Delhi College of Engineering
Promoted in 1941 as the Delhi Polytechnic, DCE has morphed into a world-class knowledge enterprise rubbing shoulders with India’s globally renowned seven IITs
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| DCE facade: high survey ranking |
Mother institution of IIT-Delhi and the School of Planning and Architecture and alma mater of several engineering industry pioneers, the Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) is a world-class knowledge enterprise rubbing shoulders with India’s globally renowned seven IITs. According to an India Today-Marg survey of the country’s most highly-regarded engineering colleges (India Today May 17, 2004), DEC was rated tenth, below the seven IITs, BITS-Pilani and Anna University (Chennai). But the more IT industry focused Dataquest survey (May 31, 2004) ranks it second among the country’s technology education institutions — ahead of the IITs and behind BITS, Pilani.
Promoted in 1941 under the name and style of Delhi Polytechnic by the British administered government of India, it comprised a technical high school with vocational departments including engineering, textiles, architecture, commerce and arts. It was housed in a library constructed in 1639 by Mughal prince Dara Shikoh. The national diploma awarded by the Delhi Poly-technic was recognised as equivalent to a BE degree by the then United Public Services Commission. In 1952, it was affiliated to Delhi University and a bachelor of engineering study programme was introduced. Subsequently in 1958 the Union government changed its status and renamed it the Delhi College of Science & Technology. For this purpose, 200 acres of land was allotted to it but even as its new campus was being readied, the government decided to site IIT-Delhi there instead. Thereafter, the textiles and chemical engineering departments were shifted from the college to IIT-D. Also, in 1960 the department of architecture was separated from the college and became the School of Planning & Architecture (now a deemed university). In 1962, the college was taken over by the Delhi administration. In this reshuffle but for engineering all other departments were shifted out of the college. Finally in 1965, the institution received its present nomenclature — Delhi College of Engineering and became the first engineering college in the national capital. In 1996 DCE was shifted to a sprawling 165-acre well-designed campus in Bawana, north Delhi.
Currently DCE offers bachelor of engineering study programmes in ten disciplines including electronics and communication, computer engineering, information technology, electrical, mechanical, production and industrial engineering and polymer science and chemical technology. At the postgrad level it offers 11 study programmes in all major engineering disciplines. Moreover DCE boasts "a great number" of scholars pursuing doctoral research.
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| Prof.P.B. Sharma |
"The focus of our academic programmes is on improving the quality of teaching as well as to develop research culture in our laboratories. We prepare our graduates as professional engineers by bridging the gap between academia and the world of professional engineering," says Prof. P.B. Sharma, a 1974 alumnus of the University of Birmingham (UK) and former vice chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi Technical University, Bhopal who took charge as principal of DCE first in 1990-99 and then again in 2003.
Sharma takes particular pride that in its 64-year-old history DCE has "produced an army of highly skilled, inspired and motivated brilliant engineers". Among the 15,000 alumni contributed to national and international communities of engineers are: Vinod Dham, the US-based inventor of the Pentium chip; Raj Soin, chairman of the US-based Raj Soin International Corporation and promoter of the Raj Soin College of Business at Wright State University, Ohio; K.L. Chugh, former chairman of the cigarettes and hotels behemoth ITC; A.K. Puri, former chairman and CEO of BHEL; B.K. Khanna, managing director of Siemens Power Engineering; Dr. Surya Kant, vice president of TCS and Prof. D.Y. Goswami, distinguished professor at the University of Florida among others.Given this impressive track record, it’s hardly surprising that last May over 55,000 Plus Two school leavers averaging 60 percent plus in physics, chemistry and maths wrote DCE’s common entrance test conducted by Delhi University in 125 centres in the national capital region. Of them, 570 students were admitted into the college’s undergraduate faculties and 198 into postgrad programmes. "Eighty-five percent of our annual intake is filled by students from the national capital region with the remaining open to students from across the country. DCE attracts India’s best engineering companies for campus recruitment. Last year all 541 of our graduate students were placed in industry at an average start-up remuneration of Rs.2.75 lakh per year," says Sharma.
