Dr. K. A. Lathief is the HOD of ECE at Nimra College of Engineering & Technology, Vijayawada. He is a distinguished academician and able administrator with more than 30 years of experience. He has grown from the ranks right here in the institute, starting his teaching career as a Lecturer in the year 2000. Prior to assuming the position of the HOD, He was a Professor in Wolaitasodo, Ethiopia. He obtained his Ph.D. from Magadha University, India and his Master’s Degree from IASE Deemed University.

He has published 11 research papers in various reputed National and International journals, besides a couple of patents to his credit. In his impressive teaching and administrative career, He has consistently promoted innovative teaching practices and imaginative thinking. He has endeared himself to his students and colleagues alike through his affable nature and empathetic leadership style.

Nimra College of Engineering

Being a HEAD OF DEPARTMENT of Nimra Institute of Science & Technology, what are your roles and responsibilities towards the students?

As an HOD every day we monitor the students to attend college regularly. So according to that, we maintain the timetable as the college starts at 9.30 am to 4.30 pm. During these 6 hours, the students attend the classes according to the timetable. All the courses are prepared as per the JNTU Curriculum. Promptly I am looking after that all the students are attending the college regularly.

How do you tend to establish healthy relations with the students and fellow faculty?

The students must give respect to the faculty and I am also a friendly nature person so the faculty can easily discuss the course completion strategy and how they are following the timetables. So, these are the healthy conditions for the students and everything.

How do you try to bring in a practical approach towards subjects and make it industry-oriented?

So, we have plenty of equipment in the laboratory as per the I2 Curriculum, all the laboratories are related to the subjects for the students to gain practical knowledge. We follow the lab timetable so that the students can attend the practical classes on a weekly basis. In Industry-oriented we want to explain what is the scope of that lab and explain all the ways to get knowledge about the industry-oriented as I have more than seven years of industrial experience in computer networking land and visa networking and 23 years of teaching experience.

What are the best practices offered by the department to the students which help them gain the necessary skills?

According to any third-party vendors supporting the hardware for the electronic students to develop and get the necessary skills. Communication skills are one of the most important skills in today's world. Irrespective of the areas one must have strong communication skills which is beneficial in the present market. Communication skills will also help in getting jobs in electronics in the future.

How do you strategize the curriculum and how often it gets updated to make it befitting for the students?

According to 50% of the strategy, it is important to watch how often the curriculum gets updated to make it beneficial for the students. As per the JNTU Curriculum, they provide excellent curriculum design from the JNTU agenda. The curriculum we are following the updated day by day that sixty percent.

Check Nimra College of Engineering & Technology Placement

What are your views on the placements and higher education about the students from your department or How does your department prepare students for Higher education?

All the students who are interested in job placement can enrol for the same. The VLA System operated by the department helps to track the choices of each student. The students who are interested in doing the master's program can also pursue their higher education. The staff of the department assists the students in choosing the right career path according to the aspirations of the students. 

How do you help your student to cope up with the competition being so high in the outside world? 

I have seven years of industrial experience out of which 5 years I was in computer networking and was working on the first generation of the computer for the project. Again, I have worked on a research project called Networking It from Bangalore

Do you have any extracurricular activities/ programs to enhance the skills of the students or expose them to real-world challenges?

We are giving practical knowledge to the students, so actually the extra curriculum activities programs. We conducted the real-time announcement of the seminars to all the electronics and communication engineering students from all over the second year, third year, and final year.

What are the challenges you faced/ are facing to uplift the quality of education of your department? 

The challenges we face are due to the quality of education. For the betterment of the students, we organize group discussions and seminars that are conducted as per the curriculum. 

How does the curriculum of your department/college ensure the best practice of the industry? 

In any curriculum or any type of course, we conduct day-to-day real-time and tutorial classes that are engaging to the students. The curriculum of the department and college supports the best practices of the industry. We are conducting new trends, real-time trends.

What do you see the department’s/ college’s greatest strengths and how it can be enhanced?

The main greatest strength is the impact of students attending regularly all the live and practical classes as per the schedule. They are given training for real-time communication skills in the laboratory and similar workshops to gain practical knowledge. Each and every day the department is coming up with new ideas to help the students gain knowledge to grow in their career. 

What valuable advice would you like to the students for them to have a prosperous career ahead? 

The advice basically for the students because every day they want to work hard without working hard nobody cannot get the results, so they were they work hard according to that curriculum for 6 hours daily from morning 9.30 to 4.30 pm. They want to get different knowledge about all the courses as per the curriculum given by JNTU University.