Dr. G Mahendran is a Professor & HOD of the Electronics and Communication Engineering department in the Syed Ammal Engineering College, Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu. He did B.E in Electronics and Communication Engineering, M.E. in Applied Electronics and Ph.D. from Information and Communication Engineering. His area of Research is Medical Image Processing. He is one of the Resource Persons for 7 days FDP on “Digital Image Processing” and Two Days Faculty Orientation Programme on Teaching Methodologies for young faculty members. Dr. G Mahendran is a Co-chair on “Control Systems Engineering” and “Signals and Systems”. He is a life member of ISTE, IETE and IEEE. He published various publications in International journals. 

SYED AMMAL ENGINEERING COLLEGE

As a teacher, what kind of challenges do you face in pursuing quality education?

“Practicals, lab work and covid period are the greatest challenges for us”

I would say that the main obstacle has been COVID. It has presented us with a lot of challenges. Especially the change from classroom teaching to online classes. Both faculty and students had to adapt according to the circumstances. The main challenge we face is to get the students' attention in classroom teaching. It is easy to gauge if a student is paying attention, but it is not the case with online teaching. We try to overcome this difficulty by conducting regular classes through google classroom and share study material beforehand with the students. So, they can go through the material in advance. This way students know about the topic and it generates more interest. We also ask for regular feedback from students as well as give regular feedback to students based on their assignments and tests. So, both faculty and students know which areas they need to improve upon. One other challenge is LAB work /Practical’s. ECE students require different apparatus to conduct experiments. During COVID, doing physical experiments was not possible. But we managed to explain it to students through interactive media and videos.

How did you train yourself/faculty to deliver this program to the students in Syed Ammal Engineering College?

“Organize FDPs, NPTEL courses and update faculties with latest industry trends”

To train the faculty, we conduct faculty development programs each semester which are sponsored by University and AICTE. Our faculty is also constantly motivated to keep themselves updated with the latest industry and education trends. It includes continuing to learn through NPTEL courses. Staff of our department are encouraged to take part in various workshops, seminars and conferences to enrich their knowledge. Recently workshops on “ Machine Learning” and “LABVIEW” were conducted which we attended by both faculty and students. 

Do you have any extracurricular activities/ programs to enhance the skills of the students or expose them to real world challenges?

“Provide cultural fests, sports activities and other programs for students”

We conduct many extra-curricular activities and encourage students to actively take part in it. This will help with management and leadership skills of the students. Similarly, we conduct cultural activities and sports activities. Our college is motivating both curricular and extracurricular activities. We also have a technical association called LANCET through which students get involved in various activities like group discussion, paper presentation, Project demonstration and quiz competition.

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What are the key factors that keep you connected with the education sector?

“Passion for teaching and satisfaction to service my students keeps me connected with the education sector”

My mother is a teacher. So, she has always been an inspiration to me. So my First goal was always to become a teacher. After 12th, I did B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering and then M.E. in Applied Electronics. Also, I have completed my Ph.D. in Information and Communication Engineering with the area of Research as “Medical Imaging Processing”. Eventually, I joined as a lecturer in Syed Ammal Engineering College in the department of ECE and I’ve been here ever since. I am very much satisfied by doing the service to my students and am definitely in love with this job.

What is your top priority for Syed Ammal Engineering College over the next 10 years?

“To increase education quality, more courses and research facilities on campus in upcoming years”

Our college wants to increase the quality of education we provide to our students. Actually, our college produced more university rank holders over the years. Our college has three branches as a research Center with one as ECE. Currently, we are AICTE Approved and ISO certified institutions with NBA accredited UG courses. We are aiming for more accreditation. Next, we are going to apply for NAAC accreditation. Our college is also planning to offer more courses based on the evolving industry needs. Two new courses that are being offered for the year 2021-2022 include “Artificial Intelligence and Data Science” and “Computer Science and Business Systems”. 

How does your college prepare students for placements?

“Conduct industry visits, educational tours and training for students”

We organize various industrial visits and educational tours for students every year. So, the students are familiar with ongoing industry practices. Our students have visited ISRO launching center Sriharikotta, ISRO Satellite Center, Bangalore, Master Control Facility (ISRO), Hassan, and ISRO, Thiruvananthapuram. We also organize in-plant training for our students to get all the experience they need. Like our students have undergone In-plant Training in various reputed organizations like RGM-TTC, BSNL, , PEENA Electricity, Pandian System and Solution, CRISP, Railnet Software Solution etc. We have an exclusive training and placement cell. There is a placement office who coordinates with each and every branch to conduct different training programs and invites various companies for placements. They arrange for more companies to visit and conduct placement drives. We have corporate relations with many core companies like Microsoft , IBM, Cisco, BSNL etc.

What advice would you like to give to your students?

“Improve your knowledge by pursuing higher studies and achieve a good job”

My advice to students would be to pursue higher education, do post-graduation and masters. Do everything they can to improve their knowledge and expertise. It will open many doors for them, bring more options, and job opportunities. I would want my students to follow their interest/passion. They need to do something that they are interested in and bring them satisfaction. Sometimes, students refuse job offers, and do not join companies after getting placed or do not sit for placement drives. There are many reasons for this. Sometimes, it’s because they have different plans, and their parent’s advise against it. They want their children to go for government jobs which is fine. But, they fail to realize that these opportunities may not be present in the future. Students should explore opportunities and gain experience wherever they can. It is also difficult to convince parents to let their child pursue higher education.

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What are your Syed Ammal Engineering College strengths or plus points?

“Dedicated faculty, research centers and pupils are our greatest strengths”

I would say our college’s dedicated faculty is definitely its greatest strength. We think of our students as our own and try to help them any way possible. Our faculties take care of each and every student’s needs. We do not play favorites or discriminate amongst the students. Besides that, one of the plus points of our college is our research centers. We have Anna University approved research centers in Ph.D Computer Science Engineering , Ph.D Electronic and Communication Engineering and Ph.D Electronics and Electrical Engineering. These research centers help our faculty expand their knowledge and expertise in various domains. They can pursue Ph.D. if they want to. We also have a good placement record, a strong alumni network and state of the art infrastructure.