In terms of supportive infrastructure, DCE is well equipped. The college has a large three-storied centrally air-conditioned library that can seat 300 at a time besides a capacity of 150 for academic discussions. The library boasts 140,000 volumes and over 2,500 journal subscriptions apart from an online search catalogue facility. Sports facilities include a 400m track for athletics, football, hockey and cricket grounds, two courts for basketball, three tennis courts, and eight gyms.
In the next five years DCE plans to double its intake at the undergrad and postgrad levels and introduce new study programmes. Among the new programmes to be introduced are aerospace engineering, food technology, bio informatics, infrastructural engineering, nano technology, VLSI Design and embedded systems, innovation and technology management. Moreover there are plans to promote a school of management within the campus and offer a MBA programme in partnership with the Raj Soin College of Business of Wright State University, Ohio. "We are positioning DCE as a premier engineering institution. I am confident that our research on fibre optics and optical communication, conducting polymers, biodegradable polymers, information integrity and security, earthquake engineering and disaster management, will help the country deal with the complex technology and environment related challenges of the 21st century," says Sharma.
Clearly, DCE’s best days are yet to come.
Admission & fees
Delhi College of Engineering offers undergrad programmes in ten engineering disciplines and postgrad courses in 11 subjects.
Admission. Entry into the 570 undergrad seats is on the basis of a common entrance examination conducted by Delhi University usually in the month of May. Eligibility criteria include 10+2 with physics, chemistry and mathematics with a minimum average of 60 percent.
For the 198 postgrad seats, students are shortlisted on the basis of performance in GATE and personal interview. Applicants should have a BE degree in the respective field.
For doctorate programmes admission is on the basis of a personal interview. Tuition fee (per year):
BE/ B. Tech: Rs.27,500
ME/ MSc/ Ph D: Rs.30,000
Accommodation: Hostel facility is available to full-time students. There are five hostels for men, one for single women and one for married women.For further information contact Dr. K. Singh,Delhi College of Engineering, Bawana Road, Delhi 110 042. Tel: 011 278 1018. Website: ww.dce.edu.
Autar Nehru (Delhi)
University of Chicago, USA
Established in 1890 Chicago University is renowned as one of the world’s leading research institutions. its scholars and researchers have won more Nobel prizes than any institution except Cambridge University (UK)
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| Chicago U: renowned contributions |
Among America’s most exclusive and selective private liberal arts higher education institutions, the University of Chicago is ranked No. 15 in the 2006 ratings of America’s best colleges by the Washington-based weekly US News and World Report. Over a century old, Chicago University (estb. 1890) is renowned for its contributions to teaching and research, and recognised as one of the world’s leading research institutions. Known as the ‘teacher of teachers’, scholars and researchers affiliated with the university have earned more Nobel prizes (70) than any institution except Cambridge University (UK). Chicago University offers liberal arts undergrad education across the faculties of the humanities, social, physical and biological sciences while its six professional schools — the Divinity School, the Law School, the Graduate School of Business, Pritzker School of Medicine, Harris School of Public Policy Studies and School of Social Service Administration — offer a wide range of Master’s and doctoral programmes.
With a total enrollment of 13,400 (4,400 undergrad and 9,000 graduate) students tutored by a faculty comprising 2,160 highly qualified professors, Chicago University enjoys one of the lowest student-faculty ratios in America.
Sited just 13 miles from the bright lights of downtown Chicago it was founded in 1890 by the American Baptist Education Society and oil magnate John D. Rockefeller, who described the varsity as "the best investment I ever made". The land for the new university, in the trendy suburb of Hyde Park, was donated by Marshall Field, owner of the Chicago department store that bears his name.
Comments Don Michael Randel, president of the university since 2000: "The University of Chicago is the supreme example of what a university dedicated to the fundamental ideals of intellectual inquiry and expression should be. Its unique profile on the landscape of higher education derives in great degree from its commitment without compromise to an intellectual tradition of the highest order."
