected systems. RFC enables students and faculty members to enhance their knowledge on evolution of internet enabled technologies.

Remedial Classes

Remedial Classes

Objectives

  1. To motivate and help the academically weak students to realize their weakness and help them to improve.
  2. Improving technical skills of the students in their respective domains.
  3. To raise their level of comprehension of basic subjects and to provide in-depth knowledge of their academic learning.
  4. To pursue them to arrive at a particular level of knowledge so as to tackle the examination.

In Pillai HOC College of Engineering and Technology, slow learners and under achievers are identified during regular lectures. Remedial classes are organized on Saturdays to meet the need of the weaker students. The head and the Class–Coordinators of each department keeps a record of the academically poor students. The Principal regularly interact with the parents to keep them updated about their ward’s academic performance.

After completion of each unit (per subject) last hour of the week is allotted per subject for remedial classes (if required). Answer scripts of the organized weekly test are discussed one to one with the students outside the usual class hours.

The subject faculty supervise students understanding and knowledge of the subject in the remedial class. Faculty divides the weaker students in groups and distributes the prepared study material among the students and tries to understand their problem areas and helps them with simple approaches of understanding of the subject. Special attention is paid to slow learners. Assignments are given to the students for practice.

The process of mentoring is initiated as soon as the newly admitted students settle down a bit. The Head of the Department allocate Mentors for the respective semester. An interactive meeting is organized with between Principal, Head of the Department and Mentor to discuss on the students counselling process, issue and streamline the objective as far as possible. The mentors then charts out their course of action. Comprehensive timetable is prepared for their remedial classes.

Record of progress and attendance is meticulously maintained by the concerned class–coordinators and Mentors. Academically better students are put along with weak students to be of help to them.

Study workshops and Experts talk are organised for the students by respective departments to give insight and enhance the understanding of the students on the subject.

Research Report Writing

Research Report Writing

The first step to writing a successful research article or report is to develop an ability to read and understand already published research. Undergraduate students should only expect to comprehend the summary of a published research article after the first reading. Further repetition enhances their knowledge of the methods and results obtained by the authors. However, it is imminent that the higher the quality of the article, the better would it assist in developing the reader’s skills. These skills essentially form the foundation of a successful researcher, who can eventually co-author articles leaving their contribution and influence on scientific inquiry, discovery and understanding in their area of interest.

At PHCET, this activity is conducted across all departments in the institute during the first or second week of the semester session for every course conducted during that semester. The research report writing activity is implemented as Assignment 1. It is mandatory for all students passing their first year engineering to participate in this activity, which counts towards grades for their first course assignment. Students visit the library along with faculty members who are responsible to conduct course. The librarian assists students in searching for a published journal article relevant to the course. In the library, students are encouraged to select an article from one of the Scopus journals (Elsevier, Springer, Taylor Francis, IEEE, ASME, ASCE etc.) on topics related to their course content listed in the syllabus provided by the University. Final year students are motivated to choose an article, which is beyond their syllabus or an advanced topic of the course. The students and faculty members are advised to avoid choosing research articles from pay-to-publish (predatory) journals without an international peer review committee (E.g., some local journals starting with “International Journal of…”).

The steps for the research writing activity includes (a) Choosing a relevant published research article, (b) Reading the journal article 3-4 times to understand and interpret around 40-60% of the content, and (c) Writing a one-page summary of the journal article in the students’own words. The print out of the original article and the typed one-page summary with a font size of 10/11 is submitted as Assignment 1. This one-page summary is divided in four sections including Introduction, Methods, Results and Conclusion. Students are advised to select separate research articles and work individually on this assignment and not as a group. The printout of the original Scopus journal article with a one-page summary is mandatory for term submission.

Robogria

Robogria

“No stone left unturned. No child left untaught” – EduNation
Dr. K. M. Vasudevan Pillai

The Founder and Chairman of Pillai HOC College of Engineering & Technology Dr. K. M. Vasudevan Pillai Book EduNation quote “I want to see all the children of India educated not only in the literate sense, but also possessing the skills that will later help them gain fruitful employment improving their economic condition and more importantly in a true sense help eradicate the problem of poverty, unemployment thereby contributing to our Nations growth”.

To fulfill the wonderful thought provoking quote and with continuous leadership, support, monitoring and able guidance of the faculty and management, the Pillai HOC College of Engineering and Technology is committed to give a great opportunity to the school and college students by providing free Robotics Workshop named “ROBOGRIA”. This novel initiative is initiated for targeting maximum benefits to the enthusiasts attending the workshop. The workshop is designed to help students develop their knowledge & skills and provide real time industry exposure aptly delivered by experienced teachers and talented students of our Institution. Additionally, we provide the opportunity to work with the school students in our Research lab under the valuable guidance of several Research Faculty to motivate them to start their research careers in robotics.

