Coimbatore: With the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) emphasising on internship for engineering and polytechnic students, the state’s Directorate of Technical Education (DOTE) has handed over a list of 25,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and 200 large industries in SIDCO and SIPCOT industrial estates across the state to engineering and polytechnic institutions.
Though students from engineering colleges come to small and medium industries for internship, more needs to be done, small industrialists in the district said. Colleges should send more students and also increase the time period for internship.
“We get four to five student interns a year from city colleges. We make them work in machines and also do inspection work,” said S Surulivel, vice-president of Laghu Udyog Bharati. “Mostly, students from mechanical and electrical branches come to small industries for internship as most of the MSMEs in the district are in these sectors.”
However, colleges can do more in this area, said R Ramamurthy, president of the Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (Codissia). “Usually, colleges send students for internship only for a week to 15 days. They should make students do internship for one month to three months. They should also make it compulsory,” he said. “If colleges approach industrial associations, we would ask our member industries to offer internships.”
Students can learn in-depth about the basic working of an industry in MSME units and it would give them hands-on experience, Ramamurthy said. “Students can get more technical exposure at a small industry than at a corporate company, as there would be several activities happening at a small unit.”
President of the Electrical and Electronics Industrial Estate R Surendran agreed. “At a large firm, students could probably get exposed only to a final product, but in a small firm, they can know a process from A to Z,” he said.
Academics too were of the same view. Principal of the Coimbatore Institute of Technology (CIT) V Selladurai said small industries are where students can learn disruptive technologies. “Small industries have started turning towards industry 4.0. They are using technology such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and internet of things.”
Professor of mechanical engineering at Kumaraguru College of Technology V Muthukumaran said students from top-rated institutions usually do not prefer internship at small industries. “We conduct sessions for students where we sensitise them about the benefits of interning at a small industry,” he said.
Published On : 05-12-2019
Source : Times of India