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hicago and Hyde Park. One of the largest megalopolises of the US, Chicago (pop. 2.8 million) pulses with energy. Located on the shores of Lake Michigan in the heart of the Midwest (Illinois), Chicago is home to several world-champion sports teams, an internationally acclaimed symphony orchestra, renowned architecture and much more. There are museums of every type — avant-garde art galleries; dance, theatre, and music venues; lake-front parks, plus ethnic and cultural riches in food, music, and shopping. For instance the Chicago Cultural Center, an architectural showplace for the visual arts, offers more than 600 free art programmes annually. In fact the city itself is an important part of every student’s education. Right on Lake Michigan, seven miles south of downtown Chicago, Hyde Park — the setting of Chicago University’s campus — is home to 43,000 people including more than 60 percent of the university’s faculty and a great majority of its students.
The climate of Chicago (aka Windy City) is cold and windy. An average 30 inches of snow falls between November and March. The perfect outdoor weather runs from June through September. During these months swimming in Lake Michigan is a popular student pastime.
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ampus facilities. The university campus is spread across 211 acres in the picture postcard Chicago suburb of Hyde Park with Lake Michigan serving as the backdrop. On this sprawling campus besides the undergraduate college, four graduate divisions, and six professional schools, there are libraries, laboratories, museums, clinics, bookstore, bank and other institutions; a kindergarten-class XII school; a continuing studies programme; and the largest university press in the US. There are over 100 buildings on the main campus. The university library system comprises eight libraries. Three major ones that undergrad students should consult are Regenstein — the university’s largest library; Crerar — the largest science library, and the general Harper Memorial library. Other libraries on campus are the Chemistry Eckhart, Yerkes Observatory, D’Angelo Law and the School of Social Service Administration (SSA) libraries. Together they provide access to a gigantic number of books, magazines, online catalogues and CD-ROMs.
Sports facilities include the Henry Crown Field house, Stagg field and the Ratner Center which includes an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a competition gymnasium, and health club. Chicago offers more than 40 intramural sports, 35 club sports in addition to the 19 varsity sports. There are more than 300 student clubs.
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dmission. International students account for nearly 13 percent of Chicago’s undergraduate enrollment. In 2004-05, Chicago received 1,127 international applications, of whom 236 were admitted. Overseas students apply in the same manner as domestic applicants; they may choose to use the online application, request to receive a paper application by mail, or download an application in PDF format.The minimum eligibility criterion for admission into Chicago University’s undergrad programmes is successful completion of Plus Two. Additionally students have to submit Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores. A score of 600 or higher in the handwritten TOEFL, or 250 or higher in the computer-based exam is the minimum requirement. The application form should include official transcripts of the Plus Two report card, teacher’s recommendations, and an essay plus an application fee of $60. The application deadline for term beginning September 2006 is January 1, 2006.
For further information contact Office of College Admissions, the University of Chicago, 1101 E. 58th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, Ph: 773-702-8650; e-mail: collegeadmissions@uchicago.edu; website: www.uchicago.edu.
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ccommodation. Most University of Chicago undergrad students live on campus in halls of residence. The nine residence halls vary greatly in location, atmosphere, and traditions. Some are Gothic with oak panelling; one is a modern, glass-enclosed structure, and another is a former grand hotel overlooking Lake Michigan. Living arrangements include singles, doubles, triples, suites, and single-sex as well as co-ed floors. Graduate students are also offered housing options in university-owned apartments.D
egree programmes. Chicago University offers a wide range of four-year undergrad programmes across the faculties of humanities, physical sciences, social sciences, and biological sciences. As a liberal arts institution, the University of Chicago does not offer undergrad professional programmes such as accounting, finance, engineering, or nursing. However its six schools offer a wide range of professional Master’s and doctoral programmes (see box).
Scholastic options at Chicago University
University of Chicago offers a wide range of bachelor’s, Master’s and doctoral programmes. Undergrad programmes are offered across the faculties of social sciences, humanities, physical sciences. and biological sciences.
Master’s and doctoral programmes are offered by the Divinity School, Graduate School of Business, Graham School of General Studies, Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, Law School, Pritzker School of Medicine and School of Social Service Administration.
Bill of costs (2005-06)Tuition fee: $31,629Room/board: $10,104
However international students must consider summer and between-term living expenses; therefore, the total cost is approximately $49,000 per year.
NB: $=Rs.44
Summiya Yasmeen