Key Benefits of the initiative include:

  • Hands-on training on specific core areas of the robotics
  • Real-time implementations through practical sessions and Multipurpose project based trainer kits
  • Well versed materials like Installation guides, Circuit Diagrams, Study Material and PPTs
  • Experienced & dedicated teachers and professionals
  • Certifications for the Participants and Winners

PHCET has conducted robotics workshop for more than 1000 students from various schools. Many Schools have already participated and still more schools are willing to participate. As soon as the school arrives the students are given introduction about the developing world of robotics. The students find it interesting and are amazed about the new world of robots. The first half of the workshop contains seminar on robotics after which students are taught how to assemble the Robot. They are given the detailed explanation of components to be used for preparing Robots. The components like DC Motor, DPDT Switch and Mechanical chassis are taught thoroughly. Then students are divided in group of five. The group of 5 students works together in the assembling of the Robot. A group of trained Faculty and students of our institution are there to assist and guide the students. Some students are really quick to grab the technique and prepare the robot. This builds curiosity in students to build better Robots. Before the second half of the session lunch is provided by our institution for school students. The second half includes fun games like Robo-Soccer and Robo-War. In Robo-Soccer, a ball is provided and they need to goal similar to actual Soccer. After the conclusion of the tough match, the event is preceded by an award ceremony. There are certificates awarded to the winners and also to all participants.

Our Institution arranged a Mega Event named “ROBOGRIA Championship” for the winner of all the schools in February 2018. During the Robo-Soccer game played at intra-school level, winners were awarded with certificates and medals. We are committed to create good engineers in the field of robotics and automation who can design and develop “The world’s most advanced humanoid robots”.

Details of Participated Schools

Name of School RegionDate of Visit No. of Participants
Sarvajanik Vidya Mandir Pen21st March, 2017 64
Anand Shala Marathi Medium Khopoli 25th March, 2017 97
Dronagiri English Medium Uran3rd June, 2017 80
LAES English Medium Neral3rd July, 2017 66
RSS Karanja Uran2nd November, 2017 80
Dronagiri English Medium Uran3rd November, 2017 90
JSM Junior College Alibag 6th November, 2017 90
LEAS English Medium Khopoli 10th November, 2017 100
RSS New English Kamothe14th November, 2017 60
KES English Medium Secondary School Pen23rd November, 2017 70
Sarvajanik Vidya Mandir Pen24th November, 2017 120
Tungaratan Vidya Mandir Gulsunda 29th November, 2018 100
Total 1017
Save River Rally Mission

Save River Rally Mission

PHCET students participated in the Save River Rally Mission organised on 1st September, 2017. Rally for Rivers is a campaign crafted by Shri Sadhguru to bring awareness to the people of India that our rivers are depleting at alarming levels and that our rivers need to be revived by planting trees on the banks. The rally started on 3rd September – with Shri Sadhguru’s personal participation at Coimbatore and terminating on 2nd October in New Delhi, where Sadhguru would present a draft policy to save our rivers to the Prime minister of India. India has essentially grown along the banks of major rivers. Our ancient civilizations were born along the waters and they perished when the rivers shifted course. With over a decade of experience in matters related to the environment and sustainability, Isha Foundation offered a core solution to stabilize and revitalize our rivers.

College created awareness on social issue of saving water by participating in “River Rally Andolan”. College organized the andolan for saving rivers of Panvel and Khandeshwar by involving students and staff towards this noble cause. Many students of various departments from the second and third year participated in this mission with the responsibility of creating social awareness. The mission was organized on 1st September, 2017 where many students visited the Khandeshwar Lake and assisted in cleaning the banks. They were accompanied by faculty members who worked alongside students.

Simulations

Simulations

Simulation is the process of modelling a real phenomenon with a set of mathematical formulas. It is essentially a program that allows the user to observe an operation through simulation without actually performing that operation. Simulation software is used widely to design equipment so that the final product will be as close as possible to the design specifications without expensive prototype development and infrastructure developments thereby saving considerable amount of financial resources. Although simulation software with real-time response is often used in gaming, it has important industrial applications. Advanced computer programs can simulate power system behaviour, weather conditions, aircrafts, cars, buildings, bridges, chemical reactions, mechatronics, heat pumps, feedback control systems, atomic reactions, software products and even complex biological processes.

Some areas where Simulations are actively practiced at PHCET include –

Arena is a discrete event simulation and automation software developed by Systems Modelling and acquired by Rockwell Automation in 2000. It uses the SIMAN processor and simulation language providing significant enhancements in optimization, animation and inclusion of 64 bit operation for modelling processes with ‘Big Data’. Arena can be integrated with Microsoft technologies. It includes Visual Basic for Applications, so models can be further automated if specific algorithms are needed. Arena is used by companies engaged in simulating business processes. Some of these firms include General Motors, UPS, IBM, Nike, Xerox, Lufthansa and Ford Motor Company. NS2 is an open-source event-driven simulator designed specifically for research in computer communication networks. Having been under constant investigation and enhancement for years, NS2 now contains modules for numerous network components such as routing, transport layer protocol and application. Packet Tracer is a cross-platform visual simulation tool designed by Cisco Systems that allows users to create network to pologies and imitate modern computer networks. The software allows users to simulate the configuration of Cisco routers and switches using a simulated command line interface. The software is mainly focused towards Certified Cisco Network Associate Academy students as an educational tool.

