The All India Council for Technical Education has made it mandatory for all engineering students to undergo internships to up employability levels. AICTE chairman SS Mantha said the initiative was part of the national employability enhancement mission (NEEM).

At the regional workshop on 'AICTE-CII Survey of Industry-Linked Technical Institutes 2013' on Friday, Mantha said the idea of NEEM was "not to create jobs, but to improve employability". Students in the fifth, sixth and seventh semesters will have to do an internship for anything from three to 24 months. The AICTE is coming up with a plan to register external agencies who can liaise with industry to get internships for students. The registration process will begin in mid-June. "There will be no guarantee for jobs, but students will become employable," he added.

AICTE has also signed a memorandum of understanding with BSNL to train third and fourth year engineering students in communication and related fields at 43 training centres across the country. The AICTE will pay for the training to the colleges, which will direct the funds to BSNL. "BSNL has some of the best training centres with world class equipment," Mantha said. The students will undergo 400 hours of training at the centres. Similar collaborations are being worked out in other disciplines of engineering with micro, small and medium enterprises, Mantha said.

Another initiative, also under NEEM, to reward and challenge students with potential is the 'Student Innovation Promotion Scheme'. Four regional-level workshops will be conducted, and 10,000 to 15,000 students will be invited to one of them, to work on projects on the spot. MSMEs will be asked to evaluate the project and selected students will be pushed to the next level of design or technology.

The AICTE also plans to start a placement portal to link students with industry. Students will be able to upload their biodata in a set format, and industry will be able to search for applicants that meet their requirements. A research portal where all projects by UG and PG students will be put up is also being planned. Both portals will have links on the AICTE website.

Source : TOI