COEP Technological University B.Tech Review By Mahendra Godara

COEP (College of Engineering Pune) has been running since the year 1854. COEP College Pune is the oldest engineering college in the country and that was enough for me to consider to be a part of this college. Yes, over the years our peers have taken over but the rich heritage that this college provides is unparallel. I joined this college in 2014 and it was MSAT that was required to get a seat in the college. Well my score got me this college which I anyways wanted. COEP College building reminded me about the history of the college and the greats that have passed out from this college. The college is unlike other Pune colleges as it doesn't have that hi-fi crowd not the college is active at performing in cultural programs but on the scale of studies it is way ahead. The college has some of the finest brains that take care of the students and students too have made sure that their college flag is flying high.

Engineering studies are such that if you pay attention in class, you will not have to go home and do studies over and again. This is what our professors told us on the first and me being an ardent student took that seriously. It was after the first semester that I realized why there are so many dropouts in engineering. The college is affiliated to Savitribai Phule Pune University and the syllabus is in accordance with that. The college is strict that every year COEP student should top the University and therefore the college is strict when it comes to academics. 70-75% attendance is must otherwise students are not allowed to be a part of exams.

The faculty has been the backbone of our college and has made sure that even while remaining strict make a friendly relation with the students. From what I heard from my other friends that their professors do not even care. However, even though the strength of our college was high the professors knew most of the students. Yes, even we made efforts to get to know our professors and made sure they share their experience. The faculty also taught us the importance of engineering and how can we contribute rather than chasing packages in industry that are not meant for engineers. This is one area for which engineering students have often been criticized.

Talking about the COEP Placements, it has never been an issue. Right from my 1st year in the college, I saw that students got placed well and by the time I was eligible for placement, we had many new recruiters at the campus. Traditionally the companies that have been the biggest recruiters are the giant tech companies such as Wipro, TCS, and Infosys. From engineering companies Patel engineering, L&T, and Punj Lloyd too have started recruiting. The placement cell of the college has done exceedingly well in making sure that maximum students get on-campus placement and even if you have missed out there’s nothing to worry as there are enough companies in Pune and the college name is enough for you to get placed in giant companies like Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, Clariant Chemicals, and Cyient Technology among others which are based in Pune. The average pay package during our time was INR 5 lakhs.

If the college is 170 years old then hostels are not far behind as they are 120 years old. The COEP Hostel is not inside the college campus but is located in close proximity. You may find strange but yes there are 10 hostel buildings. 8 boys and 2 girls hostels. Each block has been a unique name such as Shivneri, Torna, and Vishalgad among others. Out of 8 boys hostel buildings, 6 are 3 storied while 2 are 4 storied. Girls hostel are 3 storied buildings. In all, there are nearly 1100 boys stay in the hostel and nearly 500 girls including both their hostels. The hostel campus also has 3 guest houses of 3 rooms each. In addition to that, hostel warden and hostel directors also stay in the campus. There are separate mess for boys and girls that are run by students itself.

COEP campus is not that huge and there are 2 building with nearly 50 class rooms. There’s a huge library named the COEP National Library inside the campus. There’s a small playground as well but is not huge enough to play sport and therefore is used by students to walk around with friends. There’s a nice little canteen and serves food along with snacks. However, considering the college strength, the space is not enough as maximum 100 people can be seated. There are 5-6 labs for each department and are well equipped. The buildings are little old and do require a little renovation. The building is old and by the look of it, it looks like some 100 odd years old. There’s a bus stop near the college and at any point in time in Pune, you can easily get an auto for the college.

I am short of words seriously. Yes, majority people are from Maharashtra and therefore Marathi is the common language at the campus. However, even though I was an outsider never felt so. All the students and faculties were accommodating and made sure that outsiders feel home at the campus and at the hostel as well. To keep students engaged there are nearly 10 clubs that you can join. Astronomy, Arts & Crafts, Cultural, Debate, & History among others. Since, I was interested in performing arts I joined that club and the college has a recreation area where we used to perform and practice. During cultural program, we used to perform and I still remember my performance as Tanhaji. I had to speak in Marathi and learned Marathi language for that. All my fellow mates helped me with that and made sure that I was the one who will perform that role. I enjoyed my life at COEP to the core.