Following a fine track record in providing UG education and with the availability of qualified faculty, the natural next step was to plan for a PG course. Accordingly, an MTech course in Power Electronics, with an intake of 18, duly approved by VTU and AICTE, was started in the year 2006-07. The choice of the subject reflected its growing importance and, naturally, the demand. It is a matter of pride that all the three university ranks were bagged by our very first batch of students, in 2008.

Due importance is accorded both to the courses and to dissertation work. Each of the courses is handled by chosen, experienced staff, and if needed by senior practicing experts from reputed industry. The dissertation work is supervised meticulously again by specialized faculty. During course work, students are required to give seminars on special topics, not formally covered as part of the syllabus, in addition to administering tests and assignments. Students are encouraged to select a topic of interest jointly with a member of staff, often in consultation with industrial experts. Continuous monitoring has proved to result in project quality enhancement.

The project work itself is arranged to be carried out either in-house or in reputed industries in and around Bangalore. For instance, based on an official understanding with ABB, our students have carried out projects there, under joint guidance of their expert and our teaching staff. This has facilitated the student and the faculty also, in imbibing a healthy amalgam of academic knowledge and engineering practice.

The ultimate aim is to carry out all the projects in-house, if necessary under joint external supervision from industry. We wish to believe that some of the projects will find acceptance by industry for actual implementation in their schedules. Again, some are sure to lead to future research themes of the department.

It is an acknowledgement of the overall course quality that the students have found placement in a variety of job profiles covering software, hard core industry, teaching and research. This has encouraged the department to plan ahead in terms of introducing MTech courses in new areas in the years to come.

Highlights of the Course

• Solid State Power Controllers
  
• Power Semi Conductor Devices
  
• Digital Measurements
  
• AC-DC Drives and Control
  
• Switch Mode Power Conversion
  
• Advanced Control Systems
  
• HVDC Power Transmission
  

Course also includes

• Embedded System Design
  
• Digital System Design Using VHDL