College of Engineering, Pune

College of Engineering, Pune
Motto	Strength Truth Endurance
Established	1854
Type	Public Co-ed
Chairman	Fakir Chand Kohli
Dean	S D Agashe S R Kajale S T Vagge B N Chaudhari B B Ahuja
Director	Dr. Anil D. Sahasrabudhe
Academic staff	188
Admin. staff	400
Students	3,800
Undergraduates	2,800
Postgraduates	70
Location	Pune, Maharashtra, India
Campus	Urban, 36 acres
Website	www.coep.org.in

College of Engineering, Pune (CoEP) is an engineering college in Pune, India. Established in 1854, it is the third oldest engineering college in Asia, after the College of Engineering, Guindy (1794) and IIT Roorkee (1847). The students and alumni of College Of Engineering, Pune are colloquially referred to as CoEPians. The college's study model was referred to in the early 1950s as the 'Poona Model'.

College of Engineering, Pune is located at the confluence of two rivers, the Mula and the Mutha.

History

The facade of the main building of the College

The college was one of the first few colleges established by the British to serve the Indian subcontinent. The foundation stone of the new college was laid by the Governor, Sir Bartle Frere, on the 5^th of August, 1865. In June, Mr. Theodore Cooke M.A. who held that appointment for 28 years was appointed Principal.

Initially, it was started as the 'Poona Engineering Class and Mechanical School' to train subordinate officers for carrying out public works like buildings, dams, canals, railways and bridges. Later on, the school became the 'Poona Civil Engineering College', and subsequently in the year 1911, the name was changed to the 'College of Engineering, Poona'. The institution was initially affiliated to the University of Bombay (now Mumbai) for a degree of Licentiate in Civil Engineering known as LCE in 1858. The certificate course was converted into a degree course and the first class of the Bachelor of Engineering degree graduated in the year 1912. In 1968, the three year degree was extended to 4 years constituting 8 semesters.

In 2003, the institute was granted complete autonomy by the State Government of Maharashtra, thus giving it the freedom to set its own curriculum and manage its own finances. With permanent affiliation to the University of Pune, the institute now is an autonomous engineering school. This has been the biggest change as far as pedagogy at CoEP is concerned. The following years have seen a multitude of positive changes in administration and academic strategies. Many of these have been responsible for the growing innovation in project work of college students. The institute contends that its autonomy now grants it greater flexibility in dynamically changing its syllabus to suit the changing needs of the industry.

Specializations and departments

At present, the college awards the degree of B.Tech., i.e. Bachelor of Technology (earlier the Bachelor of Engineering or the B.E.) in nine specializations. They were introduced subsequently since the inception of college.

Department of Electronics & Telecommunication

• 1866: Civil Engineering
• 1912: Mechanical Engineering
• 1932: Electrical Engineering
• 1948: Metallurgical Engineering
• 1956: Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering
• 1965: Instrumentation & Control Engineering
• 1992: Computer Engineering
• 1995: Production (sandwich) Engineering
• 2001: Information Technology

The sandwich pattern course was introduced in Mechanical, Electrical, Metallurgy (1974) and Production (1995). In this model, students spend their 5^th and 8^th semesters working in the industry and gain credit for such work, under the supervision of a faculty member and an industrial manager.

The Master of Technology (M.Tech.) is also awarded and the research for Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree is also conducted in selected fields.

Admissions

Undergraduate

Undergraduate admissions to the College of Engineering, Pune are competitive and are based on merit. Earlier admissions were based upon the percentage of science subjects' marks secured in Higher Secondary Certificate exam of Maharashtra state. However, at present the admissions are conducted on the basis of the marks secured in MHT-CET. These admissions are conducted by the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) through the Centralized Admission Process for Autonomous Institutes (CAPAI). Affirmative action programs exist for students belonging to socially and economically backward classes as stipulated in the Constitution of India and various statutes. There are programs for students from north-eastern India and Indian citizens from Kashmir. There are also programs for children of people working in Gulf countries, foreign nationals, foreign students and Person of Indian Origin (PIO) in the college. Non-Resident Indians cannot apply for the courses. The reservations for different categories are based on the Government of India and Government of Maharashtra rules. Reservations in seats are provided for SC (Schedule Caste), ST (Schedule Tribes), NT (Nomadic Tribes), OBC (Other Backward Classes), PH (Physically Handicapped) as well as female candidates. In addition to the admissions through CAPAI, several admissions to direct second year of B.Tech. course are also conducted for those candidates who have completed Diploma in Engineering at different polytechnic institutes in the state of Maharashtra. These admissions are conducted through the Centralized Admission Process (CAP) by DTE itself.

