As we all know, engineering is the most sought-after course and perhaps the most popular career choice in our country. The reason behind this is the scope of learning an individual gets and in addition, the employment opportunities it offers. With over 3500 engineering colleges to choose from, making the right choice in terms of picking the right engineering college is vital. India’s best engineering colleges have a few things in common, from a good reputation to exceptional placement records, these common factors are what you need to look out for. One such prime entity making a name for itself in terms of giving the best facilities required for an engineering graduate of today – St. Francis Institute of Technology (SFIT) comes as a welcome glimmer of hope for budding engineers, imparting quality engineering/tech education.
Established in the year 1999 with a clear vision of creating an institute of excellence, which hosts an engineering degree that caters to the needs of the people in the Borivali area of West Mumbai, SFIT is approved by the AICTE. Also, 3 of their UG programs which were started originally on the campus of SFIT, are permanently affiliated to the University of Mumbai. Now, SFIT also offers B.E. in Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering. The Department of Electrical Engineering like other core branches has well-equipped hardware laboratories and the Department of Mechanical Engineering has latest machine tools including a CNC Lathe Centre and high-end software like SolidWorks, Computerized UTM and Fatigue Testing Machine, a latest I. C. Engine Test Rig and Wind Tunnel to test various aeroplane wing cross-sections. Functioning as the most preferred institute for engineering and tech studies, the onboard state-of-the-art infrastructure, facilities and amenities motivate students and hone their skills to transform them into capable professionals, who can lead the techno-entrepreneurial class of industry leaders, in future.
Being a hotspot for UG programs across all the major streams of engineering, SFIT also hosts PG and PhD programs in Computer Engineering and Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering, including international candidate. The Department of Information Technology and the Department of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering is accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) till the June of 2022. An epitome of continuous improvement and performance, adapting to quality management systems, the Institute has received certification for meeting with quality management system ISO 9001:2015. As part of various effective actions taken, SFIT conducts regular meetings and Audits, where the performance and progress made by every individual on the campus is discussed and analyzed to recommend continuous improvement for attainment of academic and all-round excellence.
Creating engineers of today, for a better tomorrow
The Faculty at SFIT excel at their task hands down raising the morale of students and empowering them to become technologically vibrant, innovative, and emotionally mature individuals who are ready to face the challenges of the quality-conscious fast-moving world. SFIT understands the importance of imparting the outcome-based education to all its students. In the teaching learning process, effective methods are used to engage students towards acquiring knowledge of basic facts, and simple concepts. “The Faculty implements the Student Centric Participatory Teaching Methods in the classroom, such as open-ended questioning, taking online polls, solving quizzes, puzzles, crosswords, etc. to develop the critical thinking and problem-solving skills of the students”, stated – Dr. Sincy George, the current principal of SFIT, during a brief opportunity we got to interview her to learn more about the whole working ethos present on the SFIT campus. Continuing on the point, she mentioned, how faculty members act as guides cum tech-gurus to the students, stating – “During the classroom session, the faculty demonstrate the complex concepts with the help of real-life analogy, graphical animations, software simulations and audiovisual aids like images, diagrams, videos etc. which simulates students’ minds for higher order thinking”. Given the impressive ICT-enabled infrastructure available on the campus, the whole pandemic phase shift was effortlessly overcome, helping students get used to the hybrid ways of teaching/learning with ease. The institute became a platform of collaborative learning, where students readily took part in various group activities such as technical presentations, Lab-experiments, implementing mini-projects based on innovative engineering concepts, writing research-papers, and so on.
To bridge the gap between the academia and the industry, SFIT has successfully established connections with top-corporates, MNCs and industries. The Skill Development Cell of SFIT collaborates actively with their industry partners to curate the best outside the classroom learning environment, well in-sync with the market demands and trends. Value added courses, both soft skill and hard skill based are facilitated. Theory is integrated with practical knowledge to boost the students’ confidence to make a mark for themselves grabbing ranks for the college at various events at both national and international levels.