MATLAB (matrix laboratory) is a multi-paradigm numerical computing environment and proprietary programming language developed by MathWorks and extensively used in the departments of Mechanical, Electronics and Telecommunication as well as Electrical Engineering. MATLAB allows matrix manipulations, plotting of functions and data, implementation of algorithms, creation of user interfaces and interfacing with programs written in other languages, including C, C++, C#, Java, Fortran and Python. Although MATLAB is intended primarily for numerical computing, an optional toolbox uses the MuPAD symbolic engine, allowing access to symbolic computing abilities. An additional package, Simulink, adds graphical multi-domain simulation and model-based design for dynamic and embedded systems. MATLAB users come from various backgrounds of engineering, science and economics.

At PHCET, MATLAB is used as a part of courses such as MMC (Mechanical Measurements and Control). In MMC, MATLAB is used to plot Bode plot and Root locus and hence to find the stability of the system as illustrated in the figures.

Other simulation softwares used at PHCET include the ANSYS Workbench with intelligent meshing technology, enabling you to rapidly obtain optimal meshing on every model. Automatic, intelligent algorithms ensure that high quality meshes are generated and it is easy to add controls for fine-tuning as needed. A complete range of analysis tools is available to analyze single load cases, vibration or transient analysis; one can also examine linear and nonlinear behaviour of materials, joints and geometry. Advanced solver technology with Autodyne and LS-DYNA enables students at PHCET to perform drop, impact and explosion simulations. AQWA, along with the offshore simulation capabilities in ANSYS Mechanical, provide industry-specific capabilities for students interested in designing marine environments. Thermal management is a key concern in product design as the Internet of Things, wearable electronics and other product design trends condense heat-generating electrical components into smaller and smaller packages. ANSYS tools provide students an opportunity toper form thermal simulation, including convection, radiation and conduction loads, as well as the effect of power losses and thermal energy from friction and other external sources.

The strength of components is a key requirement in understanding a product performance, life cycle and possible failure modes. Mechanical loading, thermal stresses, bolt tension, pressure conditions and rotational acceleration are just some of the factors that will dictate strength requirements for materials and designs. ANSYS Mechanical ensures product’s viability and safety by predicting the strength required for the loads your design will experience in service. At PHCET students can perform the afore mentioned simulations with ne such examples shown in the figure on Simulation of a Cantilever Beam performed by one of the students.

Engineers work with voluminous amount of data from a variety of sources. Quantum GIS technology provides the tools for creating, managing, analysing and visualizing the data associated with developing and managing infrastructure. QGIS is a Desktop based Geographic Information System (GIS) Application for creating maps, editing, viewing and analysing Geospatial data. Quantum GIS is a cross platform, free and open source application. It can be run on multiple operating systems like, Windows, Ubuntu, Linux. Spatial data can be efficiently handled using Geographic Information System (GIS), a tool which allows integration of map data and tabular data. GIS computer software and hardware systems enable users to capture, store, analyse and manage spatially referenced data and store data in a dedicated database finally exporting it for visualization in a mapped format. Several inter-disciplinary research groups use GIS maps for projects. One such project in collaboration with the ‘Swachh Maharashtra Mission’ uses GIS based software for conducting Landfill Site Survey with Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Tata Consulting Engineers Limited. The pictures for the same are displayed in the PHCET Research Lab. Various projects are conducted by our students using the simulation tools in QGIS like Network analysis, Geo referring, Ground Slope detection, urban planning, terrain mapping and Landslide analysis, Water resources engineering, Town planning, urban infrastructure development and Transportation network analysis.

Social Networking Communities

Social Networking Communities

Social Networking Communities like Whatsapp, E-mail and YouTube
In current times, technology provides a lot of opportunities for education that can be accessed by everyone around the globe. The educational field has completely transformed ever since the advent of the Internet. Due to the growth in social networking websites, academicians are looking for their potential for use in the teaching-learning process. The beneficial effects of social networking in education are gradually bearing fruit. Social networking sites not only assist students but also offer great opportunities for communication in the teaching community. At PHCET, social networking sites including messaging and media sharing networks such as WhatsApp, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google Classroom, Google drive and Twitter are used by teachers to improve involvement, communication and data exchange with students. Additionally, improving technical problem solving abilities, providing a great sense of collaboration in the classroom and mastering good communication skills are further benefits of using smart tools.

Benefits of social networking sites at PHCET:

  • Promotes creativity
  • Develops collaboration and teamwork
  • Provides 24/7 access to information
  • Assists in Collaboration with other faculty members
  • Assists in exchange of information and lesson plans
  • Communicate with parents effectively
  • Improve communication skills
  • Permit openness to diverse viewpoints
  • Engage in learning activities

In addition to promoting education among students, social networking sites also help in searching for employment opportunities. Thus, social networking sites play a vital role in connecting and educating students. At PHCET, we try to use majority of social networking tools such as whatsapp and Google groups for interchanging notes and documents with the student and faculty community alike.

