Anonymous's Review On Punjab Engineering College University Of Technology - [PEC], Chandigarh

Punjab Engineering College is a really renowned college. It is the best engineering college in Chandigarh and is quite an established one. PEC has also produced many notable alumni, and this college is quite diversified as it comprises of engineering streams like Aerospace Engineering and Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, that are not very common in colleges.

The course curriculum is quite updated and relevant. Moreover my program includes both material science and metallurgy, but the course is more dedicated to the metallurgy part, whereas it could have been more research oriented in the field of material science (For.ex- In nanotechnology, polymer technology, thin-films or research in metallurgy). I guess industrial exposure was enough for a B.Tech student, for our course had included proper lab activities, implementing the theoretical concepts in the practicalities of industrial activities. Starting from the first year, it comprised of common subjects for all branches except one or two core subjects. This was to give a chance to students with good scores for upgrading in higher branches on the basis of their CGPA. Hence students get a chance to get their dream branches even after achieving a lesser rank in JEE-Mains. Next we have our core subjects based on our program, in second year. This year is a quite hectic one with the largest number of credits, as compared to all the four years, for it consisted of all the important, conceptual subjects concerning our course. Next we have our internships in 3rd year (in 6th semester). Both the on-campus and off-campus internships are available for us, and we choose to sit either for the non-core companies (with profiles like coding, consultancy, R&D, Finance etc), or the core ones (For metallurgy- TATA Steels, SAIL, Maruti Suzuki, Jindal Steels etc). Also, students can apply for research internships either at IITs or renowned material science colleges and they can also grab a foreign research internship depending on what further do they have to pursue (Higher studies after B.Tech). At last we have our 4th year with the least number of subjects/credits and with our placements. These placements are categorized the same way as I have mentioned the internships (Jobs or higher education). Moreover, we get to choose our subjects on our own. Talking about the faculties, I have a neutral rating, as the faculties are quite qualified but just lack the delivering part. No offense to teachers, but as a student, I would have been much more comforted and satisfied if the teaching part is focused with more concern and seriousness. On the other hand we have some efficient teachers too. Like every teacher is not perfect, I would be only mentioning them on the basis of delivering stuff, from which I think Dr. Uma Batra (Head of our department) is the teacher I like the most, because she had put a lot of efforts to teach us and I loved how she would move a little ahead of the given syllabus to evoke interest in the subject in a broader way. She also made her subject papers in a very intelligent and smart way to cover the syllabus, and also for us to actually use our existing knowledge in a question based on a not yet existing situation.

As I have to pursue for higher studies in material science, I did not sit for companies and have opted for a research intern in my field. I am currently interning at University of New South Wales, Sydney in the School of Material Science and Engineering. Due to these unprecedented consequences of CO-VID 19 crisis, my internship is at a halt for now. The procedure for getting to this internship was first of all to research on universities, and research projects related to my field. Then I had to make some appealing cover letters for the different projects I had to try on. Moreover, I had also done a summer intern at CSIO, Chandigarh, hence had a project experience which made it much easier to polish my profile and get to the internship opportunity. After the professor liked my coverletter and approved the resume, I had a video interview with him, and I was able to make up for it.

Placements and job opportunities also vary with different branches. For ex, there are enough companies visiting for computer science, ECE and electrical students, offering profiles for coding, consultancy, finance, marketing etc. Companies visited last year for the non-core were JP Morgan (Chade and CO-CRG profile, Goldman Sachs, Amazon, Futures First, Sandisc, ZS Associates, Fab Hotels, Samsung, L&T and many more. But talking about branches like metallurgy and aerospace engineering, there are less number of companies visiting from past some years. I have personally seen only 1 company for my field, at the time of the on-campus internships (Shriram Pistons & Rings). Moreover some non-core companies did visit, but the core ones are very less. Some students also decide to pursue higher education after B.Tech with good academic record, knowledge and profile.

Campus life is rich in both cultural and technical aspects. In cultural clubs we have Dance/Drama Singing, Bhangra and Art&Photography clubs, along with the editorial boards. We have technical clubs too, for coding and core based, like Indian Institute of Metals (IIM) for metallurgy. We also have sports activities and inter/intra college tournaments. Additionally we have a student councelling cell (SCC) helping students undergoing depression, anxiety, and other mental problems. Our college also celebrates festivals and conduct functions based on the festival themes (like independence day, republic day, annual athletic meet, sports day and all the functions of the respective clubs. Performed either in auditorium or at the open air theatre, all the functions are immensely celebrated. We also have NSS conducted camps, like blood donation camp, motivational lectures by renowned personalities at the auditorium and also the technical lectures. Moreover college also conducts lectures for councellings and Pre Placement Trainings (signifying what to pursue after B.Tech, how to prepare, what to prepare etc). We also have technical fests( like the open school for technical projects) and the grand cultural "PECFEST", all celebrated with great enthusiastic particiption of both the students and faculties. Hence overall, college can be well ranked on the basis of extracurriculars.

I haven't availed of any but there are many scholarships like, a merit scholarship that is based on the current CGPA in college, womens scholarship based on the JEE-Mains rank, scholarships for the economically weaker sections and the students who are physically impaired or disbled by any sorts. Also there are seat reservations for the special categories (SC/ST/OBC).

Our campus infrastructure differs for different branches. A new block is recently built (New Academic Block) for branches like computer science, ECE, electrical. The other branches have their classes in the old blocks, which I feel is fine enough until they are maintained. We have two platforms for performances on functions/events, one being the auditorium, and other being the Open Air Theatre (OAT). Next we have basketball courts, tennis courts (built recently), cricket and football ground and competitions for many indoor sports also. We all have access to the PEC-WIFI using our college student IDs, which I think is a mandate and is an appreciative facility provided by the college. Talking about the library, it is a well equipped library divided into sections for all types of work. For ex, we have Non-AC library for students to study or work. In the AC one (the bigger one), we have sitting arrangements at the ground floor, books at the first floor (for temporary book issue), and both sitting/ books on the second floor. Books on the second floor are available for issuing for an entire semester, and is open for students on the basis of reserved categories and students with different annual incomes. Furthermore, recently a digital library has been inaugrated, that contains PCs for students without laptops or not carrying them for some reason. Coming to the equipments in labs, we have a well equipped lab facility in our department, including etching euipments, grinding/polishing machines, furnaces, and many basic equipments. Moreover, again the research lab should be focused more, as it lacks of many basic equipments liks centrifuges, sonicators and all the characterization techniques in labs too. We also have workshop labs like forging, fitting, foundary, electrical, carpentary, automobiles etc.

I am a day scholar, so I dont have much knowledge about hostels and PG's. Still just briefing about them, there are 2 girls' hostels and 5 boys' hostel for all B.Tech/MTech/Phd students (included). Infrastructure is fine I suppose, except some small problems in rooms (carpentary and electricity problems etc.) Moreover we dont have air conditioners in hostels, which may be a problem for some, in the hottest months of the year. Next, in girls hostels, 2, 3, or 4 girls share a room whereas in boys, its only a sharing for 2. Lastly hostel facility is quite easily available if the outsiders are not in excess, as my friend having her home in chandigarh, also took hostel facility, for experiencing an interesting hostel life with friends.