AICTE launches PRACTICE to transform 1,000 engineering colleges

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has launched Project PRACTICE (Project for Advancing Critical Thinking, Industry Connect and Employability) to reform technical education in 1,000 tier-two and tier-three engineering colleges. The initiative is intended to directly benefit 20 lakh students and 10,000 faculty members across India.

Project PRACTICE rollout: scope, funding, and institutions involved

AICTE with partners such as Maker Bhavan Foundation (MBF), LEAP, and CRISP has allocated ₹23.31 crore to support this initiative. Details of the rollout include:

• Focus on engineering and technology institutions with lower academic outcomes to ensure inclusive growth.
• Target participants include ten thousand faculty and twenty lakh students, ensuring wide-scale impact on both teaching and learning sides.
• The institutions chosen are from tier-two and tier-three categories, which often lack resources for advanced training and industry links.

Key Features: Project-based learning, industry connect, and employability

Before implementation, several features have been outlined to enhance the student experience and graduate readiness:

• Integration of project-based learning and live industry projects so that students gain hands-on experience.
• Strengthening industry-academia collaboration to better align curriculum with market demands.
• Promotion of employability skills, access to research opportunities through an R&D Cell and Research Internship Portal.

Additional supports: Technology access, environmental responsibility

The project also includes complementary measures to ensure holistic development in colleges:

• Free access to AI-tools, including ChatGPT and Perplexity Go, for students to enhance research and learning efficiency.
• Establishment of Climate Cells in all approved institutions to embed environmental responsibility and awareness among students and faculty.

Implications for technical education in India and next steps

Project PRACTICE is positioned to reduce disparity between well-resourced engineering institutions and those in less served areas. It aims to lift the standard of technical education by:

• Providing support to non-meritorious and often neglected institutions, helping them to reach mainstream quality benchmarks.
• Cultivating innovation, critical thinking, and sustainability in the education system. AICTE hopes the project will inspire replication of best practices beyond the initial 1,000 colleges.

Implementation will proceed with partner organisations, oversight by AICTE, and periodic reviews to measure progress in academic outcomes, employability, and institutional capacity.