Special Interest Groups

Special Interest Groups

At PHCET, Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are cohesive groups, working in diverse technical areas of interest by providing information, encouraging progress and working on research projects as a part of a team. A Special Interest Group (SIG) is a community within PHCET with a mutual interest for propelling a particular area of information, learning and technology, where individuals including faculty and students collaborate to influence or deliver arrangements inside their specific field, and may communicate, meet and organize technical events. The SIGs intend to give information and promote research and development in their individual specialization. SIGs have an imperative role to play in giving educational and career benefits to its affiliated members. Specifically, SIGs organize and encourage technical activities, meetings and visits as well as best practices relating to the specific area of interest. Faculty members communicate their work by maintaining an informal work atmosphere and provide examples of applications and case studies in that area. It is intended to provide an environment within the Institute and Departments that cultivates out of the box thinking accompanied by learning and commitment towards the development of the Institute. The SIG faculty members explain and guide students in problem based learning, project based learning, mini-projects and final year projects.

The SIGs activity at PHCET has promoted building up of networking and has bolstered inter-departmental communities. The Applied Science and Humanities Department includes four SIGs groups: communication, physics, chemistry and mathematics. Mechanical Engineering departments encompasses of four SIGs i.e. thermo-fluids, design, material and manufacturing and mechatronics / robotics. Computer engineering department consist of Cloud computing and database, Networking and security, AI and Machine Learning and Programming Paradigm. Information Technology Department contains three SIGs: Database and Cloud computing, Internet of Things and AI and Machine Learning. Civil Engineering Department includes four SIGs namely Environmental Engg., Structures, Water Resources and Construction Management. Electrical Engineering Department includes four SIGs including Instance control and Automation, Electrical Machines, Renewable Energy and Power Electronics and Power System. Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering Department consist of four SIGs: Microwave, VLSI & embedded systems, Signal Processing and Intelligent Systems.

Students Chapters of Professional Organizations

Students Chapters of Professional Organizations

Professional bodies and student chapters are a significant activity across all departments in PHCET. In the academic year 2016-17, Automobile Engineering Student Association (AESA) and Mechanical Engineering Student Association (MESA) were formed by the respective Departments. The aim was to plan, organize and conduct student related co-curricular activities like Guest Lectures, Industrial Visits, Workshops and Trainings by industrial experts so that students develop capabilities for their professional life. A total of 116 students registered as members of who mmeritorious students were appointed as President, Secretary, Treasurer and Student coordinator with Prof. Pravin Dahalke acting as the Faculty In-charge. Civil Engineering department has started student chapter of the Institution of engineers (IEI), India on 22nd May, 2017. There are 52 members of this chapter. Various workshops, Expert Talks, seminar and other activities ware organized under this student chapter. Inauguration of Student Chapters were inaugurated by Mr. S. P. Singh, Secretary of Institute of Engineers along with Prof. P. N. Tondon, Principal, Bharti Vidyapeeth Institute of Technology (Polytechnic) (Ex-Secretary) on 9th September, 2017.

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is an international society for computing. Pillai HOC College of Engineering registered in ACM on 15th March, 2018. The committee has conducted Alumini Meet (X Talks) and Technical Elocution after a program wherein the alumni shared their past experience in the industry and interview experiences. Further, Department of Computer Engineering held inaugural ceremony of Computer Society of India (CSI) Student Branch on 20th August, 2016 with 126 Student Vounteers.

In Academic year 2016-2017, Institution of Engineers (IEI) Forum was formed by Department of Electrical Engineering. The function was inaugurated by Mr. J. N. Mistry, Chairman of IEI Belapur local centre, Navi Mumbai along with Prof. P. N. Tondon, immediate past chairman of IEI Belapur local centre, Navi Mumbai and Prof. Baban U. Rindhe Hon. Secretary IETE Navi Mumbai Centre and Chief Guest Mr. S. M. Gadhari deputy executive engineer MSEB Panvel-2 and Mr. Kamlakar Ambade, MSEB.

Expert Lecture on Application of GIS, GPS and Remote Sensing in Surveying (IEI)

Inauguration Ceremony (ACM)

Workshop on ‘Web Application Development Using MVC & SERVLET' (CSI)

Poster and Rangoli Competition (IEI)

Circuit Testing and Debugging Competition (IETE)

Students Seminars

Students Seminars

A seminar, a gathering of people for the purpose of discussing a stated topic are usually interactive sessions where the participants engage in discussions about the delineated topic. The sessions are usually headed or led by one or two presenters who serve to steer the discussion along the desired path. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some particular subject, in which everyone present is requested to participate. Seminar is a special time for a unique intellectual exchange. It is focused but free flowing, researching, questioning, fathoming to understand ideas from the text, from others and from within oneself. Mostly, the group will come to some conclusion, some closure; at times it leads to open ended topics. Invariably this evolves into yet another area of discussion.

