Everest Engineering College, affiliated to Pokhara University, was established in 2001 AD by a team of renowned industrialists. The college offers a range of courses: BE Civil, BE Computer, BE Information Technology and BE Electronics and Communication Engineering.
Mr. Arun Bhandari is the Executive Director at Everest Engineering College. Mr. Bhandari has expressed his view with College Readers. Excerpts:
Everest Engineering College is a top-notch college in the field of engineering education in Nepal. To what extent, have you realized that it is successful in accomplishing the objectives of its establishment?
The college is run by a team well-experienced, dedicated, young, enthusiastic and visionary academicians. Our motto is to impart quality education in the field of technology through research and innovation and to create national integrity. So, we are fully dedicated to creating excellent teaching and learning environment with extensive counseling, interactions and project work with an aim to produce globally saleable human resources from engineering field. In order to fulfill the objective of its establishment, we give equal focus on both classroom activities and practical orientation including lab activities and field (project) work. The college has established a distinct research department with the motive of carrying out the research projects. We inspire and guide the students to involve in research work from the first phase of their study. We have understood that education is a transfer of knowledge to the prospective engineers through research, innovations and availability of the work opportunities. So, we provide curricular and extra-curricular activities focusing on additional skill and knowledge covering the recent practices within the country and foreign universities.
We always emphasize that practical and creative ideas enable our students to carve out a path to an award-winning career. So, we make the students familiar about the fundamentals of research work in the first year. Then, in the second year, we guide them to conduct mini research project. Similarly, we guide them to combine engineering with physics in the third year. Likewise, the fourth year imbibes teaching and guidelines for students for conducting core engineering research in collaboration with the teachers. Our research department issues a separate list of research topics every year. Previous research topic is hardly repeated in the next year, which underpins students to be innovative and warn them to imitate the previous research projects indiscriminately. Not only this, we also provide our students with phenomenal opportunities to embrace real field experience and make them able to handle the responsibility in the job market. Similarly, we provide opportunities of internship and job placement. This is the core reason why our graduates have proved themselves to be innovative, engaged and competitive in both academic and professional careers nationally and globally.
Beside academic quality, we have created ample space for recreation, standard classrooms and seminar hall required for every academic and extra-curricular activities required for students. From this perspective, we’ve felt that Everest Engineering College is successful in harnessing the objectives of its establishment.
Could you please share with us the achievement marvels of the college after your team assumed the college administration in 2014 AD?
All the afore-mentioned benchmarks, such as introducing maiden programs, promoting the college as one of the leading academic institutions inside and outside the country, producing globally competitive human resources in the field of engineering, etc. are our achievements. The college has fulfilled all the requirements prepared by the engineering council and the university. We have been organizing national level project events every year for a long time and creating a congenial environment to attract students of both government and private institutions and pledged them project work grant. Similarly, we have completed two episodes of an interesting educational event and are planning to complete its sequel episodes continuously in the future. We believe such kind of event makes students evaluate themselves of their project making capabilities and writing skill in comparison to students studying in other universities. In addition, a large number of industrialists and entrepreneurs participate to observe the IT and Civil engineering related projects demonstrated in the events which enable both the students and prospective employers to embrace recruitment and employment process. We are proud to say none of our students are dillydallying in pursuit of job. They are offered jobs inside and outside the country. In fact, motivating students in creative and research work is our benchmark. Our BE (Civil) students have conducted research on the concept of smart city which will be beneficial to the government in crystallizing the policy of making smart cities throughout the country. Besides, they have also conducted a series of research in IT related field.
Why should one pursue the engineering course in Everest Engineering College?
Everest Engineering College has introduced advanced technologies to its teaching and learning activities. In this regard, curricular activities, extra-curricular activities, laboratory-based experiments, and project work are given equal focus as part of teaching and learning process. Our motto, Learning by Doing, is bolstered by our advanced teaching approaches and techniques. The college closely observes every activity of the students and individual care is given high priority. With a view to ensure holistic development of students, a number of student clubs, such as computer club, civil engineers’ club, media club, music club, etc. have been established and the college ensures meaningful interaction between the junior and senior students. Our regular interaction with the parents is another key feature of our institution. We regularly organize motivational sessions and galvanize students to be inquisitive, innovative and engaged in their learning endeavors.
