Chitkara University, IUCEE organise conference on Engineering Education, focus on ‘transformations’

Chitkara University played host to the prestigious ICTIEE 2019 (The International Conference on Transformation in Engineering Education) on January 10-11, 2019, at their Punjab Campus. ICTIEE 2019 is an annual conference that provides a platform for international Engineering Educators to discuss and share new ideas with their Indian counterparts, and facilitate a great networking opportunity. Chitkara University in association with Indo Universal Collaboration for Engineering Education (IUCEE) has been continually working to improve Engineering Education ecosystem in India.Emphasizing the importance of CONNECT & SHARE, ICTIEE 2019 provided a platform to Engineering Educators to CONNECT with leaders from academia and industry from all over the world. Engineering Educators had an opportunity to SHARE their best practices which would eventually help in bringing about transformational changes in Engineering Education. ICTIEE 2019 was hosted at two locations sequentially in order to maximize its impact among institutions all over India. The first leg of the conference was conducted at Malla Reddy College of Engineering, Hyderabad, on January 7-8, 2019, followed by the second leg at Chitkara University, Punjab, on January 10-11, 2019. The ICTIEE 2019 theme had five parallel tracks - – Electronics, Mechanical, Civil, Computer Science and OtherEngineering Education Research– with each track specifically dedicated to each major Engineering Disciple. Engineering Educators were invited to submit their extended abstracts sharing their Best Practices & Challenges specific to their disciplines in one of the sub-theme areas, provided beforehand. At Chitkara University, the conference includedPaper Presentations, PosterPresentations, Keynote Talks, Plenary Sessions, Panel Discussion, Workshops & Tutorials, with anopportunity to interact with leaders from academia & industry from around the world. The conference also included workshops and tutorials sessions for the conference authors, students and delegates, centered on the theme of ICTIEE 2019, including sessions like technical tools for teaching & research, innovative labs for better outcomes, AR/VR and virtual labs, problem based learning models, inclusion of research practices in UG curriculum etc. The highlight of the conference was presentation by Engineering faculty, who have already gained some experience in transforming their own curriculum, classrooms and programs. The IUCEE College Consortium was formed in 2010 and has 91 members in 2018. Members receive special assistance in establishing collaborations with international experts and institutions. Chitkara University is one of the consortium member institutions of IUCEE. The university shares similar vision and mission as IUCEE, and has been actively involved in spreading the message of IUCEE across Northern Indian States. The institution was established in the year 2002 under the able guidance of Dr. Ashok K Chitkara and Dr. Madhu Chitkara, two academicians dedicated to the mission of spreading education. Through their diligence and inspiring leadership, they have helped create a learning environment that represents a unique blend of distinguished faculty, brilliant students and proactive collaborations with industry. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Madhu Chitkara, Vice-Chancellor at Chitkara University said, “We are happy to partner and host the sixth edition of ICTIEE 2019, a flagship conference in the Indian Engineering Education ecosystem. Chitkara University strongly believes and practices innovation as the priority program in its Engineering Education. We have over 150+ patents filed by ourEngineering students, and actively rely on collaborating with industry and integrating world class learning methods in our curriculum.” The sixth ICTIEE2019participants were able to share best practices and thereby learn to transform their own institutional efforts to prepare engineering graduateswho can address global challenges as well as targeted initiatives of the Indian government. The conference was attended by some of the world-renowned Engineering Educators and practitionerslike Dr.Michael Milligan (CEO ABET), Dr.Hans Hoyer (President IFEES), Dr. Stephanie Farrell (Rowan University), B.Ramkrishna (Director, NAE Grand challenges Scholars Program), Dr. RaoVemuri (University of California), Dr. LuenyMorell (InnovaHiED, USA), and among others.