Outcomes of Student Seminars
A seminar can assist shy or reserved students find a platform to vent their ideas and their experience diversifies on specific topics. Seminar Discussion helps to clarify students’ own views hence they gain a clearer understanding of the topics. Students are highly motivated to research and prepare for discussion. Participation in groups provides a more in-depth understanding of the material. Asking questions and forming opinions at seminars lead to an interest above oneself and on a greater picture of the universe. Smaller group discussion allow exploration of topics that might not occur in the classroom environment. Students are put at ease because seminars put each participant on an even pedestal and multiple ideas can flow synchronously.

Implementation:
At PHCET, student seminars are implemented in different ways across all the departments. In Electrical Department it is included in the curriculum itself but in all other departments it is given to the students as a co-curricular activity.

Department of Civil Engineering implements student seminars through the following process. Teacher allots the topic to all students relevant to their subjects and students prepare report and present it to their peers. During these sessions students ask questions, discuss and debate on the topic and add their viewpoints thereby enhancing a quality work.

Department of Electrical Engineering have seminar series incorporated in the syllabus itself. Therefore students have to select the topic and get it approved by the respective faculty. Faculty prepares seminar schedule and instructs students to prepare presentation and report by considering all the aspects of the topic. All students present their idea to the class and faculty evaluates the choice of topic, presentation skills, subject content and novelty in the topic.

Department of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering also assign the topic to all the students and students need to prepare and present according to the schedule given to them.

Student from Department of Mechanical Engineering arranges seminars on GATE as well as other exams for the students of Final year engineering. It was beneficial for the students since it gives them a head start wherein students are explained the content on websites to be referred, demonstration exams to be taken and more.

All the departments follow one of the methods specified above. Students’ seminar is beneficial and value added method motivating students to build their confidence in public speaking and bring out creative and critical approach to technical problem solutions.

Study Workshop

Study Workshop

Study Workshop is one of the various qualitative aspects of teaching reforms at Pillai HOC College of Engineering & Technology (PHCET). At PHCET, Study Workshops are designed to improve learning skills and help them to achieve their academic goals. It prepares student to review prerequisite materials, solve and practice complex problems with the faculty (one-to-one) and get an explanation of available resources along with Q&A sessions. It also helps in collaborative learning, team building and real-time problem-solving in a group. PHCET aims to introduce the best resources and faculty available to assist students to explore their learning capabilities.

Study Workshop is the most effective way to bridge the gap between teacher & students. Study workshops instill the confidence among the students, eliminate fear & encourage students to find solutions to the problems effectively in a group. Ultimately, it makes the learning process a fun activity.

Self-study workshops at PHCET are conducted in the Library and adjacent classrooms (division-wise) with a subject teacher for the entire day or as per the Time Table. Library renders the need of best study environment for the students. Students are divided into small groups and handed out a set of questionnaires. Students are encouraged to work in groups. Teaching assistants facilitate group work and provide guidance when necessary. Students are encouraged to discuss the problems together with their group members and to help each other to collectively reach a solution. Students attempt to solve the questionnaire by assisting each other in a group, referring to the resources available in the library. At the end, the faculty reviews the answer sheet giving individual feedback to students. This self-study workshop enables students to participate in open discussion and boosts their critical thinking ability. The workshop also presents the basic elements and steps required to have a well-written academic paper. Through these Study Workshops, PHCET helps students to self-learn the strategies to overcome their reluctance to actively participate in the class, to become socially active and to solve problems while exchanging knowledge.

Study Workshops at PHCET are designed to give excellent learning atmosphere to the students. This new model of Study Workshop has been introduced considering the need for consistent guidance desired by the students. This model of Study Workshop is typically conducted one and a half hour prior to the Unit Test (of that specific subject). The subject teacher carefully forms groups in such a way that each group consists of 7-8 students, from all categories of proficiency (low, average & excellent), helping each other in learning the process. Nearly 50 such student groups are formed and Course and workshop material is provided to the students. Students discuss and brainstorm at these sessions for best possible answers to the problems. Solved work-sheets are assessed by the teachers after the sessions. The core responsibility of the respective subject faculty is to help the students explore their potential and help them transform from passive to active learners. Students have mentioned in their feedback that they enjoy this process of collaborative learning. Students start spending more time with books, friends and teachers, who help them to become confident and learn better in a friendly environment. The mission of the Study Workshops is to inculcate effective study habits, create sociable settings and thus achieve the Kill-KT target for PHCET.

As per the revised model of the Study Workshop, one hour is devoted to the Study Work shop after completion of each unit (per subject). If required, the last hour allotted for the subject weekly is scheduled as the Study Workshop. The subject faculty members revise discuss and supervise the students’ understanding and knowledge of the subject in the workshop. Faculty divides the class in groups and distribute the study material and notes prepared by the faculty. Special attention is paid to slow learners and to students who lack English language skills such that their doubts can be openly communicated with the faculty. Every department schedules study workshops on Saturdays (if required) to devote extra attention and time to students. This workshop provides techniques to improve memory and preparation for the university exams. PHCET expects that students’ experiences in these workshops will improve their general capabilities in Mathematics and relate those to engineering-related problems leading success in engineering curriculum and thereafter.

