Follow us
Panjab University also started with its placement session and to achieve success oin the same, the university has also started preparing the students for the same with the help of multiple training sessions — mock interviews and tests, personality grooming sessions, and technical quizzes — to help them grab good job opportunities.
But all this went in vain. The issue of lack of staff, increasing number of departments, lesser companies turning up for recruitment were some of the problems faced by the Varsity. The maximum number of placements happen only in four departments: University Institute of Engineering Technology (UIET), University Business School (UBS), University Institute of Chemical Engineering (UICET) and University Institute of Applied Management Sciences (UIAMS).
“There is an acute shortage of staff. Even though a lot of new departments are coming up, we do not have enough faculty members. There are placement cells in each department, but they are not functioning as per their mandate as the university is not offering any incentives to the teachers who volunteer to help with placements,” says Professor Amandeep Singh Marwaha from the Central Placement Cell.
According to Marwah, on average, out of every 1,000 students who apply for placements, 200-250 students end up getting good job opportunities. University Business School (UBS) was able to grasp maximum number of jobs with average package of Rs 8.22 lakh per annum and highest of Rs 21 lakh per annum being offered by Trident to seven students from the department. Out of the 124 students, 82 students found the job.
Having changed its training and curriculum in the last few years, the business school has seen a 25 to 30 per cent hike in the pay packages being offered to its students.
At UICET, however, an average of 20 companies ranging from ITC, Reliance Industries, Universal Oil Product visit each year. In 2015, 91 students were recruited through campus placements, and this year 87 students have already been placed. “The absorption of candidates by companies is basically project-driven. This year, as a result of the falling oil prices, there has been a drop in recruitments at oil corporations,” says placement officer of UICET Dr S K Aggarwal.
