Telkapalli Murali Krishna is the Head of the Department of CSE at Ashoka Women’s Engineering College. He completed a postgraduate Master of Computer Applications (MCA) from Osmania University. Thereafter, he earned a Master of Philosophy in Computer Science (M.Phil.) from Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, in 2006. Additionally, he holds a postgraduate degree in Master of Technology in Computer Science and Engineering (M.Tech) from Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur in 2010.

Dr. Krishna started his research career in 2019 at Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, in the domain of Machine Learning and Software Testing. He has published his research work in various journals, five of which are in Scopus indexed, one in the Web of Science and presented his research work in IEEE Conferences. He has attended Four international conferences, Five national conferences, Ten webinars, and 15 FDPs, and has successfully completed SIX NPTEL courses.

Dr. Krishna also earned a PhD degree in Computer Science and Engineering in 2023. He has over 24 years of experience in teaching and research. His research areas of interest are Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Software Testing and Data Science.

Ashoka Women's Engineering College

What are the factors that make this program the best for the students to opt?

Generally, for students who wish to explore this digital world after completing class 12, their dream is to pursue an engineering course by enrolling in the B.Tech. CSE. There are many reasons to do so, such as plenty of job opportunities, better salaries, and higher job satisfaction. They can also do the jobs nationally and globally. There are many job roles that are available that are also versatile. Students also get to experience lots of careers that are future-oriented meaning there is sustainability. Because of all these reasons, students will benefit from taking up our B.Tech. Computer Science programme.

What are the best practices in the program you are doing?

At our college, we have adopted several best practices. We have NPTEL / SWAYAM certifications that can be taken up by students and faculty members. We also use shadow teaching, where we identify fast learners and slow learners. The slow learners get extra support from the fast learners to achieve excellence. Additionally, we have two clubs in our department, one is the coding club, and the other is the artificial intelligence and data science club. Using these two clubs, we have conducted many workshops, seminars, and symposiums that students can take part in to enhance their coding skills. The department of CSE has a Computer Society of India student chapter, through this we have conducted many events that enhance the skills of the students. Moreover, we have a mentor-mentee system. There are two types of mentors; one is where the senior faculties are allotted as mentors to the junior faculties for knowledge sharing. With respect to the students, a mentor is assigned to every 20-25 students. The mentor guides the mentees not only in academics but also in personal care. We also have an Academy Industry Research Organization Association where we have tie-ups with many industries. With the help of that industry-academia interaction, we can choose the best professional elective courses that lead to internships and live projects. Another one of our best practices is using innovative teaching methods. We not only teach the theory and practical aspects of the computer science discipline, but we also use innovative teaching methods like coding challenges, case study based explanation and project-based learning.

How do you tend to build an industry connect with the program?

There are many benefits in doing an industry-based project or internship during the sixth semester of the B.Tech. course. The reason behind building an industry connection is that industry-based project internships provide an opportunity to work on real-world problems and these projects give the students hands-on experience in their specific field. It also helps the students to explore their career paths and make connections with the industry, which enhances their practical skills. Moreover, it helps the students to develop important professional skills such as communication, teamwork, critical thinking and problem-solving, which are very valuable for their career. Students also have better career options once they go through an industry-based project or internship, as they can meet the demands of the industry.

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What were the challenges that you faced while inculcating this program in your curriculum?

Computer science engineering courses are a booming sector in India and in other parts of the world. As technology is changing rapidly, we need to know about it and update ourselves. We have to know what industries and organizations across the globe are demanding from their employees and how they are operating. Trying to address this is a challenge. There are two major issues that stand out: addressing the skill gap in students that decreases their employability and constantly updating the student’s knowledge. Recently, our college got the NAAC A+ certification and we also got autonomous status. The autonomous status helps us to prepare our own curriculum to fill the gap between the industry and the academy.

What are the benefits and career options after pursuing this course?

Generally, B.Tech. computer science students have two types of career options. One is doing higher studies. B.Tech. CSE graduates enroll in M.Tech. CSE, M.Tech. Information Technology, Masters in cyber security, Masters in data science, or even an MBA in information technology. This is one of the career options. The other option is employment. There are many job roles that are available for B.Tech. CSE students, the most popular of which is software engineer. They can become software developers, full stack developers, web developers, front-end engineers, back-end engineers, computer network architects, database administrators, and computer system analysts. Our students are also eligible to work as AI and ML developers, machine learning developers, and even data scientists.

What are the current projects students are working on?

Students, usually, are going to do the projects in three ways. One is the community service project, which is done in the second year. By the third year, the students have already learned some of the major program core courses. They complete mini-projects during this time. And finally, as part of graduation, in the final year, they are supposed to do the major projects. Some of the major projects that CSE students take up are in the areas of cryptography, network security, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, blockchain technology, machine learning, data science, information security, Android and web development, and the Internet of Things (IoT).