Providing a distinct broad based education system wherein Practice School, an internship programme is offered as an integral part of the entire curriculum delivery, BITS Pilani Dubai has announced 100% internship placements for their 2021 batch of students, despite an unprecedented and challenging year. The institute has collaborated with over 300 reputed companies over a period of time comprising of Fortune 500 Companies, MNC’s such as PWC, Reckitt Benckiser, GE, L&T, HP, Schindler, Noon.com, Landmark Group and more as well as sought-after upcoming startups to offer placements and internships.
Moreover, BITS Pilani Dubai is the first engineering institute in the UAE to incorporate 7.5 months of internship in two parts as a part of the curriculum called Practice School Programme. Practice School I is offered in the summer after 2nd year for 8 weeks and Practice School II is offered in the final year for 5.5 months. It is an educational innovation seeking to link industry experience with university instruction where students are exposed to the professional work environment and get hands-on experience in solving real life problems.
“Achieving such a remarkable feat in times like these definitely speaks volume of our unique approach, Industries’ faith in BITS Pilani and emphasizes the fact that BITS Pilani students are highly coveted due to their real-world edge. The rigorous syllabi not only instills in them a passion for knowledge, but also teaches them to apply their skill in real situations.
Alumni from this campus have done exceptionally well in all spheres of life. So far, seventeen batches comprising over 5000 students have already graduated from the Dubai Campus and are occupying leading positions in diverse fields across the world. They have been recruited by more than 1000 prestigious companies worldwide and several have completed, or are pursuing Masters and Ph.D. programmes from 75 leading universities, whilst many Alumni are also successful entrepreneurs”, said Prof. R. N. Saha, Director of BITS Pilani Dubai Campus.
Practice School not only provides students an unparalleled exposure to develop technical and transferable skills in a global context, but also offers UAE employers a great opportunity to hire competent engineers locally. The programme serves as a platform that facilitates and promotes partnership and intellectual exchange between academia and industry, as organizations also benefit from the dynamic ideas and fresh perspectives of the talented students.
Commenting on the success of the Practice School programme, Dr. A Somasundaram, Associate Dean-Practice School said, “Almost 30% of BITS Pilani Dubai students received pre-placement offers from the organizations they interned in the past three years, which is an extremely competent ratio compared to the industry standards. This ensures confirmed job placements for candidates even before they graduate, while companies get to hire trained and proficient individuals without having to go through the tedious recruitment process. PWC is one such organization that takes 10-12 interns from BITS Pilani Dubai every year and many of them are eventually absorbed as full-time employees”.
Practice School offers students the option to choose the function and the organization they want to intern with. All internship postings are formally reviewed and matched with the curriculum’s needs, in addition to ensuring that the students are exposed to a wide set of professional working opportunities. Students are also offered stipend during the internship by the companies. Furthermore, it creates the required setting for experiential and cooperative learning and education, by providing students with an opportunity to work on relevant assignments, under the guidance of professional experts and under the supervision of faculty.
“Competition for the graduating entry-level engineers is fierce, so having hands-on work experience gives us a jumpstart. At the same time, the academic experience of the engineering programme might not exactly emulate what we can expect in the real world. We also need relevant work experience to validate our careers as some employers do look for industry experience before hiring. In all these cases, the Practice School Programme ensures that we have done some required groundwork and are prepared to join the corporate world. Taking my own example I’m doing my practice school with PWC now and eventually may get confirmed as a full-time employee ensuring that my career sets off to a great start after graduating”, said Brenden Carvalho, current student at BITS Pilani, Dubai.
BITS Pilani Dubai carries a strong legacy, being an international branch of the most reputed and accredited Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, India. It is one of the largest institutions exclusively offering engineering programmes in Dubai. Located in the vibrant Dubai International Academic City, it is home to several aspiring Engineers from U.A.E., other Gulf Countries, India, the Far East, Africa and other countries around the world with opportunities applicable equally to all students.
For more information visit https://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/dubai/
