Hyderabad: According to the rise in admissions over the past three years in the State, courses in new and emerging technologies appear to be renewing the allure of undergraduate engineering education.
This increase in enrollment is primarily attributable to the engineering colleges’ 2020 introduction of courses like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Cyber Security, Robotics, Internet of Things, Data Science, etc., as there are numerous job opportunities for graduates in these fields. As an illustration, during the current academic year 2022–2023, nearly 90% of the 49,031 available seats in computer science and IT-related subjects like AI and ML were filled.
However, numerous universities started offering these courses in cutting-edge technology at the expense of traditional and essential subjects like mechanical and civil engineering. The majority of institutions in the State chose to provide courses like AI, ML, and cyber security instead of giving up seats in the main branches.
It is interesting to notice that the number of admissions has increased in the State despite 71 engineering colleges closing since 2015. In contrast to 2015, when 51,621 seats were filled in 248 engineering colleges, 61,702 seats were filled in 177 institutions this year.
The number of open seats is slowly declining as more students join in undergraduate engineering programmes on an annual basis. Under the convener quota, a total of 22,396 seats were unfilled in 2020, 22,277 seats in 2021, and 17,644 seats in 2022.
