Engineering is a profession that helps us develop and discover ways to benefit mankind. Still growing and evolving as the world moves towards automation, it encompasses a whole range of industries. It ranges from civil engineering and mechanical engineering to build things to creating new technologies with artificial intelligence and machine learning.
If you want to be at the cutting edge of future technology developments while also making a difference in people’s lives, an engineering job could be the right fit for you. The best way to capitalise on that interest is to enrol in an institution that fosters inquisitiveness and encourages creativity with a strong foundation of research and innovation. One of the leading institutions that is providing job-ready courses to students across India is Shoolini University.
Located in Himachal Pradesh, only 1.5 hours away from Chandigarh, Shoolini University encapsulates the dream of academicians to provide high-impact, high-quality education to less privileged students of Himachal and India through research, innovative learning and community service. Founded by Dr. P. K. Khosla, a retired Vice-Chancellor and Oxford Alumnus, and mentored by scientists such as Dr. MS Swaminathan, Shoolini is today one of India’s top 25 private universities.
Shoolini University is a leading private university with a focus on research and innovation. Hence, today the university has an H-Index of >74 and more than 550 patents have been filed by students and faculty. The School of Engineering & Technology at Shoolini University has received several accolades since its inception only 12 years ago. Some of them are as follows:
- ‘Diamond Rating’ in the prestigious QS I-GAUGE rankings
- NIRF Rank No. 112
- 25 Most Innovative Engineering Colleges in India – Higher Education Digest
- Certified as recognized Social Entrepreneurship, Swachhta and Rural Engagement Cell (SES REC) institution.
- A recognized member of The Institution of Engineers, India
- Outlook-ICARE University Ranking 2020: 16th in top State Private Universities
- Career 360: Faculty of Engineering & Technology rated as AAAA Institution
- Education World, India’s leading Education Magazine, has ranked Shoolini University as No. 1 in India for Online and IT-enabled teaching
- Atal Innovation Rankings 2020, GOI – Shoolini is ranked in 6-25 in India
There are two schools of engineering at Shoolini University:
- The School of Mechanical, Civil and Electrical Engineering
- Yogananda School of AI, Computer & Data Sciences
Vision
To contribute substantially towards realizing the vision of being amongst the top 200 universities by 2022, and continue to excel to achieve a ranking amongst the top 50 premier engineering institutions in the country by 2025.
Mission
To transform the Faculty of Engineering and Technology by reimagining and reshaping the engineering education, in order to produce highly sought after and Industry 4.0 ready engineers by 2025.
The Academic Rollout
Shoolini University offers some cutting-edge programmes and specialisations as part of the department of engineering. The institution offers BTech programmes in advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, automobile engineering, civil engineering, big data, cloud computing, cybersecurity, etc.
Starting in 2021, Shoolini University has also launched NEP-derived BTech programmes that will offer students the flexibility of choosing major and minor courses of interest. Students enjoy multiple and flexible exits during their 4 years of BTech. With this, students can exit during the course of the programme. In that case, they will be given a certificate during the first year, a diploma in the second year, finishing with a degree in the final year.
The Student-centric Approach
Shoolini University is known for its focus on innovation. Hence, students are encouraged to publish papers and file patents under both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. The department is now working on the mission of ‘One Student, One Patent’.
The department is also recognized for its global tie-ups and industry-academic collaborations with institutions such as:
- PEC-SIEMENS Centre of Excellence in Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh
- Centre for Excellence in Visionary Learning Community of India (VLCI)
- AWS Academy
- IBM Certifications
- Coursera certifications
Shoolini’s achievements in research:
In 2020, Scimago’s global ranking listed Shoolini at 536 and 32 amongst the world and Indian institutes respectively, based on research. Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) rankings also featured Shoolini as 2nd rank in research in India and 14th rank in Asia for its 2021 ranking.
In September 2020, an annual report released by the Office of Intellectual Rights, India, the first in the list of patent filers are the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). However, the patents filed by all the 23 IITs in the country have been merged to declare the group of institutions as the top patent filer. This makes Shoolini third in the country, and first in Himachal Pradesh, in filing patents by academic institutes and universities across India.
The Indomitable Leader
Dr Khosla (the Founder) firmly believes that no institute of higher learning can become great without research. It was this concern that sowed the seeds for setting up a specialized, research-based private university.
His efforts, along with the team of co-founders like Vishal Anand and Atul Khosla, have helped Shoolini University become a recognized name for research. According to the latest QS Asian Rankings, Shoolini University was ranked No. 300 in Asia. For research, Shoolini was right behind IISc Bangalore in India. In terms of Citation Index, Shoolini University stood No. 1 in India and No. 14 in Asia.
Overcoming Challenges
Shoolini University started with a small seed capital and grew organically to become one of the leading institutions of higher learning in less than 10 years. A challenge was to invite young students to join a university that was not located in the cities. However, with the green and safe environs, Shoolini University quickly became a university of choice for students from all over India. Today, 60% of Shoolini University’s students come from outside the country. The institution is proud to have almost every state of India represented at the campus through promising students.
The EdTech Solution
Shoolini University initiated online classes for students well before the necessity arose due to a Covid-19 related lockdown. With the e-learning platform, Shoolini was ahead of the curve as it had adapted more than 3000 lectures to make them available online. Additionally, all of Shoolini’s students were doing at least one elective online.
This made the adaption of the e-learning platform easy and 100% delivery of online learning for the entire community at Shoolini a breeze.
“We are happy to share that Shoolini’s online platform (eUniv) has covered 12000+ users so far with 650+ courses completed,” commented the proud founder, Dr P. K. Khosla.
eUniv combines asynchronous learning that includes quizzes and assignments with synchronous learning for live and interactive lectures. The students of Shoolini University developed an AI tool named Siqandar.ai that helps students to prepare for viva voce impeccably.
The Future Awaits
Shoolini University has a mission to be among the top 200 universities of the world. The university is doing that with high impact research and quality student output. With the introduction of NEP programmes and its well-equipped labs, the university hopes to become a leader in multidisciplinary learning.