Technical Paper Writing

Technical Paper Writing

The characteristics of a good technical paper include novelty, clarity and brevity with usage of good language as well as structure in the form of ideas separated in paragraphs. A good technical paper has proper layout with specific elements consisting of abstract, introduction, methodology used to carry out the main work followed by results and discussion, conclusions and future scope, and finally the references. The acknowledgement section can also be included if required.

At PHCET, It is mandatory for all UG, PG and PhD students to submit their project / research which they carry out during the designated period as prescribed by the Mumbai University in the form of a thesis as partial fulfilment of their respective degrees. Hence, it is very much important that these students must be aware about the technical and English language skills required for writing technical articles and reports. Following section briefs about the paper writing skills adopted in various departments of Pillai HOC College of Engineering.

All departments encourage students to write good technical papers. As per area of specialization, faculty are allotted to guide the students of UG and PG. PhD (Civil and Computer branch) and PG (Civil, Mechanical, EXTC and Computer branch) scholars are encouraged to publish their research work in reputed international journals so that their research can reach out to more audience. Faculty guide them to construct strong statements and support their arguments with evidence. Departments conducts in-house faculty seminar, through which students are motivated and guided to write technical papers. Guide usually suggests and sends the links to the students like IEEE, Springer, Elsevier, Taylor and Francis conferences etc. Students are guided to write an abstract, introduction, literature survey, methodology, results and conclusions effectively. From the current year all the departments have introduced Technical Paper writing to UG in the form of assignments. All the students of Second, Third and Final year were given a topic related to the course in which they are studying (subject specific) and asking them to write a summary of the paper search for a technical paper. They were guided in the library for “how to search a technical paper based on the topic” in the computer facility created in the library. Library has an access to ASCE and ASME journals for Civil and mechanical engineering students. Library has also an access to J-Gate, K- Hub journals which are common to all the department students. Students are motivated and guided by the faculty members to write abstract, extended abstract or full length papers in the international conferences. As a results of the efforts of the faculty members, the students were able to publish papers in international conferences hosted by IISc (Bangalore), NIT (Patna), NIT (Jalandhar), IWA (Phuket, Malaysia), IIT (Madras) and various reputed government and private engineering colleges.

Review of Technical paper:
Technical papers written by students are reviewed by the guides or other senior faculty members in each department with the goal of making it ready for a good publication. The paper is reviewed for technical novelty, design and analysis, calculations, flow and structure, sentence framing and grammar. Thus paper reviewing forms an integral part of technical paper writing.

PHCET encourages publication of technical papers in reputed journals and conferences. The students are made to write the paper in their own words, in standard formats. These are thoroughly reviewed by the respective guides and other senior faculty members. While reviewing, repetitions of words, complex or large sentences are removed and simple easy language is encouraged. Review process helped students to write the technical papers keeping the importance of abstract, introduction, methodology, results and conclusions in a standard format and in a technical language. Students were told at early stages regarding the paper writing protocols. The institution has provided Turnitin software in the library to check the plagiarism in the papers. The review procedure helped students to publish their research findings in good national and international conferences hosted by reputed institutions.

Civil engineering students have published their research work in international conference hosted by IISc Bangalore, NIT (Patna), NIT (Jalandhar), IWA (Phuket, Malaysia) IIT Madras. UG students published around 5 papers in the civil engineering fields, while PG students published 23 papers in the field of construction engineering and management. PhD scholars have published 4 papers in the field of water resources engineering and GIS. Mechanical engineering students have published 39 papers in journals and 10 conference papers till October 2018 in allied fields of mechanical engineering. Electronics and Telecommunication department students have published papers in IEEE and SPRINGER journals, whereas Computer Engineering students have published 180 papers in various areas including cloud computing, networking, databases, Big Data, Cloud computing and Internet of things at the UG and PG level. Information technology UG students have published 5 papers in core IT fields, while PG students have published more than 35 papers in the field of internet and cyber warfare (ICW).

Student of Electronics & Telecommunication Department participated in the National Level Inter-Collegiate Project Competition at K. J. Somaiya Institute of Engineering and Technology, Sion (KJSIET) on 16th April, 2017 and won the Runner-up prize

Students of Electronics & Telecommunication Department participated in the All India Project Competition “SHIELD” Awards 2017 at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregaon, Mumbai Asian organised by Business Exhibition & Conferences Limited, Mumbai on 7th April 2017 and won the 2nd Prize, and prize amount of 25,000/-

Traffic Mitra

Traffic Mitra

During evening and peak hours, Indian urban road systems become vulnerable to accidents. PHCET has launched the Traffic Mitra program to assist policemen in controlling and diverting traffic smoothly and efficiently. Traffic mitras are the people who would help the people to manage the traffic with the help of the traffic police in their nearby colonies. They are also invited to come up with the idea of traffic management in their own colonies or nearby areas. These ideas are further implemented to manage the traffic.

