VTU to start course in marine engineering

If you love the sea and the waves and don’t mind spending six months on a ship with water everywhere, then you may as well take notice.

In a first in Karnataka, Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) will introduce a four-year undergraduate course (BE) in marine engineering from the 2012-13 academic year.

Marine engineering refers to research conducted in oceans and coastal or inland waters. It deals with construction and maintenance of ships and other sailing vessels. The course will be offered at Mangalore Marine College and 60 students will be admitted.

The programme has been approved by the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS), Mumbai, and is expected to get a stamp of approval from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in a few days. Students will be able to pick seats once the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) starts the counselling for professional courses later this month, VTU Vice-Chancellor, H Maheshappa, said.

“It’s the first of the new engineering disciplines we have planned to introduce,” Maheshappa told Deccan Herald. Railway engi neering and aerospace engineering may be introduced in the next academic year.

Of the total intake, 27 seats will be offered through KEA and the rest will be made available under the management quota, according to Abdul Razak, Public Relations Officer (PRO), MMC.

Although the DGS requires students to score at least 60 percent in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics at Class 12 (II PUC level), the Mangalore college will not insist on the minimum qualifying marks. Under VTU, a student with 45 per cent marks is eligible.

The college will follow the syllabus adopted by the Indian Maritime University, Visakhapatnam. VTU has just made some small changes. Half of the syllabus will be the mechanical engineering component; the rest will be knowledge of ships.

Students will have to write eight examinations from the Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW) during the course. In addition, VTU will conduct semester-wise exams.

The course at a glance

* A course in Marine engineering will be available at Mangalore Marine College from this academic year. Earlier, students had to study the course outside Karnataka. The Directorate General of Shipping, Mumbai, has approved the course. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to give a go-ahead in a few days.
* Students with 45 per cent marks in PCM and those who have written the CET can vie for 27 seats under the government quota. The fee is Rs 33,090. A total of 33 seats will be available under the management quota for which the fee is Rs 1.25 lakh. Students need to clear a college-level entrance test.
* Upon completion, students will be given a Continuous Discharge Certificate (CDS), the passport for sea voyage. They will be registered with the Indian National Database of Seafarers (INDOS).
* Admission will be subject to medical fitness. Students sho­u­ld be 157 cm tall, have a 6X6 eyesight and no disea­s­es. A DGS doctor will examine them.
* Starting salary will be at least $500 (Rs 30,800) in ad­d­i­­tion to boarding and lodging.