Express news service

BENGALURU: All engineering schools at Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) will offer “Biology for Engineers” as a subject from this year. It will be part of the “capacity improvement courses” under the National Education Policy (NEP).

Explaining the new addition to all of this year’s engineering courses, VTU Vice Chancellor Karisiddappa told TNIE that in the context of Covid-19, engineers have been seen working closely with medics to design medical equipment, using advanced technologies such as artificial neurons, highlighting the need for the concept of biology in engineering courses.

The curriculum is in development, and the subject will be introduced for sophomores as well, so it helps those who want to gain lateral entry into engineering. This will include the study of cells and blood flow, and it is also necessary to understand the nervous system while working with artificial neural networks.

Besides “Biology for Engineers” as a capability improvement course, blockchain technology and data analysis and simulations should also be added to the curriculum, Karisiddappa said. The introduction of biology will be seen as the first iteration of the policy, with the aim of making the education system self-sufficient. Colleges should think about opening new departments considered multidisciplinary, he added.

66 colleges to award a basic science degree
Engineering schools will use their teaching capacities – quality of teachers, availability of laboratories and classrooms – to introduce basic science courses. Physics, chemistry and mathematics will now be taught by teachers in engineering courses, Vice-Chancellor Karisiddappa told TNIE. He said the colleges, which are mostly private, assisted, and autonomous, were chosen based on their existing facilities, faculty members, and their accreditation by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) and NAAC.

The merger of campuses to bring in professors from a scientific college from the same city or company (which manages the college of engineers) will be authorized. Faculty can be used from science colleges where the workload is less. This also comes in the context of a vacancy of over 50 percent in SUV admissions. Karisiddappa said the reason the course started was to use the engineering faculty to teach physics, chemistry and mathematics; and the use of engineering college laboratories and facilities.