AI, data science sectors attract more engineering applicants in Maharashtra

Institutes are offering new courses in view of rising interest in jobs in robotics and analytics sectors

After months of delay, the first seat-allotment list for first-year Bachelor of Technology (BTech) courses was released by the state common entrance test (CET) cell on Wednesday. While computer science has been a favourite among top scorers year after year, many colleges are witnessing a growing number of students now opting for electronics and communication, as well as newly introduced courses like artificial intelligence (AI) and data science.

“The electronics and communication course has managed to scoop the best of minds this year, and many have also opted for BTech in AI and data science fields. Since jobs in the electronics as well as AI sectors are gaining popularity, students are very clear about their ambition,” said Gopakumaran Thampi, principal of Thadomal Shahani Engineering College, Bandra.

In early 2019, to attract more students to the engineering sector, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) had requested all affiliated engineering colleges to introduce new courses like data science and analytics, blockchain, machine learning and robotics, among others. Since 2020, AICTE also implemented a blanket ban on new engineering institutes across the country and instead requested colleges to apply for new-age courses.

In September last year, the state CET cell recorded a rise in engineering applications, after witnessing a year-on-year drop in registrations until 2019. From 4.13 lakh aspirants who had registered for the MH-CET exam in 2019, the figure stood at 5.32 lakh in 2020. Registrations stood at 4.35 lakh in 2018. Many institutes felt the increased interest among students was due to the introduction of new-age courses.

“Our institute had received several inquiries throughout the lockdown for admissions, especially asking if the institute had any plans to start new courses. More and more technically-aligned students now want to study new forms of engineering rather than the traditional courses,” said a faculty member from another city-based engineering institute.

While demand for new-age courses is growing, and an increasing number of institutes are showing interest in wanting to introduce these courses, experts have highlighted how this move could be short-lived, especially for courses like AI and data science and analytics due to the evolving technology in these fields.

“Most of the new-age courses introduced by AICTE this year are for application-based technology, and with every passing year, these sectors evolve, and new trends emerge. At present, these courses might be in a position to offer many jobs to graduating students, but there’s no guarantee the trend will stay for very long,” said SS Mantha, former chairperson of AICTE. “The shelf value of new-age courses could be limited, whereas basic knowledge in core engineering sectors will take students a long way,” he added.

In some cases, engineering institutes have also chosen not to apply for the new courses due to lack of support from the state government. “We didn’t apply for any new courses because till date the state government has not approved faculty for the electronics and communication course that we had started in 2009. This particular course has attracted the brightest of minds over the years and is in popular demand amongst recruiters as well, which is why the institute is funding the course without any government support,” said Dhiren Patel, director, Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), Matunga.