Activities

CoEP is the hub of various curricular, extra-curricular and technical activities which attracts participation and praise alike from numerous colleges in India.

Gymkhana

The College gymkhana was established in 1914^{[citation needed]}. The gymkhana co-ordinates all sports, co-curricular and extracurricular activities including the annual gathering, debating activity, magazine publishing, etc. The gymkhana is managed by the Gymkhana Managing Committee of the College which comprises secretaries of various clubs and is headed by the Gymkhana General Secretary. The Gymkhana General Secretary is the elected representative of the students. It co-ordinates the team delegations to various function, competitions and organizes the college gathering and annual functions. The Gymkhana Managing Committee consists of a body of student members who look after their particular division. This is advised by the Gymkhana Staff Advisor and the Secretary. Gymkhana Day is an annual function to felicitate and honor the Gymkhana managing committee and gymkhana award-winners. On the same day, the awards for Best Outgoing Student, Best Outgoing Sportsperson, Best Outgoing Social Worker and Best Outgoing Oarsperson are awarded.

MindSpark

The Mind-Spark trophy

MindSpark is the annual technology festival hosted by the College of Engineering, Pune. It is one of the most famous and prestigious technical events nationwide. Started in 2007, it has quickly grown to be one of India's largest technical festivals in terms of participation. The idea behind MindSpark originated from the need to unite various departmental level festivals that were scattered across the Academic Calender. Formed by unifying the various emerging fields of modern technology. The MindSpark organization consists of roughly 20 students managing the administrative portfolios assisted by a team of approximately 800 coordinators and volunteers. MindSpark is traditionally held in the first fortnight of October, though there have been notable variations in this, and features 50 events across various disciplines of engineering. MindSpark has been backed by the support of Industry sponsors who also associate with CoEP for placement. Packed with events such as quizzes, programming competitions, electronic circuit debugging and electronic circuit designing, paper presentation, robot competitions, the event showcases the talent in various fields of engineering. There are several distinct areas of work such as infrastructure, refreshment, publicity, electronic system management, sponsorship. The first year students mostly volunteer in one of these events, as well as participate in the competitions organized. The fifth edition of the event was held from the 27^th to the 29^th of December, 2011.

Zest

Zest 2010

The students from CoEP have a great legacy of excelling in both academics and sports and have won laurels and accolades for their Alma mater in the field of sports. Zest is the annual sports competition, one of the most anticipated events organized at CoEP. The event witnesses participation of students from institutions including the IIT's, NIT's, IIST and other institutes from states like Gujarat, Punjab, Karnataka, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh. The main objective behind Zest was to have an indigenous blend of talent, skills, endurance and to give a platform for the students to excel and showcase their talent. Symbolising the budding enthusiasm and par-excellence achieved in the organization of the event, Zest is considered to be one of the prestigious competitions. The competition includes sports like Hockey, Cricket, Football, Kho-Kho, Kabaddi, Baseball, Basketball, etc. Indoor games like Carrom, Chess, Bridge and Water polo are also organized. Zest has seen immensely enthusiastic participation, growing interest, high quality competitive sportsmanship, incorporation of novel ideas and substantial prize money. In order to make a successful event, students work together in attracting the sponsorships, publicity and setting the huge infrastructure needed.

Regatta

People witnessing the 83rd Regatta

The College of Engineering, Pune is among the few colleges in the world which hosts an annual regatta. Since its inception in 1928, it has showcased around 165 boats, notably the Eighter, which is one of the oldest boats.

Cultural activities

The Auditorium of the College, in which most of the cultural and even academic events are held.

CoEP has been one of the leading colleges from Pune in various cultural competitions like Firodiya Karandak, Purushottam Karandak, Mood Indigo (festival).

Sesquicentenary celebrations

In 2004, CoEP celebrated 150 years of its existence. The celebrations were marked by a visit by the Hon. Ex-President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam . A postage stamp to mark the 150^th anniversary of the college was released.

Other technical events

There are various clubs which impart technical knowledge in various fields which are run by students and co-ordinated by senior professors. The college has good relations with many manufacturing industries in and around Pune including Bajaj, Tata Motors, Thermax, FIAT India and Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited, where students participate in various academic projects. The presence of several research laboratories including the Meteorological Survey of India, National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), National Centre for Radio Astronomy (NCRA), Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) and Center for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) provide students with access to R & D facilities. In addition, the city is home to the growing software and hardware industry (mainly in Hinjewadi Infotech Park), thus enabling more students to pursue final-year projects in these industries.

