Dr. Rajendra Prasad Somineni, is an esteemed professional in Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE). He is the Head of the ECE Department at the VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology. With a PhD in ECE focused on Low-Power VLSI for Embedded Systems, he boasts two decades of teaching experience, specializing in Analog Circuits and VLSI Design. His impactful contributions extend beyond the classroom, including guest editing/reviewing for prestigious journals, conducting workshops, and delivering compelling guest lectures. A dedicated academician, his NPTEL achievements and active role in academic boards reflect his unwavering commitment to advancing education and research in the dynamic field of ECE.

VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology

Can you please introduce yourself and provide an overview of your educational and professional background in the field of ECE?

I, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Somineni, am an experienced professional in the field of Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE). I have been associated with VNR VJIET since 2013. I completed my PhD in ECE from JNT University, Hyderabad (2015), with a focus on Low-Power VLSI for Embedded Systems. My academic background includes an M.Tech. in Electronics Instrumentation and Communication Systems (SV University, 2006), a B.Tech. in Electronics and Communication Engineering (G Pulla Reddy Engineering College, Kurnool, 2002) and a Diploma in DECE (SBTET, Hyderabad, 1997). With 20 years of teaching experience, I am currently a Professor and Head at VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology for the Department of ECE, since August 2021. My expertise encompasses a range of ECE subjects, including Analog Circuits, VLSI Design, and Control Systems and my background reflects a strong commitment to both education and research in the field of ECE. I served as a guest editor and reviewer for various prestigious journals and conferences, including IEEE, Elsevier and Springer publications. I have been actively involved in conducting workshops across various academic institutions for knowledge dissemination among my peer group. I have delivered guest lectures and chaired sessions in diverse ECE-related areas. My educational contributions extend to multiple colleges, emphasizing Microprocessors, VLSI Design, and Electric Circuits. I am also involved in academic boards, have NPTEL achievements and have a substantial number of publications in international and national journals and conferences.

What motivated you to pursue a career in academia and take on the role of the Head of the ECE Department at VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology?

I attribute my passion for Electronics and Communication Engineering to my teachers and academicians who are experts in the VLSI domain. My motivation likely stems from a desire to impart knowledge, mentor students and contribute to the advancement of ECE. As part of my career journey, I have essayed various roles in different institutions which pushed me to bring the best calibre out, which subsequently helped me to essay and execute this leadership role effectively. Taking on the role of the Head of the ECE Department at VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology is a natural progression in my academic career, which has allowed me to lead and shape the future of the department and students.

What is your vision for the ECE Department at VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology, and how do you plan to achieve it?

The ECE department should be a renowned resource centre of academic excellence, imparting technical education with a high pattern of discipline through its dedicated staff. They set global standards by making students technologically superior and ethically strong, who in turn will improve their quality of life. The department should be distinguished from its peer group for the quality education offered in the domain of Electronics and Communication Engineering through our effective learner-centric process. With the industry standard laboratory facilities and a diverse collaborative research culture, the department should be an acclaimed research centre known to be adept at adapting to changing industrial and societal needs. The ECE department has been a JNTUH recognized Center of Research for consecutive nine years. With a well-nurtured research culture in the department, the students have the opportunity to work alongside faculty on their research projects, enabling them to grasp technical skills beyond their curriculum. The students are encouraged to learn and apply their ideas to building products that are useful to society at large. To cite a few, ECE students were involved in building a prosthetic arm and in a collaborative project involving the design and development of an AC helmet. The department follows stringently the VNR differentiator WIT and WIL, which is an effective learner-centric process of teaching, thereby inculcating the habit of critical thinking among the students. The laboratory facilities are well maintained with the latest equipment and the research facilities available are on par with the industry, catering to the needs of the students and beyond.

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How do you ensure that the department's curriculum remains current and aligned with the latest advancements in the field of ECE?

The department of ECE has eminent persons from industry, NITs and IITs on our board of studies. The presence of industrial experts and academic experts in the curriculum design enables us to stay ahead and be contemporary as per the needs of the industry. Apart from this, we also have our alumni working in diversified domains who give input to our students on a regular basis about evolving technologies. Some of them even collaborate to bring in their expertise through guest lecture sessions. This fosters a good rapport among the students and their seniors, thereby leading to more exchange of information related to contemporary technical skills development. The department has collaborated with some of the prominent industries working on cutting edge technologies in the ECE domain through memorandum of understanding, a few of which are Synopsys, Avantel Ltd, Ananth Technologies Ltd, Salcit Technologies Private Ltd Ltd., Redpine Signals Private Ltd. These MOUs have given tangible outcomes to the department in terms of inputs for curriculum design, delivering guest lectures or conducting workshops on emerging technologies.

