The expansion of engineering education in India can be said to be phenomenal and has laid a strong base for the technological advancement of the country. The improvement in engineering education is mainly attributed to the increasing need for the professionals in the field of engineering in various industries like information technology, manufacturing, infrastructural development and telecommunication among others. The accelerating economic growth and industrialization in India have necessitated the production of a technically skilled population.
To fulfill this demand, many engineering colleges and universities have been established all over the country. The Indian government has greatly contributed by founding some of the country’s leading universities that are now internationally recognized as superior educational facilities. These institutions provide the best talent and state of the art facilities and faculty that support the culture of innovation and research.
Besides government efforts, the role played by private universities and colleges is also noteworthy in the development of engineering education in India. The private institutions have become the key players in offering the best facilities, industrial linkages and the focus on the vocationally oriented education. One major development in Indian engineering education is the specialization of disciplines. The more classical areas are mechanical, electrical and civil engineering, while the newer branches include computer science, artificial intelligence and biomedical engineering among others. It reflects the change in the requirements and the increased importance of the innovative technologies in the industry.
The quality of engineering education in India has also been enhanced at a fairly good level. Current trends include outcome-based education, industry internships, and research-based curricula; all of which guarantee the production of competent workforce. This preparedness has been complemented by the improvement of the interaction between academic institutions and companies which take an active part in curriculum design, research activities, and employment of graduates.
However, challenges remain. Some of the issues that require attention are the gap between the theory taught in the classrooms and the practice, the quality of faculty, and the research production. The problems have to be solved by engineering colleges by bringing changes in the curriculum, faculty development programs and through investment on research and development.
To help our readers select the engineering colleges that are successfully addressing these issues, Higher Education Review presents its annual special issue - Engineering Survey 2024 – Top 100 Engineering Colleges in India. The colleges have been selected after careful consideration of five crucial aspects: a) the quality of faculty, research and publications, b) establishment and approvals, c) current students and admissions, d) infrastructure and facilities, and e) placement and salary statistics. The selection methodology for shortlisting the top 100 engineering colleges involved calculating the average of the scores in various aspects. The final scores were then compared to determine the colleges that excel across multiple criteria, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation process.