Clubs

CoEP has a strong culture of clubs which span across a swathe of interests. The clubs come under the purview of the college gymkhana. Each club is represented by a secretary who co-ordinates the activities of the group.

Academic

Astronomy Club

Astronomy Club Logo

The CoEP Astronomy Club was started in 2005^{[citation needed]} by a small group of Astronomy enthusiasts in CoEP. Over the years, the club has grown into one of the most prominent center of activity in the college. Activities of the club include sky observations, regular lectures, astro-photography, building telescopes etc. The students have also built one of India's largest amateur-built telescopes- a 12" Newtonian Reflector^{[citation needed]}. The CoEP Astronomy Club also conducts star parties biennially.

Entrepreneur Cell(E-Cell)

Commonly known as Empressario, The Entrepreneur Cell was started to inculcate and enhance skills like marketing, brand selling and revenue generating, etc. through experience. Empressario has conducted many national events as well as lecture series and workshops. E-Cell will be having it's first ever E-Fest on 3^rd March 2012.

Entrepreneurship Cell logo

FAB Lab

Main article: Fab lab

An MoU was signed with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA for setting up a FAB Lab (Fabrication Lab) in the college. It was followed by FAB 5 - the fifth International FAB Lab Forum and Symposium on Digital Fabrication which was held during August 16–22, 2009 in the college. An outreach project of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Bits and Atoms, CoEP's FAB lab facilitates technological empowerment, peer to peer project based technical training, local problem solving and high-tech business incubation.The FabLab is headed by Prof.S.S.Anasane of Production engineering department.

Free Software Users' Group

CoEP Free Software Users' Group (CoFSUG) is an initiative started by students of College of Engineering, Pune with the aim of spreading the culture of freedom in Software development, thereby making available educational facilities to all. This group is open for all.

HAM Club

The HAM Club logo

Established in 1986^{[citation needed]}, Amateur Radio (HAM) Club is the oldest technical club of CoEP. CoEP's Amateur Radio Club communicates by HAM radio, using the call sign VU2COE. CoEP "HAM"s have communicated with almost every corner of the world, including the International Space Station^{[citation needed]}. Every year, HAM Club organizes the ASOC examination and also coaches students for the exam. It also conducts introductory workshops, basic antenna designing workshops annually in CoEP and also in other colleges on invitation.

Robot Study Circle

Robot Study Circle logo

College of Engineering, Pune also has a Robot Study Circle where students study, design and manufacture armature robots. Established in September 2004^{[citation needed]}, it is an inter-institutional, organization at institute to create awareness about robotics. The club works with an aim of producing prospective winners for the national level robotics competitions like Robocon, Techfest and Shaastra. The College has also participated in various competitions like the prestigious ABU Robocon. In fact, CoEP finished a remarkable 2^nd Runners-up in the national-level competition in the year 2011^{[citation needed]}.

Satellite Group

As a response to the call by ISRO in order to develop micro-satellites, CoEP students gathered and formed satellite group in December'08. The proposed satellite is intended to be a demonstrator for communication system consisting of constellations of Pico-satellites.

Wikipedia:India Education Program

Main page: Wikipedia:India Education Program

Wikipedia, which ranks among the world's biggest and most referred encyclopedias, have signed an agreement with the CoEP to facilitate training of students as well as faculty in content editing and article writing aspects. This Program is part of the Wikimedia Foundation's Global Education Program. The goal of the Global Education Program is to engage students and professors across disciplines, universities, and countries in using Wikipedia as a teaching tool.

Culture, Literature, Social and Sports

Aero Zealous Club

The Aero Zealous club logo

Inspired by an airshow in CoEP's Regatta festival, 2011, the students of CoEP started the Aero Zealous Club for students who have an avid interest in remote controlled Aircrafts.

Arts & Crafts Group

The Arts and Crafts group, fondly called as “AnC” in the college, has made CoEP proud by creating the Guinness World Record for the longest painting by numbers in 2008^{[citation needed]}. It consists of students from the first year up to the final year. All the activities of the Arts and Crafts group always have something new, creative and innovative. The Arts and Crafts group has been instrumental in decorating the entire CoEP campus during college festivals like Mind Spark, Zest, Regatta and also during the annual gathering. The Arts and Crafts students organize an annual exhibition every year in the college campus where the team displays its art collection and also encourages other students to participate.

