Choosing the right Information Technology course

Today the buzz word in the IT industry is Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Visvesvaraya Technological University has aptly identified the pulse of the industry and has introduced a new branch for Bachelor of Engineering degree called Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AIML).

The usual tendency amongst parents and students is to get carried away by fancy and novel names, and they may end up shelling out huge fees for certain streams by treating them as superior to their traditional counterparts.

Take the case of CSE and ISE branches. The VTU syllabus for both these branches are ditto except for two subjects and two lab courses taught in the sixth semester. CSE students study System Software and Compiler Design along with Computer Graphics and Visualisation subjects and respective labs whereas ISE students study Software Testing and File Structures along with their respective labs.

From the previous academic year Information Technology degree aspirants have got another option in the form AIML branch.

So, what is the unique offering of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning stream? Is it just a fancy name to existing IT stream courses? What are the job opportunities for students pursuing AIML, CSE and ISE courses?

Curriculum perspective:

BE is an eight semester course. Students aspiring to become CSE, ISE or AIML graduates study common subjects in their first four semesters. The subjects of fifth semester are common to CSE and ISE whereas AIML students study a subject called Sensors and Sensor Applications which CSE and ISE streams do not offer. In the sixth semester all three branches offer two different core subjects and lab courses. In the seventh semester CSE and ISE students study the same subjects. AIML offers a different set of professional electives and laboratories. In the eighth semester CSE and ISE subjects are the same whereas AIML differs in terms of one professional elective. So from curriculum perspective there is not much difference between traditional CSE/ISE and novel AIML branch. Also many of the subjects offered by AIML as unique subjects are also available for CSE/ISE students in different semesters in the form of professional or open electives. So the aspiring students should focus more on other academic aspects rather than mere craze for CSE, ISE or AIML branches.

Training methodology perspective:

The technical skills that can be acquired in these three programmes can be made equal with the addition of a few domain trainings and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) which many reputed institutions have included in these courses. Apart from technical skills, there are several other skills and benefits like team building, soft skills, ability to collaborate, networking with people, career guidance, mentoring, placements, industry interactions and alumni connect which may purely depend on the institution chosen and not the programme.

Choosing between the institutes:

After your decision to get into an IT stream, prepare a list of colleges offering these CSE, ISE and AIML based on the cutoff ranking of the previous year. Generally premier institutions are accredited by NBA (National Board of Accreditation) & NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) and possess NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) rank given by MHRD. There could be a possibility that a few colleges in the list may not have an NIRF rank, in which case you can use the NBA and NAAC grading to sort. You can always visit the websites of the colleges to know about these aspects in detail. Also consider some of your personal preferences like locality of the college, distance from your home, fee structure etc., to reorder the list as per your convenience.

Career prospects

The career options for Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence stream graduates are abundant. Though majority of emerging careers have AI component in it, students from CSE/ISE are as competent as AIML graduates to excel in these careers. Some of the lucrative and challenging careers that have emerged in Information Technology and AI arena in the recent past are:

Data Scientists, Machine Learning Engineers, AI Architects, Business Intelligence Developers and Big Data Engineers.

So, carefully select the institute and the course of study. Happy Learning!

(Mahesh G is an associate professor and Ravichandra M is an assistant professor)