Shantilal Shah Engineering College B.Tech Review By Abhishek Mali

I joined Shantilal Shah Engineering College in 2011 and going away from home to be a part of SSEC seemed unfavorable by many but I would consider this as a great choice. The name has now changed to SSGEC and the name change has also changed the fortunes of the college. My review might be biased because I was the teacher's favourite there and I was also made in charge of various projects that were conducted in the college. The college has fewer departments than many others and being affiliated with GTU was one of the drawbacks. I am saying this because GTU has not revised the syllabus for almost a decade when I joined but thankfully it has changed now. I know this as I am still in touch with my faculties. The infrastructure also needed refurbishing and luckily that also have been changed now so for the ones from my batch who always had complaints let me tell you that all that we have demanded are full filled now. If one has to look at the loopholes then they were also plenty like the western culture is not much followed and the college believed in celebrating Navratri rather than a rose day or Valentine’s day.

One has to be a little self-dependent because the college only believes in completing the course. The faculties couldn’t do much because HOD pressure was so high that the faculty started giving us tuitions after college hours. Secondly, there were hardly any internship opportunities because Bhavnagar hardly has industries related to engineering. One option that we were given was to join SCADA classes because that gave us a lot of knowledge. The classes were not compulsory and paid as well but it was worth it. One thing that one can’t ignore is that you will never get a peaceful atmosphere from studies like SSEC elsewhere.

I would love to review this because the faculty was quite helpful. They invested in us and the best one also enjoyed the perks for the same. Like I impressed them not just with my studies but also through other activities and I was made the most sought-after guy on the campus for projects. Any new ideas were welcomed and even when the college denied funding our projects the faculty gave their recommendations to the management and made sure that students get an opportunity to try something new. The faculty never ran away from sharing all the knowledge that they had. They helped us with all the technical tasks that were assigned to us. The faculty of SSEC was ever so helpful that I made them my friends for life.

Shantilal Shah Engineering College placements were minimal. 4-5 engineering units came as mechanical engineers were then out of favour. The college tried as much as they could but couldn’t find suitable jobs for us and the average jobs that we were offered by Bharat Forge, L&T, and Essar Steel. All these companies have their base in Gujarat and willingly took some students from our batch but at a mediocre budget. The failure in this department meant that higher studies were the only option left for us.

The college hasn’t provided a hostel facility as most of the students were from Bhavnagar or nearby villages. The less cut-off also saw many students traveling from Vadodara and Ahmedabad but the numbers were not enough for the college to have its own hostel. Bhavnagar is relatively cheaper and in 4-5k one can find a 1 BHK flat as that is what I did. I met some students during counseling and we together rented the flat and stayed there for all 4 years.

There are 5 buildings in all at the campus and the campus has a lot of open areas. SSEC College is not that huge but not small as well. For mechanical students, the campus has a workshop with enough types of machinery and tools for the practicals. The libraries were old then but have all been modernized now. Not just practicals but the mechanical workshop was also used for some industrial testing. The library full of technical books helped us to gather as much knowledge we can. The canteen was located at the backend of the college. The canteen was spacious and also provided tasty foods to us. All the buildings of the college have separate girls' room. Washrooms were boys and girls were there in each building along with water coolers.

Many will say that because the college is located in Bhavnagar the college may not be happening. However, at GTU where all the colleges of GTU participate, SSEC has won the maximum award. Our music teacher Pandya Sir has made sure that we win or lose in any event but the music competition trophy will land only at SSEC. The college drama club and the drama team known as Play Team in which I also participated won the award in drama too. The college may not have as talented students that Ahmedabad and Vidhyanagar colleges have but students of SSEC have shine both at academics and extra-curricular activities. The college’s sports team reached at least semis all 4 years during my time. The management too has backed students participating in extra-curricular activities and were shown some respite in attendance. Take my work, SSEC is much better than what others think, and with all the modern facilities now available at the campus it will soon start ranking in college magazines as well.