Cummins College of Engineering for Women completes one year of Academic Autonomy

by Shrutee K/DNS 

Pune, India: Cummins College of Engineering for Women (CCEW) is reaping the benefits of academic autonomy granted to it in 2016 by the University Grants Commission (UGC).  Set up in Pune in 1991, the College is a collaboration between Maharshi Karve Stree Shikshan Samstha (MKSSS) and Cummins India that designs, manufactures, distributes and services engines, generator sets and related technologies.

For the past 25 years, CCEW has been offering technical courses approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi.  Over the years, the college has been expanding its curriculum to offer undergraduate B. Tech degrees in Computer Engineering, Electronics and Telecom Engineering, IT, Instrumentation, Control Engineering and Mechanical Engineering.

CCEW is one of the five autonomous engineering colleges in the city.  Leveraging this status, the college has been collaborating with academia within and outside the country, in modifying and enhancing its curriculum to align with the future needs of the industry.  Among several advantages that come with autonomy, is the benefit that students will now draw from selecting a credit based structure and choosing interdisciplinary courses.

Speaking on the occasion of completing one year of academic autonomy, Dr. Madhuri Khambete, Principal CCEW said, “Cummins’ partnership with the institute spans more than two decades.  Collaborating closely, we have been continuously building the capability of the institute in all aspects – faculty, curriculum and infrastructure.  Ever since we gained academic autonomy, we have been incorporating incremental changes in the curriculum and course structure.  We are excited about the prospects of these changes in providing world-class technical education to our students and enhancing their career prospects in the industry."

Anant J. Talaulicar, Managing Director Cummins Group in India, said, “We are happy to have partnered closely with the CCEW to achieve autonomy in its silver jubilee year.  Higher Education being a focus area for us, we have been closely involved with CCEW towards increasing its ranking amongst the leading privately managed engineering institutes in India by implementing a broad set of initiatives.  The autonomous status gives us the freedom to bring changes that will offer unique advantages to students graduating from this institute.”

CCEW - A Signature Project of Cummins Group in India:

Under this initiative, Cummins along with the institution, has developed a road map to have CCEW ranked amongst the top 5% privately managed engineering institutes in India. In the first phase (2011-2017), the focus is on the undergraduate programs and in the second phase (2018-2025), the emphasis will be on postgraduate programs. Cummins’ senior executives are actively involved in the Signature Project, frequently interacting with the staff and students. Continuous development of the College is being ensured through a series of initiatives, some of which include enhancement in infrastructure, up-gradation of lab equipment, internships and exchange programs for students, and PhD and paper presentations for the faculty amongst others.