Brief Information About The Event:

Pillai HOCL Educational Campus organized a traffic awareness program for their students on 5th September, 2017. This program was conducted in association with the Navi Mumbai traffic police. The event aimed at creating awareness about the traffic mitra amongst the youth and to encourage them to enroll them for the traffic mitra program being conducted by the Navi Mumbai Traffic Police. The main aim of this event was to create an awareness among the youngsters so that they can help the traffic police and manage the traffic for the smooth functioning of the city. Over 300 students participated and a one day training program was organized to guide them for the event. All the students gathered at a school in Kalamboli Traffic program training was organized at Kalamboli, Grampanchyat karyalay on 16th August, 2016. The dignitaries for training program included the DCP of traffic police, Mr. Vijay Salvi and API, Mr. Satish Wagh. Students of all the departments participated in this event. S.E. and T.E. students participated in Traffic Mitra on 5th September, 2017. At the respective places some traffic officials were already present so when the students reached there they were provided with a set of ‘DOs and DONTs’ instructions. The students performed the duties diligently with a great feeling of giving back to the society.

PHCET also coordinated the event of “Traffic Mitra” for conduction of “Ganapati Visarjan Festival” on 5th September, 2017 at Panvel, Kalamboli and Kamothe. The event has started from panvel ST stand with Mr. Vijay Kadbane Traffic Police Inspector Panvel, who distributed the groups of volunteers (3-students and Faculty) to different location as per a preplanned effort. Some student were allotted duties at Traffic police office, Kalamboli and were guided by Mr. Gorakh Patil traffic police inspector Kalamboli, who then further distributed the assignments to different locations at Kalamboli and Kamothe. More than 30 students and 6 faculty members were enrolled in “Traffic Mitra” event. At the end of the program, the students participated were felicitated with certificates.

Tutorials

Tutorials

A tutorial is an effective and interactive teaching-learning process which is more specific than a lecture. At PHCET, tutorials are made more students centric by engaging students and promoting self-learning leading to enhanced analytical capabilities. During Tutorials, extra individual attention is provided to the students as the number of students per tutorials is lower as compared to lectures. Slow learners are identified and motivated for self-learning. Decisive evaluation of students’ learning is also done persistently through tutorials. Further, tutorials are used to assess the understanding of the content related to the module covered in the theory lecture.

Tutorials are included in some of the course syllabi. In our Institute, some other course which does not include tutorials in the syllabus are also planned to improve academic performance and to provide individual attention to the students. A teaching plan is prepared for it, which includes course objectives, course outcomes, number of hours required to complete each module. Faculty assesses and keeps a track record of each student’s performance. The students’ involvement and their marks scored in tutorials as well as assignments are recorded, which helps to evaluate the student learning curve. Conduction of tutorials differ department wise as described below.

In Civil Engineering Department, tutorials are conducted for a batch of twenty students for two hours in a week for the subjects i.e., Applied Mathematics, Structural Analysis, Design of Structures, Building Design and Drawing, Construction Engineering, Construction Management, Irrigation Engineering, Quantity Survey and Estimation, Industrial Waste Treatment and Solid Waste Management. These tutorials involve planning of various structures, their drawing, analysis and design problems, case study, numerical problems, assignments review, previous question papers, review video lectures, presentations and guidance to students for referring research journals from library.

The Department of Electrical Engineering conduct tutorials on the same format as the Civil Engineering Department for subjects including Applied Mathematics, Power System, Signal processing, Business Communication and Ethics, Design, Management and Auditing of Electrical Systems. These tutorials involve design problems, case study, numericals, review of question paper, video lectures, student’s presentations, study workshop, referring research journals from library.

In Department of Humanities and Science tutorials are conducted in the subjects including Applied Mathematics and Communication Skills. These tutorials are aimed at more interaction with students, improving technical and soft skills including Group Discussion and personal interview training, solving and practicing more University questions in a group.

In the Department of Information Technology, tutorials are conducted for the subjects including Applied Mathematics, Principles of Communication and Automata Theory. These tutorials are aimed at more interaction and greater ability to concentrate and improve students’ technical skills as well as solving and practicing more university questions in a group.

Benefits of Tutorials:

  • Supports in-class learning and inculcates good study habits in the students.
  • Builds up academic performance and improves confidence
  • Tenders a distinctive and individualized learning practice.
  • Promotes advanced level of thinking.
  • Assists students in becoming an independent learner.
Use of Information and Communications Technology

Use of Information and Communications Technology

Pillai HOC College of Engineering and Technology (PHCET) always strives to remain at the forefront of cutting edge technology and scientific research with the ultimate goal of betterment of the society. With strong R&D infrastructure and labs with state of the art equipment, PHCET continues to leverage Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to its fullest for continual improvement of quality and relevance of teaching, research and academic administration. Faculty uses ICT to make teaching effective.

