The world we see now is altogether a different place to live in. The way we work, the way we communicate and collaborate has been redefined, possibly forever. In this time of crisis, the whole world relied on leaders with an intention to change the system, working in favor of a better society and a healthcare system. In this hustle, all the front-line warriors including doctors to police personnel played a vital role in maintaining the sanity of citizens of the country. Engineers too made their presence felt, by innovating and creating unique ways of avoiding the contraction of the virus until we get a cure for it. Now that we have a possible cure for the deadly virus infecting our lives, the need of the market today is trained and sensible tech professionals who can effortlessly take us out of these sticky situations. Thereby, one such institute which works day-in and day-out towards meeting the global market expectations, and guiding the leaders of tomorrow through new technologies and innovations in the fields of Textile and Engineering in general – DKTE Society’s Textile & Engineering Institute, comes as a welcome ray of hope even during these tough times.
Based out of Ichalkaranji district of Kolhapur – Maharashtra, the tech hub enjoys a unique and prominent place amongst the engineering colleges that are engaged in education, training, research and consultancy in various disciplines of engineering. Presently, DKTE has been catering to 3 Diploma Courses, 11 undergraduate courses (5 of them in Textiles & 6 in Engineering), 4 P.G. & Doctorate programs in Engineering & Textiles and 2 Management studies programs. Having around 3750 students and 202 faculty members making the engineering institute their second home, the institute is equipped with excellent infrastructure in terms of spacious buildings, ultra-modern machinery and equipment in the laboratories, resources in the library, highly qualified and experienced faculty & management.
University Grants Commission, New Delhi and Shivaji University, Kolhapur have granted “Autonomous Status” to the institute & has received A+ Accreditation from NAAC with CGPA of 3.53. Also, all the eligible UG programs have been accredited by NBA, New Delhi. Additionally, the hard work every stakeholder puts in towards making DKTE an institute for the gen-z, as a result the institute has emerged as the Winner of ‘Best Industry-Linked Engineering Institute-2015 & 2017’ twice in Chemical & Allied Engineering Institute Category in the nation-wide survey conducted jointly by AICTE and CII. The institute has also been honored as ‘The Best Educational Institute for Textile Engineering’ by the Ministry of Textiles, GoI, in 2013.
Educating for a better tomorrow
“Our institute has been identified to act as “Mentor Institution” under AICTE’s Margdarshak Scheme and also as a “Potential Mentor” by UGC under PARAMARSH scheme to promote Quality and Accreditation under UGC”, stated Prof. (Dr.) P. V. Kadole, the Director of the institute. Taking time out of his busy schedule, the director took us on a virtual tour of the institute, where he addressed all the necessary questions pertaining to today’s time with ease. From the recognitions and awards DKTE has to its credit to how the whole management took situations like the COVID-19 in a stride, and continued on the path of imparting smooth educational experiences, we tried our best to get answers to all the questions and queries. Adding to his above statement and talking about how the tech-institute is a true global hotspot, he stated – “We have Collaborated with many leading Foreign Universities, letting our students get a global perspective to learning”.
At DKTE, engineering is not taught but preached, imbibing a strong sense of science, engineering, technology, and research among the students, via the innovative teaching methods followed at the institute. By using real world examples to teach even the basics & motivating full-fledged collaborative learning among the students, the onboard faculty members carry their expertise and experiences forward, ever ready to pass on the mantle of knowledge to the engineers of tomorrow. In addition, the dedicated management, and the faculty work together, in a constant rush towards updating their individual skills, thereby, helping the welfare and quality improvement of the institute and the students. The institute is also known for the various interdisciplinary activities it makes its students take part in with an aim of imparting practical knowledge considering the importance of employability in today’s society and in the engineering field. Also, all thanks to the impressive industry-academic relations the DKTE Society has, students get first-hand opportunities in getting to know about their future professions, well-in advance. With compulsory industrial training and visits, the institute tries its best to bridge this gap of practical exposure. Moreover, every year around 20 students get internship opportunities in machine manufacturing industries like Trützschler, Mayer & Cie, Indorama Synthetics and Foreign Universities like Technical University of Liberec, Czech Republic and University of Applied Sciences, HOF University Germany.
As we all are witnessing the COVID-19 outbreak significantly affecting the educational system all over the world, thus resulting in the partial and total closure of schools, colleges, and universities to control the spread of disease. As a response to this, the institute has chosen a variety of ways to continue education in these times of uncertainty. Utilizing the most unique and creative of methods and considering the situation, DKTE adapted the digital medium effortlessly. Ensuring both students and the faculty get full-access to the digital library, wherein students can log in with their details and use the textbooks, journals, magazines, etc. as per their need, & get rights to view shared videos and webinars, students slowly turn into well-acquainted tech-friendly individuals. DKTE has also collaborated with online course providers like Coursera to provide free courses to the students and keep them engaged in learning. These courses consist of assignments, activities, and quizzes which help the learners to track their performance and improve learning. AICTE designed online courses too are circulated among the students for their endless learning journeys as per their areas of interest and pace. Apart from lectures, soft skills programs and expert lectures/seminars, the esteemed faculty members provide learning resources to students using online platforms. “Our institute has successfully conducted online examinations using MOODLE, where our exams substituted multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) with descriptive questions. Oral examinations or viva-voce”, stated – Prof. (Dr.) P. V. Kadole, the director, enunciating the varied new-age tech the institute has mastered, right in the pursuit of being a complete digital engineering institute. Also, completing its real purpose of guiding students to successful careers, DKTE has organized virtual placements for final year students and various organizations conducted virtual interviews of the students and the placement process continued successfully, despite the times of crises.
Finally, always striving towards giving its best to bridging the skill gap which exists in the society, due to which most of the engineers are deemed unemployable, at DKTE students not just become trained engineers, but come out as society-friendly people, who have high moral values and ethics. Also serving the students as a haven for Research & Development, the R & D unit is specifically set up in the institute providing specialized administrative and managerial support for the operation of Research. The unit which is guided and headed by the Dean, R & D and coordinators from each academic division, preach the importance of R & D even in the day-to-day classroom teaching across all the programs. The institute has approved research centers which include Department of Textiles, Mechanical, Electronics, Computer Sc. and Engineering, where students are pushed to combine both academic and research activities in their academic endeavors, slowly imbibing the true sense of engineering, working towards creating something out of the box towards the betterment of the engineering fellowship.
Prof. (Dr.) P. V. Kadole – Director
Having started his journey in the field of academics with DKTE’s Textile and Engineering Institute, Ichalkaranji, he joined the institute after completing his M.Tech in Textile Technology. A staunch research fanatic, Dr. Kadole pursued his Ph.D. in Textile Engineering in 2009, and thereby, has been a Director of with D.K.T.E.S.’s Textile and Engineering Institute, Ichalkaranji, for several years and taught both, at the graduate and postgraduate level. Till date, he has guided 5 PhD, 24 M. Text and 54 B. Text projects, among which – 3 PhD and 7 M. Text projects are ongoing. Currently, he serves as the Principal Investigator/ Co-Ordinator of 9 Government funded projects. Lastly, he has published 6 books, 1 book chapter, 134 papers; 55 in International journals and 79 in national level journals & has presented 54 papers in conferences; 29 at international level and 25 at national level.