From the perspectives of employment prospects, how are the impacts of these courses on global economy?
Nepal is just getting relief from the long-run political, social and economic maelstroms, but more excruciatingly people have had to bear massive losses from the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the country is not out of perils of Covid-19, it’s moving ahead progressively in the path of development. In this regard, we have basically given priority to two infrastructural developments: physical and virtual. The courses which we have launched here are related to both the infrastructures. Civil engineering is related with physical infrastructure which we have completed about 40%, and we still have to complete 60% of the work of physical infrastructure development. If all the projects of national pride are run smoothly, most civil engineers can be employed within the country. Similarly, development of virtual platform is also an indicator of a developed society. However, Nepal has been able to develop only 40% of work related to digitized technology, so, another 60% of the work is still in a limbo. In the recent times, there is a high demand of IT engineers even at ward level. Similarly, we need IT expert to crystallizing the paperless policy, issuing national identity card, etc. which the government had announced a long time ago. More successfully, our IT graduates have got a huge demand in IT field, such as software development, app development etc. Since these courses are proactive and skill-generating, no graduates of these courses should remain unemployed. So, we are very confident that these courses have contributed significantly to the national economy.
Everest Engineering College has made the provision of internship which sounds really appealing. Would you please tell us what is the policy of Pokhara University with regard to this provision?
The provision of internship facilitated by the college is not considered mandatory. Only the University can make it mandatory. So, the University should include it in the course mandatorily. The foreigners say that Nepalese students have unlimited knowledge but little empirical skill. If the system of internship is encapsulated compulsorily in the course, most students will earn life-changing skills and work experience along with theoretical knowledge. Even today, Nepalese students have a huge problem-solving knowledge and skills in comparison with graduates of foreign universities. In this regard, if we include the provision of internship in the course, the graduates from Nepalese universities will be more competitive in the global market.
What are the strengths of engineering courses of Pokhara University in comparison to that of other universities?
Around 60% to 70 % of university courses of engineering are identical across the globe, but there is a vast difference in the perspective of evaluating the economy and the society. The important feature of our university is that our courses are timely revised, as per the demand of the global market. Another unique feature is that the administration is effective and well-administered. The University shows amicable behaviour with its constituent and affiliated colleges and has world-wide acclamation. In order to maintain uniformity among all its associates, the University frequently organizes workshop sessions.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic created maelstroms and turmoil against smooth running of institutions, what strategic plans have you made to cope with such pandemic and other unprecedented epidemics that are likely to put a chokehold on the personal, economic and social growth in the future?
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about a paradigm shift to the education system in Nepal. We have a proven record that knowledge could be shared through virtual means and resources as well. Pokhara University has strong determination to run academic programs according to its academic calendar. We manage physical classes as well as virtual classes analyzing the situation and fully committed to running scheduled academic programs.
Recently, the NEB has published the results of Grade 12, and a large number of students are in pursuit of a proper college for their higher education. What message would you like to convey to those anxious pursuers as Managing Director of Everest Engineering College?
The current education trend in Nepal is that most career hopefuls are inclined to technical education for appealing careers within a short span of time. Everest Engineering College provides world class engineering education. As of today, our graduates are globally accepted for jobs. We have adopted advanced teaching and learning mechanisms that ensure an amicable ambience for the learners. Our working and studying environments are appropriate for the collegiates. We not only transfer mere knowledge also we mould our students to be adroit scholars upon their graduation. More importantly, to enrich our graduates with exuberance of job opportunities, our college has collaborated with several companies for job placements. Pokhara University has letter grading evaluation system which has worldwide recognition. Similarly, P.U has adopted the midterm intake system for the master’s level students. So, Everest College heartily welcomes the engineering aspirants and expresses its commitment to bring about radical transformation in their career pursuits.
