36 IEEE Computer Applications in Power ISSN 0895-0156/01/$10.00©2001 IEEE

All over the world, stu-dent interest in electricpower engineering has

been declining. Action is beingtaken to modernize basicundergraduate courses andpostgraduate studies, andextensive use of computersfor problem solving shouldhelp to change student atti-tudes. Modification of old syllabi and subject matters willmake students better prepared for modern industry.

India is a developing country with huge manpowerresources. Technological development has always beenconsidered as a prerequisite for economical develop-ment. The primary importance of electrical engineeringeducation is widely recognized in many developed anddeveloping countries. In India, electric power engineer-ing education is an important part of electrical engineer-ing education.

Computer applications and automation have changedthe power industry scenario. There is a great need torevamp our technical education at all levels in view ofglobalization, meeting the challenges of technologydevelopment in industry and other work places. Inundergraduate and postgraduate programs, a policy of

compressing some old materials and highlighting thenew technologies such as power quality and power elec-tronics can be used to increase interest. At the post-graduate level, the increase in fellowship should attractstudents to pursue advanced studies, and higher salariesshould be given after graduation. Needy and interestedstudents should be given admission to postgraduateeducation, and better policy should be implemented toreduce the number of dropouts.

Attracting Students to Power EngineeringThe difficulties observed in undergraduate/postgradu-ate programs show low student interest and narrowfocus on traditional power engineering. This is mainlybecause of few job opportunities and less emolumentsin power engineering industries. Computer applicationand software development firms hire power engineersto serve the industry and a host of auxiliary industries,such as alternate energy sources, instrumentation, and

S.N. Singh is with the Asian Institute of Technology at Bangkok,Thailand.

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In addition to possessing traditional power engineeringknowledge, graduates must also know how to apply computer systems and software, sophisticated equipmentlike robotics, computer-aided design and manufacturingtechniques, and information technology tools

S.N. Singh

April 2001 37

automotive industries are employing power engineers.Potentially the largest and greatest impact in the longterm is the power electronics industry. This area hasthe potential of radical and major changes in powerengineering education.

Technical human resources are required to have rele-vant training and master the use of new technologiesbased on microelectronics. They must possess the knowl-edge of computer software, sophisticated equipment likerobotics, computer-aided design and manufacturing tech-niques, and information technology tools. It is very impor-tant to change the technical education curriculumbecause the policies, practices, systems, and proceduresbeing followed by our universities are not effective.

Technical Education System in IndiaTechnical education is the most important component ofhuman resource development, and technology is themajor driving force of economic development andnational productivity. The technological capacity of acountry is a key determinant of the pace, quality, andquantum of economic growth, and it plays an importantrole in social and economic development.

Technical education in India essentially operates atfive levels:� Certificate or ITI level training, involving learning

of practical skill in various technical trades� Technician or diploma level education and train-

ing in various engineering/technological disci-plines aimed at producing technician/diplomaengineers, who are mainly responsible for super-vising shop-floor operations in industry

� Undergraduate or bachelor of technology/engi-neering (B.Tech/B.E.) level engineering/technicaleducation, also in the number of engineering disci-plines, aimed at producing professional engineerswho are involved in design and development workand managerial responsibilities

� Postgraduate studies leading to masters degreesalways have some special areas of academics andtechnical specialization with some training towork on a research problem

� Postgraduate leading to M. Phil and Ph.D. degreesmainly involve in-depth studies in a particularfield which may or may not be aimed at solving acurrent industrial problem, but it generates knowl-edge and contributes to the technical literature.

The first engineering education in India commencedat Guindy (Tamil Nadu State) in 1794, followed by theestablishment of Tompshon Engineering College (nowcalled Roorkee University) at Roorkee (UP State) in 1847and of B.E. College, Howrah (West Bengal State) in 1856.The post-independence era has witnessed commendableprogress in technical education in India. In the year ofindependence, 1947, there were 46 technical institutions

with an in-take capacity of 320. After about 5 decades,there are more than 3,430 technical institutions with anin-take capacity of 436,773 at post-graduate, graduate,and diploma levels.

Admissions in the engineering colleges/institutes arebased either on competitive exams at National/State lev-els or on the merit of the marks of a preuniversity degree(12th standard, i.e., classes from 1-12). The minimumqualification for the degree courses is 12th standard; fordiploma courses, it is 10th standard (i.e., classes from 1-10). The engineering branches are allotted according tomerit and choice. The present trend shows that studentsprefer to study computer science, followed by electron-ics and communication, and then electrical engineering.

