Panjab University’s (PU) University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET) has set the ball rolling for the adoption of the National Education Policy (NEP) for undergraduate students. For mechanical engineering students, the option for minor degree, under NEP guidelines, will be introduced for six streams.
The scheme has been proposed through the board of studies and approved by the dean faculty of engineering.
Going forward, students will have the flexibility to opt for any area of their interest and complete five courses worth 20 credits before graduating.
Notably, during the June 3 Senate meeting, the authorities had resolved that NEP for undergraduate courses will be rolled out for the PU campus first as there was still some confusion regarding its adoption in the affiliated colleges.
As per officials, this would make UIET one of the varsity’s first departments to introduce the option of minor degree.
Speaking of the development, UIET director JK Goswamy said it is at the proposal stage for now and only for the mechanical engineering department, while more details will be available later.
PU registrar Yajvender Pal Verma, who is also an associate professor in UIET, meanwhile said the proposal has been submitted to the competent authorities after which it will be made final. “Other departments of UIET will also look to implement this in the coming days as well as envisaged under NEP,” he added.
As per University Grants Commission (UGC), minor discipline helps a student to gain a broader understanding beyond the major discipline. The student will be awarded the bachelor’s degree in their major subject which is engineering in this case and with a minor in the subject of their choice.
The minor degree has been introduced in six streams including product design and development, data science and artificial intelligence, industrial and quality engineering, entrepreneurship and management, computer science and engineering, advanced robotics, IoT and automation. These streams have been identified based on feedback form industry, students and alumni to improve the skill-set and employability of the passing out students.