Indian Engineering Colleges See Surge in Electronics Course Applications

Indian engineering colleges see a surge in electronics course applications this year. This trend is driven by new processor architectures and industry demands. Government semiconductor initiatives are also fueling student interest in hardware. Core engineering branches are gaining popularity alongside computer science programs. Companies are actively hiring graduates with interdisciplinary hardware and software skills.

New Delhi: India’s top engineering colleges are seeing a noticeable rush for electronics and related courses this year beyond the customary high demand for computer science. This trend is gaining momentum from new types of processors and evolving architecture embraced by several industries, the government’s semiconductor push, and the rapid convergence of AI, machine learning, and software development with hardware.

While computer science remains a hot pick among wannabe engineers, colleges including Indian Institutes of Technology, National Institutes of Technology, BITS Pilani, Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, and VIT Vellore are reporting a sharp rise in student interest in core engineering courses, officials told ET.

India's engineering courses' demand shift

“Though at the IITs, cut-offs for computer science remain higher than other courses, and seats close first, only then other branches start filling up, the demand for electronics among students is picking up sharply this year, especially with the new kind of processors being embraced by many industry players,” said Manindra Agrawal, director at IIT Kanpur.

Experts highlighted that technology companies are currently working on a plethora of architecture using graphics processing units (GPUs), replacing central processing units (CPUs). “These firms are looking at creating new hardware and solutions around chips; hence they need engineers who can work on hardware,” said Agrawal.

BITS Pilani is experiencing a similar trend.

“Acceptance data for current admission cycle indicates that electronics & communication engineering, electronics & computer engineering, mathematics & computing, mechanical engineering, and allied branches have performed better than they did during the corresponding stage of the previous year’s admissions,” said Ajit Pratap Singh, dean, admissions & student financial aid at BITS Pilani.

Rapid growth in sectors such as semiconductors, chip design, embedded systems, electric mobility, robotics, automation, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing, besides the India Semiconductor Mission are driving the popularity of these courses, according to experts.

“Increasing convergence of AI, machine learning, and software with electronics, mechanical, manufacturing, and electrical engineering has made interdisciplinary skill sets highly valuable,” said Singh.

While computer science graduates continue to get lucrative offers, companies in semiconductor design, embedded systems, automotive, aerospace, industrial automation, AI-enabled manufacturing and construction engineering are actively hiring students from these core engineering programmes.

“Students from these disciplines are securing excellent placement outcomes, particularly when they possess strong programming, computational, and analytical skills,” said Singh.