Furthermore, complete learning curves of all students is encouraged. Hands-on workshops for students are emphasized where valuable knowledge is gained by “doing” instead of just observing. The components of research, innovation, and entrepreneurship are actively inculcated in student life at SFIT. From conducting regular webinars in – how to read and write a research paper, avoiding plagiarism etc. to guiding the students towards pursuing a career in research and development, SFIT is focused on its responsibility to produce students with problem solving ability along with a sense of responsibility towards profession and society at large.
Students of SFIT not only take up respectable positions across top corporations, but also embark on the path of becoming competent and responsible entrepreneurs. “To guide our students to become job creators, Entrepreneurship Cell has been formed, where we assist students to develop their innovative ideas by providing them sufficient facilities, thereby, converting start-up ideas into a reality”, stated – Bro. Jose Thuruthiyil, Director of SFIT. This illustrates how SFIT has become a true student-centered institute of quality learning. During the conversation we also learnt that the E-cell also organizes some of the prestigious events at the college like national level project competition PRAGATI, TEDxSFIT, various seminars and workshops to guide the students in proper direction to become entrepreneurs who can truly make a difference.
Exploring new possibilities
SFIT believes that ample facilities beyond the specified norms is a must for a gen-z student. The institute has spacious classrooms, tutorial rooms and seminar rooms with facilities like interactive projectors, audio video facilities, etc. The Laboratories are well equipped with all required software, hardware, equipment which are well-maintained. In line with the true meaning of brilliance, the library which is called – Learning and Information Resource Centre (LIRC), which is partially automated and operates using LibSuite Enterprise software, is one of a kind. Over the year’s students have learnt beyond the prescribed university syllabus as the college encourages and provides necessary infrastructure for the same. SFIT has always believed in the overall development of the students and so the inhouse training for the students to learn new skills vital to their career has been well arranged.
Lastly, progressing on the path of excellent career opportunities, SFIT is renowned for the highest placement record of more than 350 job offers in 2018-19. Many MNCs and national companies such as DBS, Siemens, Tata Consultancy Services, L&T Infotech, Wipro, Cognizant, Capgemini, Reliance Industries, Tata Communications, Accenture, Goldman Sach, BrowserStack, and so on, have close associations with SFIT and hire the best candidates from this institute regularly. Training and Placement Cell regularly collaborates with online learning partners like Coursera, TCS, Upgrad, Yantrabyte, Referenceglobe, Anudeep Foundations and other agencies to impart virtual and in-class training to prepare SFIT students for the industry. Having had more than 150 companies for the batch of 2020, despite the Covid-19 scenario, resulted in more than 400 offers with highest offer of 18 lakhs and 50 students with above 5 lakh packages. Even though the 2021 batch’s entire training and recruitment is being carried out in a virtual mode, SFIT has managed 350 offers with highest package of 17 lakhs and more than 50 students with above 5 lakh packages. The training along with internship opportunities that SFIT offers its students has helped SFIT to consistently do well in placements and higher studies, giving back to the society – engineers cum leaders.
SFIT stresses the importance of conducive environment for learning. All possible efforts have been taken to make sure that even in such times when teachers don’t get to meet students in person, the warm approach and effectiveness of teaching learning process is intact.
Dr. Sincy George – Principal
An active academician, an able leader and an ardent researcher who is on a mission to realize the SFIT’s Vision of providing the best of environment and opportunities for the growth of students as well as faculty, Dr. Sincy George heads the parade of SFIT as the current principal. A Ph.D. degree holder in Electrical Engineering from IIT, Bombay, she completed her MTech and BTech degrees in Electrical Engineering from Government College of Engineering, Trivandrum, Kerala. During her 20 years tenure as Professor and Head of Electrical Engineering department at Fr. Agnel, Vashi, contributed extensively to the teaching learning process and successfully completed a major project with Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS) and 4 minor projects sponsored by Institution of Engineers and University of Mumbai. She has published many papers in various IEEE transaction journals including IET journal and many more in international conferences, one of which she presented in IEEE industrial Electronics conference in Spain. Her research interests include power quality and power electronics. She is a fellow of Institution of Engineers India (IEI), member of The Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE) and Computer Society of India (CSI).
