Within a short span of 14 years, SSPM College of Engineering, Sindhudurg has succeeded in impacting technical education and industry in the Konkan belt of Maharashtra in a big way

Sited in the picturesque town of Kankavali (pop. 14,625) — a buzzing seaside town in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district, 460 km from India’s commercial capital, Mumbai — over the past 14 years, the low-profile Sindhudurg Shikshan Prasarak Mandal College of Engineering (SSPMCOE) has established an excellent reputation in the lush Konkan belt, as a provider of high quality technical education.

Established in 1999 under the aegis of the Sindhudurg Shikshan Prasarak Mandal (SSPM) — a trust promoted by Narayan Rane, former chief minister of Maharashtra, which also runs a dairy development college and an agriculture institute in Kankavali (affiliated with Konkan Krishi Vidyapith, Dapoli) — SSPM College of Engineering, Sindhudurg bills itself as the first engin-eering college of the region. Recognised by the Delhi-based All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Maharashtra, SSPMCOE is affiliated with Mumbai University (MU).

“There was an evident void in higher technical education for students living in the Konkan region. SSPMCOE was promoted to fulfil the demand for quality engineering education driven by the mission to contribute to the develop-ment and prosperity of Sindhudurg and its people. We have invested heavily in infrastructure and our focus is on providing career-ready, employable engineering graduates with specialised skills and knowledge to industry in the Konkan belt and rest of the state,’’ says Dr. Ananth Krishna Bhat, a 1976 alumnus of Karnatak University, Dharwad, and former special officer at Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Belg-aum, who took charge as principal of SSPM College of Engineering, Sindhudurg in 2010.

Ranked among the top 15 of MU’s 65 affiliated engineering colleges on the basis of university examination results, SSPMCOE offers undergraduate programmes in four disciplines — electronics and telecommunication, computer engineering, electrical and mechanical engineering. “The focus of our academic programmes is on improving the quality of teaching as well as developing a research culture within the college. We shape and develop engineers by bridging the gap between academics and the world of professional engineering and linking theory with practice. Internships and research projects in industry are an integral component of SSPMCOE curriculums. This ensures our students keep abreast with latest developments in technology and are well-equipped to meet industry requirements after grad-uation. Moreover, there is strong emphasis on extra-curricular education at SSPMCOE. Our students organise and participate in seminars, conferences and diverse activities to develop leadership qualities,” says Bhat.

Currently the college boasts an aggregate enrolment of 1,400 students mentored by 74 well-qualified faculty “who are not only dedicated teachers, but also active researchers in their chosen fields”. As a result, SSPMCOE has succeeded in impacting the technical education establishment in Mahar-ashtra in a big way through its contem-porary curriculums and teaching innovations.

Set on a picturesque 32-acre campus with a built-up area of over 100,000 sq. ft against the undulating backdrop of hilly terrain, the college offers 30 well-equipped laboratories with wi-fi facilities, specialist compact libraries for all four engineering disciplines, 14 fully wired classrooms with overhead projection systems, a spacious well-stocked central library with 18,199 volumes and e-subscriptions to over 430 journals, two seminar halls with a seating capacity of over 300 equipped with LCD projectors, a modern public address system and internet connectivity plus a fully-equipped auditorium with a capacity of 750, and separate men and women’s hostels with internet access. Other facilities include a health centre, a co-operative bank with an ATM, two cafeterias, a multipurpose gymnasium and swimming pool, all located within the verdant campus, adorned with gardens and sprawling playing fields. Sports facilities include football and cricket grounds, volleyball,  basketball and tennis courts and table tennis rooms.

Sustained investment in hand-picked faculty and enabling infrastructure has helped the college achieve an excellent industry placement record. During the past three years, SSPMCOE has consistently placed 90 percent of its graduates in blue-chip corporates including Infosys, Wipro, Patni, TCS, Bharti Airtel, Gigahertz Technologies and Syntel. Starting remuneration packages are in the Rs.2-2.5 lakh per year range.

The SSPMCOE management has carefully chalked out its future plans. Augmentation of postgraduate programmes in engineering apart, there are plans to promote a school of hospitality and management within the campus and offer hotel and business management programmes, bearing in mind the future prospects of the region which is expecting huge investments in tourism-related activities. “Although SSPMCOE is positioned as a premier engineering institution, there is growing demand for other professional education programmes. Therefore in the near future we will be focussing on promoting other professional education colleges,” says Bhat.

Praveer Sinha (Kankavali, Sindhudurg)