24-04-2025
VTU asks students to cultivate wide reading habit
'Engineering students should cultivate the habit of wide reading. It will not only enlarge your world view, but also distinguish you from those who study only textbooks for the sake of examinations,' Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) Vice-Chancellor S. Vidyashankar has said in Belagavi.
'Such reading, especially about achievers, will inspire you to become successful entrepreneurs. Famous entrepreneurs like Narayana Murthy of Infosys, Azim Premji, Dhirubhai Ambani, Bill Gates, Elon Musk or others show us how to think differently and never give up on our dreams. When we read these stories, we learn not only about their achievements but also about the lessons they learned. All of them were not born with a golden spoon in their mouth, but they all worked hard to achieve their success. As students, you should read about such persons. They will motivate you, build your confidence and open your mind to new possibilities. Who knows? one day, your story may inspire others,' he said.
'Wide reading will also help you understand various issues like trade and economics, apart from technology and social issues,' he said. He was speaking to students from various colleges during a 'campus exposure' programme called 'Academia Connectus'.
Over 2,200 students from various engineering colleges from around Belagavi participated in the event in which they were exposed to the internship and skill training facilities set up by the university on its campus.
The Vice-Chancellor said that VTU has set up several Centres of Excellence for imparting skill development and entrepreneurship in students.
Prof. Vidyashankar said that laboratories and study centres set up on the VTU campus are aimed at holistic development of engineering students. Under these schemes, students are being given skills required in today's professional sector through internships and skill training. Various industries are being invited to the campus and to benefit poor but talented students. For example, QMagna has already set up its training centre with the objective of 'Learning along with Earning' and has also set up state-of-the-art Centres of Excellence in Drone Technology, Electric Vehicle, Industrial Automation, Home Automation, Solar Automation, CNC Machine Workshop, AI, IoT and VLSI, AR and VR.
VTU has made these facilities available for affiliated engineering colleges, while skill training internship programmes will be offered for affordable fees. Under this, students will be exposed to practical aspects related to design, programming and software development, he said.
He said that VTU has set up a Section 8 company called Visvesvaraya Research and Innovation Foundation (VRIF) to identify and fund innovative and creative skills of students and to provide a platform to give concrete form to new ideas and start new ventures.
He urged all students and faculty to utilize these facilities effectively to acquire skill-based industry-oriented knowledge.
Registrar B.E. Rangaswamy, Registrar (Evaluation) T.N. Srinivas, Research and Development Director Basavakumar K.G. and heads of all departments were present, said a release.
