NTTF: A unique engineering institute for higher education

June 23, 2016 4:32 pm

  What do companies like Whirlpool and Subros in Delhi, Godrej and Crompton Greaves in Mumbai, Ashok Leyland in Chennai and TVS Motor in Hosur have in common? The answer is: They are all eager to take project interns regularly from NTTF School of Postgraduate Studies, located within Peenya industrial Area of Bengaluru and also absorb them as Product Designers or Tool Engineers since more than 30 years!
NTTF School of Postgraduate Studies today specialises in training of B.E Graduates in a spectrum of fields spanning Product Design, Tool Engineering, Tool Design and Quality Engineering.
NTTF has set up tool and die making training facilities in Malaysia, Mauritius, Indonesia and Maldives under UNDP aid on behalf of HMT International.
Why PG programmes of NTTF are popularSalient differences of the PG programs of NTTF vis-à-vis others are as follows:
Ensuring quality of intakeThe engineering graduate students are admitted based on their performance in the common all India entrance examination conducted by NTTF.
Academic autonomy & industry oriented coursesThe school enjoys autonomous status with ability to modify the course content to suit the needs of the industry on a continual basis through a feedback mechanism on the performance of recently placed students and also through a design review meeting involving employers from industries and also special invitees from academia.
Strategic location in industrial area The school is located in the midst of India’s largest industrial belt of India, which goes a long way in integrating institute with industries. One can’t think of a better way to locate a centre of engineering education, giving industrial exposure.
Staff from industrial backgroundThe majority of staff members of the school have decades of industrial experience. This goes a long way in giving the students a bias for practice over theory. These staff members are periodically invited by leading industries like GM, GE, Maruti Suzuki, TVS to do short term training of their engineers in subjects like design of plastic parts, sheet metal parts, die cast parts, GD&T and many more. Thus the staff are exposed to the latest requirements of the industry on a continual basis.
Academic recognitions without encumbrancesIn the year 1992, the venerable Anna University Chennai have recognised the Postgraduate Program in Tool Engineering as equivalent to their Master’s degree program for purposes of employment in the university and also for registration to the Ph.D. program at the university. In a similar fashion Bangalore University followed suit in 1996.
Holistic nature of trainingThe NTTF training is holistic in nature, thus covering, not only technical skills but also the soft skills of communication, presentation skills, sports and games amongst other things. All new students are taken through what is called a ‘Rope-in’ Program, consisting of a thorough training in self-assessment of the strengths and weaknesses, team building, relaxation technique, memory technique etc. All NTTF training programmes are ISO: 9001 certified. Their campus is ISO: 14000 certified. The normal day starts with prayer by staff and students, followed by calisthenics.
Relevant infrastructureThe school has well equipped infrastructure facilities including a Rapid Prototyping Machine of Selective Laser Sintering Technique from USA and a 3D Digitiser Make Renishaw UK. The institute has a fully equipped Training Work Shop. The students are given real life design problems from industries for solution, thus improving their self-reliance in design of tools or products.
Continual interaction with industriesThe school has continual interaction with Industries by organising talks by highly experienced engineers from various companies of repute. The students visit a number of factories engaged in different manufacturing industries. In addition the students visit exhibitions on Toolings not only in Bangalore but also in different parts of the country. The school has obtained four patents on industry relevant areas. The Tool & Gauge manufacturers’ Association of India TAGMA was founded by NTTF, in which some 450 organisations are members, which has set up a state-of-the art digital library in NTTF Campus, for the benefit of staff and students.
TQM practice in letter and spiritThe students are organised into various QCC teams, engaging themselves in continual improvement projects, giving them a foretaste of industrial experience at the school itself. The extracurricular activities also teach them as to how to work in teams towards common objectives.
Real life project work in industriesThe students spend a semester doing a real life project at an industry during their last semester of study, based on which they compile their project internship reports. During the internship period, the guide in the industry sends NTTF a monthly report on the student’s performance and progress. Some of the companies coming for campus selection are: Altair Engineering, Ashok Leyland, Asia Motor Works, Autoliv, Brakes India, Endurance Technologies, GE, GM, Godrej & Boyce, Harita TVS Technologies, HCL, Hinduja Foundries, John Deere, L&T, LuK India, M&M, Royal Enfield, Schneider Electric, Subros, Sundaram Clayton, Tata Elxsi, Turbo Energy, TVS Motor, and Whirlpool. The starting salaries of students range from Rs. 2.4 lakhs to Rs 7 lakhs, depending on programme and performance of students. All successful students are placed 100 per cent.
ConclusionThe end result of the above said points of the NTTF’s PG programmes differentiate NTTF from other engineering colleges and ensure that the postgraduate students coming out of the school are not only well versed in their specialisation field but also are confident of themselves to face the challenges of tomorrow, in conformity with NTTF – motto “Techno-education for Global Competence”.    
Authored by__
Dr N Ramani, Principal, School of Postgraduate Studies, NTTF, Bengaluru