Important Technical Institutions in India

Engineering UniversitiesIn India, there are several universities that are offeringengineering education, among which very few are engi-neering universities. Roorkee University is the oldestpure engineering university. At first, there was only onebranch (civil engineering), but after independence sever-al other branches (electrical, mechanical, electronics,commutation, etc.) were established. It gives the bache-lor of engineering and master of engineering degreealong with the Ph.D. in all branches of engineering educa-tion. Other universities, such as Banaras Hindu Universi-ty, Aligarh Muslim University, Jadhavpur University,Pantnagar Agricultural University, etc., are engaged inart, science, home science, agriculture, and engineeringeducation.

Indian Institutes of Technology/ScienceFive Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) were set upduring 1958-1962 and differ greatly from the universities.Foreign collaborators (UK, United States, Germany,among the other countries) built them. IITs are moresuccessful in providing high-quality education and gener-ating new technologies for industries. IITs are situated atKanpur, Delhi, Bombay, Madras, and Kharagpur.

A sixth Indian Institute of Technology was opened atGuwahati during the 1990s.

University of Roorke

38 IEEE Computer Applications in Power

The Indian Institute of Science at Banglore is olderthan the IITs, but it is confined to postgraduate degrees,including masters and Ph.D. degrees.

State Engineering Institutes/CollegesDuring the 1960s, seventeen regional engineering col-leges were set up, one in each state, to promote state-level engineering education. After that, many moreengineering colleges/institutes were opened in both gov-ernment and private sectors. Table 1 shows the actualgrowth of engineering institutions at degree levels.

Power Engineering ProgramsIn all Indian engineering universities, institutions, andcolleges, the academic year is divided into two semes-ters. In each university/institute, there are required corecourses and elective courses from which the student hasto select a minimum number. Each course is categorizedas either a half-unit course or full-unit course. The num-ber of lecture hours for a half-unit course is 2 hours perweek, and for full unit course itis 3 hours per week. A particu-lar course may or may nothave laboratory class. Theduration of laboratory classesis 2 hours. In almost all stateengineering colleges and uni-versities, electrical, electron-ics, and computer science arethree separate departments;however, in IITs, electrical andelectronics is combined inelectrical engineering depart-ment and based on the elec-tives, students are given theminor specialization. IITKharagpur has both electricaland electronics departmentsseparately. IITs in-take is near-ly 2% of the total in-take ofengineering students. It wasobserved at IIT Kanpur thatpower engineering electivestaken by students sometimesdepend upon the teacher con-cern, which is 30-40%. Remain-

ing students are completing their education in otherengineering colleges/universities.

During the first year of degree courses, in almostevery engineering college/institute, electrical science(one semester course) is one of the compulsory cours-es, and it is common to all branches of engineering stu-dents. This course deals with the variety of topics:circuit theory, dc machines, transformers, measurementand instrumentation, ac machines, and utilization ofpower. Since it is common to all branches, only basicconcepts are given to the students. This course mainlydeals with the applications of electrical engineering. Stu-dents are required to perform some basic experimentsof electrical science. Electrical science is the onlycourse studied by electrical engineering students in firstyear (first two semesters). The remaining courses arerelated to applied sciences (physics, chemistry, andmathematics) and some basic engineering courses(computer programming, basic electronics, drawing,mechanics, etc.).

In the second year (semester III and IV), students takecourses on both basic electrical engineering and back-ground courses. From the second year onward, they takeelectrical engineering and power engineering courses.The details of the courses offered during each year inRoorkee University and one state engineering college(Madan Mohan Malviya Engineering College, Gorakhpur)are given in Table 2. Electives are offered in the final year.