PHCET has provided faculty members with well-equipped labs and ICT facilities to facilitate teaching. Departments have equipped their respective faculty with spacious workstation comprising of necessary computing systems so that faculty can prepare necessary materials to deliver their lectures using ICT. Also institution has ensured that all the classrooms of the all the departments have necessary computing and presentation equipments which support ICT. Apart from all these facilities, the institution is totally technology enabled. There is internet and Wi-Fi connection available for the staff and students. There are Projectors, portable LCD projectors, desktops, audio-visual equipment like tape-recorder, television, CDs and DVDs, DVD player, microphones (Collar and wireless), speakers, amplifiers, mixers and cameras. All these resources are well utilized to make teaching-learning meaningful for students and faculty alike.

ICT tools used in the Institute: Computers with internet facility, library with e-resources and e-learning platform etc. are provided as infrastructure. Computer labs have been equipped with high quality machines consisting of more than 650 windows machines. Free Wi-Fi facility is available in the college campus. Most of the faculty use PPT for effective teaching. Free Digital Library, eBooks and online journals are available for faculties and students, infrastructure like PCs, LAN Connectivity, LCD Projectors are also available. Institution has an online portal (AMS), where the teachers upload their study material, such as teaching plan, students’ attendance record, and unit test record etc., Online feedback is given by all the department students through the portal to evaluate the faculty performance. PHCET Student Login is for managing student accounts and their learning requirements. PHCET has Light board Studio for the faculty to records the lectures and share it with students using various resources. Faculty can create a single scene where students observe the instructor, the board, computer-generated graphics (PowerPoint, graphs, photos) and any physical objects (models, instruments, etc.) that are a critical part of the lesson. Once edited, these videos may be shared with students using YouTube or other multimedia sources. The Administrative Office is well connected with internet, Wi-Fi, Biometric system and CCTV camera to monitor the activities of the staff and students. The advanced use of ICT tools and techniques are encouraged. For that, ICT facilities and infrastructure has been improved and upgraded. College also focuses in extensive use of ICT in all academic and administrative tasks.

The Available ICT facilities in the institution are as follows:

  • Academic Management System for PHCET [AMS]
  • Light Board Studio
  • PHCET Student Login
  • Digital Library
  • College Administrative Office
  • Computer cum Language Lab
  • Technology Enabled Seminar Hall
  • Computer Labs and Software

Accessibility: The staff and Students have an access to internet and Wi-Fi connection. Student and teacher are given a separate user name and password on the portal. The staff and student-teachers use the available computers in the institution for curricular and co-curricular activities like power point preparation, seminar and assignments, etc. also use the technology equipment for seminars and for preparing teaching learning materials. The staff avail the ICT facilities to enhance their teaching competencies and for their research.

Use of Social Media for Benefit of Students and the Society

Use of Social Media for Benefit of Students and the Society

PHCET initiated a pilot project in a rural area of Raigad, Maharashtra (India) to address the lack of sanitation facilities in a tribal school. The completion of a vast survey of school dropouts indicated that lack of sanitation facilities was the primary reason behind dropouts, especially for girls at the onset of their menses. Therefore, 20 gender segregated functional toilets and bathrooms were constructed as a measure to reduce school dropouts. Additionally it was found that these dropped out children had not picked up even the basic literacy skills as far as grade 8 (~ 13 years old). A batch of undergraduate students was selected to assist the dropout children to augment their literacy and numeracy skills at par with the urban students. Further, we developed a central facility for imparting vocational skills including plumbing, electrical wiring, computer hardware & beauty culture for these students, leading to higher employability and entrepreneurial qualities.

The SanEduSkill project has impacted approximately 450 families in a tribal village located in the district of Raigad (Maharashtra, India). Our initiative has reduced open defecation and provided toilets and bathrooms to 100% of the students, wherein most of their families have no sanitation facilities in their homes. This has reduced the number of instances of illnesses for girls. The skill development program was initiated with a 30% reservation for women. During the skill development, the first two months included training on communication in English language. The previous two batches (2015 & 16) passed out with an average class enrolment of 100 students per year. These tribal students who have graduated with a certificate course are now employed locally or have started an independent business. Our initiative was recently recognized and approved by the government of India.

Social media platforms including WhatsApp and Facebook has played a significant role in spreading awareness on sanitation, Education and Skill development among PHCET students as well as the nearby tribal community located in this rural area of Maharashtra. Additionally, Students of PHCET enjoy course materials including reference books, quizzes, assignments, test results, academic holidays, exam schedules and much more at the touch of their fingers 24/7 on their mobile phones. This has been realized as a significant boon to the students by having access to information and data on the go such that their travel time can be utilized fruitfully.

PHCET faculty members provide students with adequate material and information through the use of social media such as WhatsApp as illustrated below. We have our google groups for sharing of notes and other vital information and google classroom is also used to enhance learning.