Dr. TKS Lakshmi Priya has been working as a Professor and Head of Printing Technology Department at School of Engineering - Avinashilingam University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. She has done B.E, M.E and PhD as part of her academics and has over 25 years of teaching and research experience including 10 years in College of Engineering Guindy. Since the beginning of her teaching career she has been involved in designing experiments for various lab courses and conducting hands-on workshops on many themes. Her areas of interest are Print 4.0 Technologies and Sustainable approaches. Her two patents are the outcome of business models designed for the SMEs and the under-privileged. She has contributed over 25 technical papers and has delivered more than 30 technical talks at Printers’ seminars, including hands-on online sessions on digital technology during the COVID times. She works closely with printers associations in developing simple equipment and solutions using Print 4.0 technologies. She has also been associated with the prestigious Print Olympiad since 2014 and is its National Coordinator for 2022-23. She is a co-opted member of the Governing Council of AIFMP. 

School Of Engineering, Avinashilingam University

What is the Vision and Mission of your Department of Printing Technology? 

"It is to transform female students into amazing Entrepreneurs and responsible citizens"

The vision of our department is to tap the aesthetic, artistic, and creative skills in women candidates and mold them into responsible and adaptive Printing Engineers who can become efficient employees, successful entrepreneurs and responsible citizens. We also focus on providing quality education in Printing Technology for women students and inculcate self-learning and experimental talents required of an entrepreneur. 

What would you say are the greatest strengths of your department?

"Our training programs, faculty members and placement records makes us strong"

The main sources of strength for our department are definitely our highly educated, well trained and experienced faculties who are regularly invited for the guests' lectures, seminars, conferences, webinars and workshops by other prominent colleges. In addition to this, their achievements, industry connect sessions which we regularly organize for students, followed by our amazing record of 100% placement makes us strong.

How do you train yourself and faculty members of your college to deliver this program to the students?

"Faculties are upskilled through industrial trainings, visits and workshops organized by college"

The faculty members of our college and I as well, we regularly visit the industry to train ourselves on latest technologies and to bridge the gap between our teaching practices and industry expectations and needs. Also we keep ourselves updated with the latest trends and developments of the outside corporate and education sector. In addition to this, workshops are organized by our college to upskill faculty members.

What are some of the plans that you are currently designing for students of your institute?

"We are drafting plans to organize events like seminars, workshops and conferences in upcoming time"

We are planning to organize new workshops, webinars, international conferences and industry interaction sessions for students in collaboration with our industry partners, because due to Covid pandemic, conduction of physical workshops and industrial visits were put on hold. And since we are a member of All India Federation of Master Printers, we have very good connections there using which we are planning to invite international speakers to have interactive sessions with us. 

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How does your college enhance industrial exposure of students and prepare them for this real world?

"Real time projects are assigned to students along with offering them training and internships"

We have amazing industry connectedness programs through which our students work on different kinds of industry oriented and real time projects, pursue internships and undergo rigorous training programs to get the idea of real world expectations and developments and also to increase their knowledge. Apart from this, we have signed MoU's with reputed industry organizations such as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International School of Textiles and Management and Balaji Institute of Computer Graphics both of which are in Coimbatore followed by PressMan Solutions which is situated in Chennai, to provide best learning opportunities to our students.

Which extracurricular activities are organized in college to enhance the skills of students?

"Cultural activities, sports events and Print Olympiad along with Tournaments are organized by us"

We regularly organize a wide range of cultural and sports events and also encourage our students to take part in competitions such as Engineers Day, Print Olympiad and in Editorial Tournaments etc. The basic idea behind this approach is to make students capable of competing with their peers, showcase their existing skills and gain new real world skills like team building, time management and leadership skills. 

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Any valuable advice which you would like to give to the students that are pursuing this course?

"Printing Industry has abundant opportunities for you, so keep hustling and upgrading your skills"

I would advise my dear students to work hard and practice positivity instead of focusing on negative things only. And because not many people are in the printing community, it is possible that one can face a lot of criticism while working here, but along with challenges the Printing Industry offers tremendous learning opportunities also. A Printing industry graduate can become Vice President of a company within 10 year. Hence keep upgrading your skills, set realistic goals for yourself and stay dedicated and disciplined towards them.