Table 1. Growth of technical institutions at degree level

Year No. of In-Take No. of Institutions Capacity Graduates

1947 46 320 2701950 58 4,778 2,0291970 163 18,207 18,2231990 339 87,221 41,4641999 752 160,953 71,195

Table 2. Various courses for electrical engineering students

University of RoorkeeFirst Year• Electrical ScienceSecond year• Electrical Measurement• Electrical Machines-I• Circuit theory-I• Linear electronic circuit• Programming and Personal computers• Electrical machines-II• Electrical and electronic instruments• Electrical materialsThird year• Power system-I• Electric Circuit-II• Digital electronics• Electromagnetic theory• Electrical machines-III• Power system analysis• Digital electronic circuit and systems• System theory• Microprocessors• Power electronicsFourth year• Power Systems-II• Electrical drives• Switch gear and protection• Advance instrumentation• Control systems• Two electives

Madan Mohan Malviya Engineering CollegeSecond year• Electrical Machines –I• Circuit theory• Measuring instruments• Computer programming• Electric material• Computer programmingThird year• Power system-I• Electrical Machines-II• Digital electronics• Electromagnetic theory• Power electronics• Measuring systems• Measurement techniques• Network analysisFourth year• Power Systems-II• Electrical machines design• Utilization and traction• Power plant engineering• Control system engineering• Switch gear and protection• Instrumentation• High voltage engineering• Microprocessor 8085 and advances• Modern control systems

April 2001 39

Modification of Course ContentsThere is a great need to revamp not only the powerengineering education but also electrical engineering asa whole at all levels for meeting the challenges of tech-nological development in industry and other workplaces. To prepare suitable technical human resources,curricula for various courses of study can be developedkeeping in mind the present and future needs of theusers. It is also important to spark student interest,keeping in mind that no portion of basic power engi-neering is omitted. As per All India Technical Education(AICTE), Government of India, the following must bekept in mind while developing a curriculum for powerengineering education:� Details of the curriculum may be worked out on

the basis of the characteristics of the studies andthe nature of the occupation for which the stu-dents are trained

� Curriculum for a technical program should bedynamic and must have provisions for up-grada-tion and modification.

� There should be an integrated logical sequence oforganized learning experiences

� Curriculum should be realistic and must focus onthe development of job-related competencies.

� It must depict explicitly the desired outcome toboth the teachers and the students

� Curriculum must have future oriented perspectivebuilt in it for its success in the times to come.

The development of a curriculum is divided in fourdifferent stages:� Analysis stage: market sur-

veys for the assessment ofemployment opportuni-ties, apart from other sur-vey and analyses

� Curriculum design stage:Programs and their curric-ula for technical humanresource developmentshould be designed suchthat they are effective andefficient

� Curriculum implementa-tion stage: Deals with employing the resourcesand their utilization for providing the appropri-ate learning experiences to students for develop-ing intended competencies in them

� Curriculum evaluation stage: Deals with success-ful working of curriculum, with evaluation at vari-ous stages.

With the above criterion, the engineering colleges/uni-versities are changing the course structure to take careof industry need due to technological changes. RoorkeeUniversity revised its courses of electrical engineering atboth undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The modi-

fied courses are shown in Table 3.There is only one course of electrical engineering in

the first year, which is electrical science, and that iscommon to all branches of engineering. The remainingcourses for electrical engineering students are frombasic science courses. From the revised courses, it isvery clear that the power engineering courses arereduced considerably. The electrical machines coursesare reduced from four to three, power system engineer-ing courses from four to three, and circuit theory cours-es from three to two. Three university electives, whichare 21 in numbers, are included in the electrical engi-neering curriculum and are of general nature. Some uni-versity electives are related to power engineering, suchas small hydropower development and renewable ener-gy sources development technology. Other universitycourses are useful to power engineering, such as opti-mization techniques, operation research, applied proba-bilistic models, computer oriented methods for ordinarydifferential equations, mathematical modeling, fuzzy setand fuzzy systems, C++ and object oriented program-ming, robotics and control, etc. Earlier, there were onlytwo departmental electives, but now it has beenincreased to five. These electives are related to four spe-cializations of electrical engineering (power system engi-neering, power apparatus and electric drives, systemengineering and operation research, and measurementand instrumentation).

Similar changes are also taking place in different stateengineering colleges/institutes.

New Engineering Colleges/InstitutesWhenever and wherever any new engineeringcolleges/institutes are being opened, the priorities ofbranches are computer science, electronics andtelecommunication, information technology, and thenelectrical engineering. No doubt there is still a betterscope of electrical engineering than in other branches(like civil engineering, mechanical engineering, chemicalengineering etc.). The priorities of branches are onlybased on the job openings available to the graduates.The salary and security of jobs are higher in computerand information technologies.

