IILM College of Engineering and Technology: A Paradise for Innovators and Researchers Date:   Thursday , May 28, 2015 \'No question is a bad question\' is the philosophy that guides IILM College of Engineering and Technology, located in Greater Noida. The reason being their Director - Dr. Chaiti Ganguly is perpetually inquisitive in nature. Ever since her childhood, she has been shooting questions at her parents and teachers based on anything and everything that intrigued her. In her pursuit to fulfill her curiosity, she decided to pursue research as a career, after completing her B.E in Biotechnology and M.E in Plant Science. \"There are instances where students hesitate in asking the faculty members questions, which they consider are not worthy of time or as a source of ridicule. However, here we ensure that no student has this feeling and can ask any question to the faculty member and get it clarified,\" says Dr. Ganguly who is a teacher and an avid researcher. The institute believes that it is crucial to inspire students and to implant curiosity within them. Hence, they continuously interact with the students and motivate them for inculcating innovative ideas, which was one of the reasons why Dr. Ganguly began her teaching career while pursuing her research studies. The team of students attaining one of the top positions at the NASA Annual Great Moon Buggy Race under the guidance of the faculty was one such example where innovative ideas from the students are encouraged. In the final year, all the students who are pursuing their undergraduate and postgraduate studies are engaged in group projects under the guidance of faculty members. The projects allow students to think independently, design and carry out research for conclusive findings. A comparative study of Routing Protocols using Cisco Packet Tracer and Organic and Bio Light Emitting Diodes: Devices and Applications are some of the examples of the research done by undergraduate students, which was presented at the National Conference on Innovations in Signals, Communications and Energy Efficiencies organized by the institute. \"We have provided students and faculty members a platform for Research and Developmental activities and thus the faculty members are involved in research both in-house and in-collaboration with other government organizations and industries,\" says Dr. Ganguly who has completed her PhD in Cancer Biology. As she was inspired to pursue her post doctoral premiership at Duke medical center on Blood Clotting Factor, she along with the management of the institute encourage the faculty members to participate in more research activities in order to have a broader understanding of the subjects they teach and thus are able to impart the same knowledge. The management also supports faculty member for attending national and international conferences by providing travel support and registration. Dr. Meenu Singh, a faculty member received a grant from the institute to attend a conference in Germany is one such example. \"When I wanted to attend any conferences anywhere across the globe, the institute would provide their 100 percent support so I could learn and present my work at these prestigious events,\" says Dr. Ganguly. While Dr. Ganguly pursued an academic and research career and currently is an administrator, she along with the management of IILM realized that there is a need to sharpen the students skills which are needed to survive in the corporate world. To give further impetus in the area of Skill Development, the institute has signed MoU with NSDC to impart Skill based modules embedded in the traditional education. They are planning to offer courses such as Process Validation Executive, Try-out Engineer, Quality Control Chemist, Web Development Executive, Design Engineer, Sales Consultant and Soft-Skill based skill module. They believe that education should not be limited to books and prescribed curriculum. In today\'s world a student should acquire knowledge and be updated with current scenario in industry. Understanding from her time as researcher where she would constantly consult with the various research organizations and industries, the institute frequently conducts interactive sessions with industry persons, leadership talks, conferences and workshops. Some of the workshops that IILM conducts for its students are Workshop on Sci lab, Oracle 10g, IT Security and Ethical Hacking, Android Application Development and others. Sreelekha Chakraborty from Virtuzo Consultancy Pvt. Ltd., Ankur Chaturvedi - a Biotech alumnus, CETPA and others are some of the industry professionals invited to the institute to provide extra knowledge to the students allowing to gain an advantage over the others. The Institute has signed MoUs and set-up strategic tie-ups with the industry associations like Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Indian Industry Association, National Entrepreneurship Network, Indian Institute of corporate Affairs, NIESBUD (Ministry of MSME, Govt of India) and others, which are a win-win situation for all the stakeholders. \"The companies and associations also have a mandate to offer training and industrial visit to students so as to empower students with practical training and in turn we all are participating in the Nation Building Effort,\" says Dr. Ganguly. Understanding the true potential of the students, companies from various industries such as Syntel, Induslnd Bank, HCL Technologies, Airtel, Nestle, IBM, Genpact and others have approached the institute year after year and are constantly increasing the number of recruits that they hire. While the institute is committed to groom and mentor industry ready professionals, it is also looking to produce more job creators. To Encourage Entrepreneurship, IILM has started the Entrepreneurship Cell, where they mentor and support students in transforming the Ideas into a successful commercial venture. \'Swaadok.com\' and \'Alma connect\' are couple of the student start-ups. \"To promote entrepreneurship further, we would be establishing \"The Centre for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship\" under which an incubation center will be operated for the students led project, venture and ideas,\" says Dr. Ganguly. Despite the various reports from a variety of agencies that belong to the government and private sector stating that more than 80 percent of our engineering graduates are unemployable, the numbers of engineers being churned out of the institutes are constantly increasing. However, IILM College of Engineering and Technology is in a process to quench student’s thirst for knowledge and this will aid them in becoming the leaders of tomorrow. Dr. Chaiti Ganguly She is the Director of IILM College of Engineering and Technology. After completing her B.E in Biotechnology, M.E in Plant Science and PhD in Cancer Biology from Calcutta University, she pursued her post doctoral premiership at Duke medical center on Blood Clotting Factor. \'Creatures\' The students at IILM College of Engineering and Technology also reached the milestone of manufacturing the fastest smart car. Supported by the institute, the students have manufactured a luxurious four-seated hybrid car named \'Creatures\'. The IILM \'Creatures\' has been successfully test driven for 2000 km and can run on fuel, battery, CNG and Solar Energy. \"The car is designed by the students of Electrical Engineering department and it is fuel saving and cost effective. We hope this will encourage young engineers of our institute and others to come up with new innovative ideas, projects and inventions and employ themselves in the manufacturing domain,\" says Dr. Ganguly.