What measures and programs are in place to support the holistic development of students within the ECE Department, including academic, personal, and career growth?

Department faculty strives primarily to ensure that students of all learning levels are addressed by the innovative teaching methodologies adopted in the institute. As an autonomous institute, the academic flexibility provided has been fully exploited by the students to progress in academics. The curricular system of open electives, program electives, credit transfer from NPTEL courses, and design thinking courses has all have contributed to the academic enrichment of our students. Apart from this, we have specialised research groups in the department with faculty who have related experience and students have the freedom to select their project work from the domain of these specialised groups. This ensures that the student is free to choose their domain of interest and there is handholding from the faculty, who are experts in that particular domain, to carry out their project work. As part of the academic course work, every student carries a course project as part of their practical course, which adds to their resume. They are given the opportunity to take up value-added courses offered by the department to enhance their skill set.

How do you attract and retain experienced and qualified faculty members within the department, and what strategies are in place to ensure their professional development?

The ECE department is known for its highest retention ratio of 90%, which speaks volumes about the department's strength. Our experienced and specialised faculty have been the backbone of the department since its inception. The faculty are duly acknowledged and appreciated for their efforts in both academic and research fields. This is the driving factor for many of our faculty to complete their PhD during their tenure at our institute. The faculty are supported financially to upgrade their skill set by attending Faculty Development Programs, attending conferences and incubating any innovative ideas. The institute’s research and development cell provides financial support for patenting the original ideas. The faculty are segregated into specialised groups based on their expertise and this has enhanced their research contribution by working collaboratively with their colleagues from the same area. They are professionally competent in attracting research funds, executing consultancy works, delivering guest lectures in other institutes, chairing international and national conferences, being recipients of prestigious awards, being reviewers in peer-reviewed journals and leading in many of the institute-level works.

What efforts has the department made to foster collaboration with the automotive industry, and how do these collaborations benefit students and the department as a whole?

The automotive industry is the sunrise sector of India and with the advent of an increase in the market potential for this industry, ECE always been at the forefront of collaborative work with the automobile branch. Our students have actively been involved in automotive projects, which have yielded substantial results either in the form of job prospects or entrepreneurship opportunities. The presence of ECE students in the design of autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles and solar-powered vehicles has earned them an immense amount of respect within the institute, which they thoroughly enjoy. The passion for automotive has triggered innovative and creative ideas in our ECE students, which have led them to think outside the box with business ideas too.

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Could you highlight recent improvements in departmental infrastructure and laboratories that have enhanced the learning experience for students?

The department has well-equipped laboratories catering to academic requirements as well as research purposes. The ECE department has Galileo boards and sensors sponsored by Intel for our Internet of Things lab, Synopsys frontend and backend tools in the VLSI lab, RF lab kit for characterising various RF filters and antennas, a satellite trainer kit for understanding a communication link, a portable network Analyzer, RF signal generator, Xilinx and Spartan boards. We also have FPGA kits, which are being utilised by our students for various kinds of projects. We have institute-wide MATLAB full suite licences being explored in many of the collaborative projects. Our ECE students were the winners of the Smart India Hackathon hardware edition organised by AICTE and MHRD at the national level too. The department strives to provide the latest equipment as per the student's needs and is quite flexible in procuring the hardware/software as per the research requirements.

In your opinion, what are the primary challenges facing the field of ECE today, and how is the department addressing these challenges?

ECE being a core engineering course, there is a dearth of students opting for core placements in the context of their preference for software jobs. But in our department, we have been emphasizing the significance of core jobs through various activities like online panel discussions with industry experts, hardware hackathons, quiz contests, poster presentations on the latest technologies and big idea contests. Our efforts paved the way for students to get excited about core jobs. This has given us visible results when our students grabbed offers from core companies like Qualcomm, Synopsys, DRDO, AMD, Ananth Technologies, and Hyundai Mobis, to name a few.

What advice would you offer to students and aspiring professionals interested in pursuing a career in ECE?

The ECE branch is an amalgamation of core courses with a flair for software-related courses, which makes it the most preferred branch by students. It provides an ample number of opportunities for anyone interested in a core engineering course but looking for the possibility of diversification. Added to this, the emerging technological advancements, either in artificial intelligence or the Internet of Things or the manufacturing industry, all find their base in ECE only. With the advent of NEP-2020, the relevance of core courses like ECE has become strong in every domain of engineering. I strongly recommend all students and aspiring professionals pursue a career in ECE.