Table 3. New electrical engineering courses at University of RoorkeeSecond YearElectrical fields and circuitsElectrical measurementsand measuring instrumentsApplied electronicsElectrical machines IDigital electronics circuitsand microprocessorsNetwork theorySystem engineering

Third YearPower system engineeringAdvance microprocessingand interfacingElectrical machines IIPower system analysis andcontrolElectronic instrumentsApplied instrumentationDepartmental elective IUniversity elective IUniversity elective II

Fourth YearElectric drivesControl systemsProtection and switchgearDepartmental elective IIDepartmental elective IIIUniversity elective IIIDepartmental elective IVDepartmental elective V

Jobs Opening in Power UtilitiesThe main power engineering industries like State Elec-tricity Boards (SEB), power generation companies/cor-porations like National Thermal Power Corporation(NTPC), National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC), andNuclear Power Corporation (NPC) are fully staffed. Somemanufacturing industries like Bharat Heavy ElectricalsLimited (BHEL) and several others are recruiting veryfew power engineers. Power engineering R&D organiza-tions are also not absorbing power engineer graduatesmuch. Due to poor job security and salary, the good stu-dents are being attracted towards software and informa-tion technology (IT) industries. Therefore, there areshortages of good power engineering graduates. In a newdevelopment, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited(PGCIL), a power transmission company, has started a B.Tech (Power Systems) degree course in Indian Instituteof Technology, Delhi. This program is supported by thePGCIL, and all graduates from this program will beemployed in the corporation. Students will get scholar-ships from the PGCIL. It is the first incentive of thisnature in India.

Importance of Good TeachersDue to job uncertainty, very few students are gettingadmissions in postgraduate courses. The admission isbased on the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering(GATE), all India bases, score that is compulsory for get-ting scholarships. Some universities/institutes also con-duct tests and interview after short-listing thecandidates on the basis of GATE score. Very few candi-dates are interested in a Ph.D. degree. Therefore, thereis a shortage of power engineering teachers in almost allthe engineering colleges where the minimum degreerequirement is M.E./M.Tech/Ph.D. To take care of thissituation, All India Council of Technical Education(AICTE), a central government body, initiated an EarlyFaculty Induction Program (EFIP) to attract good stu-dents to teaching and research. In this scheme, all can-didates desirous of availing EFIP scholarship mustappear in the GATE examination. Candidates apply inthe prescribed format directly to the receiver institute(RI), mentioning the order of preference of host institu-tions (HI) where he/she wants to pursue studies. Coun-seling of selected candidates are held at AICTEheadquarters, inviting the representatives of the RI andHI, and a final allotment should be made subjected toavailability of seats in an HI in that discipline and confir-mation from RI. The scholarship is equal to the salary ofa full-time lecturer, which is given to the candidate afterexecuting a bond to serve RI. The scholarship com-mences on the date on which the candidate executesthe bond, and the agreement and the cumulative schol-arship for the period between signing the bond andagreement and joining HI is reimbursed after the candi-date joins the RI.

Postgraduate EducationVery few undergraduate students take their admission inpostgraduate courses and those that take the admissiontry to take branches like computer science, informationtechnology, etc. Very limited numbers of candidates areGATE qualified. Due to job security, undergraduate stu-dents prefer to take up jobs after graduation. Most of thestudents who did not get jobs after graduation go for amasters degree admission based on a GATE score, whichis the deciding factor for institute and branch. Even aftertaking the admission in postgraduate courses, studentsoften leave the program and get jobs. As per informationavailable, about 30-40% postgraduate students leave theprogram before completion of the degree. Some of theneedy and interested students do not get admission dueto GATE disqalification.

Linkage with Industry in Curriculum DevelopmentContinued interaction of the institute with industry isessential not only at every stage of development of thecurriculum but also for its future updating to cater tothe ever-changing needs to remain competitive in themarket both at the national and international level.Industry, when sheltered from foreign competition, isfound to lead to sluggishness and incompetence. Toavoid this, globalization of economy in our country hasbeen introduced in trade and commerce, providinghints to engineers in industry and the academics in theinstitutions that they would have to be more competi-tive. Presently we are passing through a period of tech-nological revolution characterized by computers andgenetic engineering, etc.

Technology change at present is faster than everbefore. This is a time characterized by rapid technologi-cal change. Engineers are not only technologists, theyhave to be much more than that, as change agents andchange managers who love changes and shaping thefuture. Our engineers should be vigilant about the devel-opments taking place over the world. They should besmart enough to assimilate and adopt the technologicaldevelopments to our situations.