Boat Club

Boat Club Logo

Situated on the banks of Mula River, the Boat Club was established in the year 1928^{[citation needed]}. The club has presently about 70 trainee and racing boats, which are used for various competitions besides regular practice. The club is an active member of professional boating and rowing associations like Maharashtra Rowing Association(MRA), Maharashtra Association for Canoeing & Kayaking(MACK) and the Amateur Rowers Association(ARAE). Every year the CoEP Boat Club organizes its annual showcase event, the Regatta, which literally means boat races. It consists of Arrow Formation, Shell Games, Kayak Ballet, Wharf Dance, Canoe Wars, Mashaal dance and Punt Formation. The 84^th edition of Regatta was held on 18^th of January, 2012.

Debate Group

CoEP Debate Group is among the oldest and the most popular groups in the College^{[citation needed]}. Students having interest in debating are invited for auditions every year and selected students represent the college in various state and national level debating competitions. The group has two sections- English and Marathi. The students have won many prestigious debate and elocution competitions like Ranade Vaad Spardha, Ni Go Panditrao Smruti Vaktrutva Spardha, Bajirao-Mastani Karandak, Anant Fandi Vaad Spardha, Rambhau Mhanlgi Vaad Spardha and many more^{[citation needed]}.
The most important event of the debating group is the national level English and Marathi debate-cum-elocution competition, Sir Vishweshwaryya Memorial Debate Competition. Every year, in the month of January, the college hosts the competition, and receives an overwhelming response from the students all around. Various workshops on soft-skill development, discussions on issues of social importance, talks by renowned speakers are some of the peripheral activities arranged by the Debate Group.

The History club logo

History Club

The club was founded in 2007^{[citation needed]} to provide a common platform for students interested in History.Every year club organizes a lecture series, delivered by prominent speakers, called 'CoEP History Week'. Having good relations with prominent associations like Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal and Itihaas Premi Mandal, it is a social activity pursued by the students of CoEP vigorously over four years, out of their passion for history. The club organizes many site visits and treks on places of historical significance, wherein field experts or prominent historians occasionally accompany the students. The History Club has also taken an initiative to help the college students in their preparation of competitive exams like IAS, IPS and other UPSC and MPSC exams^{[citation needed]}. Regular lectures delivered by dignitaries in related fields are arranged and kept open and free for all, including students who are not members of the club.

National Service Scheme (NSS)

This activity was introduced in the college for the first time in the year 2009-10. It has carried out various activities for students as well as society. Through shramdan, students of NSS unit have participated in plantation on the college and hostel campus. It also carries out tours to heritage sites with experts and winter camp at Mandede village near Pune.

SPIC MACAY

Main article: SPIC MACAY

Continuing its legacy of promoting ancient art and culture, CoEP has a chapter of SPIC MACAY (Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture amongst Youth). SPIC MACAY was pioneered with the motive to promote Indian classical music, dance, and culture amongst youth. It organizes annual VIRASAT series in which prominent artistes perform line and give lecture and demonstrations.

Abhiyanta

Abhiyanta is the annual magazine of the College of Engineering, Pune. Articles are written by students, alumni and faculty. Articles are written mainly in three languages: English, Hindi and Marathi.

Philomystics

The Philomystics club was formed in 2010 to inculcate and enhance emotional and spiritual quotient of the students. The group plans various seminars and workshops.

Personality Development Club

This club provides the required training to enhance ones own personality. The motto of this club is to invoke character and competence in leaders of tomorrow. The club emphasizes on invoking hidden soft skills which are very vital to stay and deal in current scenario of cut-throat competition. The club also invites experts to conduct various workshops and training sessions to enhance communication skills, technical presentations and industrial etiquettes.

Hostel

The College provides residential facilities for both undergraduate boys and girls. Due to limited vacancies admissions are merit-based. There are ten buildings in the hostel campus. Boys blocks are named as Purandar, Shivneri, Panhalgad, Torna, Raigad, Pratapgad, Sajjangadand Vishalgad. For girls, there are two blocks namely Jijaoo and Kondhana. 'Kondhana' and 'Pratapgad' buildings are two-storied, Vishalgad & Jijaoo buildings are four storied, and remaining buildings are three storied. The hostel campus houses about 1064 boys & 422 girl students. Further it comprises hostel office, security room, guest house of three rooms, nine rectors' quarters and Director's residence and students' dining rooms. All of the four student dining rooms are run on co-operative basis.