Some current practices of education-industry link-age involve:� Summer practical/industrial training (end of VI

semester)� Industrial/field visits organized in a proper way� Exchange of person from industry to technical

institutions� Sandwich programs� Organizing conferences/seminar for field engi-

neers and academicians.� Organizing expert lectures from field engineers� Introducing R&D and consultancy services� Offering continuing education program for indus-

trial personal.

40 IEEE Computer Applications in Power

April 2001 41

Enhancing Student Interest in Power Engineering EducationPower engineering educators should make the coursesmore interesting, bringing into the curriculum theresearch topics and the latest technological innovations.Potentially the largest and greatest impact on powerengineering in long term is power electronics and powersystem restructuring, which is taking place around theworld. These areas have the potential of radical andmajor changes in power engineering. Each of these newelements in the career path of our students has its ownrequirement, and it is clear that the focus of powerengineering education needs to be broadened con-siderably to accommodate these needs. Advancedpower electronics is a real need in industry today.Power electronics is an engineering and researcharea that has arisen from the confluence of availabil-ity of high rating solid state switches and the needto control power flow. Various power electronicsdevices, such as a static compensator, thyristor-con-trolled series capacitor, thyristor-controlled phaseangle regulator, unified power flow controller, andstatic var compensator, are necessary for control-ling real/reactive power of the system. Power elec-tronics switches are also needed to implement highefficiency design in lighting, machine speed control,and the wide range of industrial loads.

Power quality is another area where special needsare required. Electric power quality relates to main-taining the sinusoidal voltage waveshape at all loadbuses. Increasing reliability and selling power qualityrelated services, as unbundled services are specializedniche needs in industry. Equipment manufacturers havealso entered the commercial sector in the marketing ofnew power system components for quality enhancement.In India, very little attention is given to the power qualityissues, which is new in power education programsbecause of low commercial interest in these areas.

Creating of More Jobs and Increasing Salaries for Power EngineersToday’s power engineers are getting very low salaries inthe private power industries; however, in the govern-ment sectors, it is the same for all graduating engineers.Due to power system restructuring, although it is veryslow, the salaries for power engineers in private indus-tries will be enhanced. It is observed that the number ofundergraduate students selected in software companiesis above 70%. Students prefer software-based projects intheir B.E. projects. In general, they choose power engi-neering based projects. It is not due to their interest inpower engineering, but it is to learn computer softwarefor getting good jobs.

Laboratories and Computer-Based TutorialsStudent interest increases with tutorials based on per-

sonal computers (PC). Most of the undergraduate stu-dents have a PC in their hostel to learn software. Labo-ratory classes also attract students to powerengineering education. Use of MATLAB, visual C++, andother software is very popular among the students.

ScholarshipsSome government power industries should initiate somescholarships to the undergraduate and give assurance toabsorb them in the industries. Universities should offerthe power engineering courses even though the per-

ceived demand for them and student enrollments arelow at present.

AcknowledgmentsThe author acknowledges the effort and inspiration given by E.F. Che-lotti to write this article and by K.G. Upadhyay (MMMEC) and K.S.Verma (UOR) for their useful discussions and help.

For Further ReadingIndian Journal of Technical Education, 1999 and 2000 issues.

G.G. Karady and G.T. Heydt, “Increasing student interest and com-prehension in power engineering at the graduate and undergraduate lev-els,” IEEE Trans. Power Systems, vol. 15, no. 1, February 2000, pp. 16-21.

A.G. Phadke, “While we are sleeping: A crisis in power engineeringeducation,” IEEE Computer applications in Power, vol. 12, July 1999, pp.10-15.

BiographyS.N. Singh received the M.Tech. and Ph.D. degrees from the IndianInstitute of Technology Kanpur, India, in 1989 and 1995, respective-ly. He worked as an assistant engineer in the U.P. State ElectricityBoard from 1988 to 1996 and as an assistant professor in theDepartment of Electrical Engineering at University of Roorkee from1996 to 2000. Presently, he is working as an assistant professor inthe energy program at the Asian Institute of Technology atBangkok, Thailand. His research interests include power systemrestructuring, power system optimization and control, securityanalysis, power system planning, ANN and GA application to powersystem problems, and transient stability. He may be reached by e-mail, snsingh@ait.ac.th.

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