Placements

CoEP has always prided itself on the quality of the campus placements it offers to its students. The industry in and around Pune, and indeed many from far off, look to recruit the best brains entering the industry from CoEP. This ensures that students at CoEP have the pick of the kind of work that they want to do.

CoEP also offers its students training to face the job interviews and group discussions which students are expected to go through. It also ensures that all the students at CoEP are giving the 'finishing school' treatment in order to prepare them for the world of opportunities awaiting them. Thus CoEP, through the T&P dept. ensures the best for its students.
Objectives:

• To Organize the Campus recruitment programs for B.Tech & M.Tech candidates.
• To provide at least one job to every student.
• To help sponsorship on various projects & in-plant/internships training of student in various industries.

Rankings

College of Engineering, Pune is ranked within the top 25 Engineering colleges in India by most well-known surveyors. It was ranked 24 by Outlook India and 18 by Dataquest and 16 by India Today, 13 by DNA-Zee TV-Ipsos and 9 by CSR-GHRDC. It is rated as one of the best Engineering colleges in Maharashtra and the best in Pune.

Notable alumni

Bust of Sir Visvesvarayya facing the Main building

• Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya - was an eminent Indian engineer and statesman. He was a recipient of India's highest civil honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955. He was also knighted by the British for his public service. His birthday, 15 September, is celebrated as Engineers' Day in India in his memory.
• Lila Poonawala: former Chairperson of Alfa Laval India and Padmashree awardee.
• C. Kumar N. Patel - Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of California, Los Angeles, inventor of the carbon-dioxide laser, winner of the United States National Medal of Science in 1996.
• Thomas Kailath - Hitachi America professor of engineering at Stanford University, winner of the IEEE Shannon Award in 2000 for profound contributions to the field of information theory. Inductee to the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame (2005). Recipient of Padma Bhushan Award (by Govt. of India for contributions to the fields of Mathematics and Engineering) in 2009.
• Rajiv Bajaj - Managing Director of Bajaj Auto: One of the largest 2 wheeler manufacturer in India.
• Sanjiv Bajaj - Executive Director of Bajaj Auto, Managing Director Bajaj Finserv Ltd.
• Venugopal Dhoot: Chairman of Videocon.
• Dr. Ramesh Raskar: Associate Professor, MIT Media Lab
• Dr. Haresh Shah: Professor Emeritus, Stanford
• Dr. Ranjit Date: President and Managing Director, Precision Automation and Robotics India Ltd. (PARI)
• Mangesh Kale: Managing Director, Precision Automation and Robotics India Ltd. (PARI)
• P.S. Deodhar: Chairman, Electronics Commission, Government of India 1986-88 - in Minister of State rank. Founder, APLAB Group of Companies. He was awarded with the "Engineering Manager of the Year 1990" by IEEE, USA
• Vijay Kelkar: Advisor to the Finance Minister, Government of India in the rank of a Minister of State, from August, 2002 to September, 2004. He is also the Chaiman, National Stock Exchange.
• B S Sonde: Former Vice-Chancellor, Goa University.
• B G Shirke: Industrialist.
• Air Marshall S S Ramdas
• H K Firodia: Industrialist.

Controversies

Land acquisition

In December 2005 the Pune Municipal Corporation asked the college for some of its land for road widening. This led to considerable outrage amongst students, and the issue was under heated debate. It was pointed out that the college was classified as a 'heritage complex' by the state government.

Renaming

1854-1870: Poona Engineering Class and Mechanical School

1871-1911: Government Science College(Agriculture and Botany Classes)

1911-2003: Government College of Engineering, Poona

2003-2006: Pune Institute of Engineering and Technology

2006 onwards: College of Engineering, Pune

In 2000, CoEP claimed independence from the state government and was declared an autonomous institute in 2003. Considerable confusion ensued over a proposed name change from CoEP to Pune Institute of Engineering and Technology (PIET) which was strongly opposed by alumni and students. The newly autonomous entity's name was rolled back to CoEP in November 2005.

External links

• College of Engineering, Pune - Official web site
• Mind-Spark Official Mind-Spark web site
• Zest Official Zest web site
• List of Pune Engineering Colleges
• College of Engineering, Pune Alumni - Official alumni web site
• Student Welfare Forum - Student Welfare Forum web site
• College of Engineering, Pune Networking - Networking Portal for CoEP alumni and students
• CoEP Charitable Foundation - CoEP Alumni association based in silicon valley