Value Added Courses

Value-added courses are those that assist a student in honing their skills in their chosen field of study. They are largely independent of your area of study but could also be an extension to your field. Individuals’ soft skills are mostly developed through these value-added courses. Attitude, communication, creativity, work ethic, teamwork, networking, decision-making, positivism, time management, motivation, adaptability, problem-solving, critical thinking, and conflict resolution are examples of soft skills that you can learn from these value-added courses.

When a student decides to pursue engineering as a career, they embark on a journey of discovery. All courses catering to various engineering degrees may not be enough to quench the thirst of a budding engineering student. Many value-added courses (VAC) and workshops are held to give these technocrats the opportunity to think about and implement new ideas. These VACs instill a desire in students to become flamboyant professionals who are up to date on the current trends and who can rally their technical talents in an advanced manner.

Gandhi Institute of Engineering and Technology University offers a wide range of Value Added Courses that are held as an added benefit to your educational journey in the university. These courses are taught by professionals and help students stand out in the job market by adding value to their resumes.

The Value Added Course’s primary objectives are to give students a grasp of industry requirements. Through these courses, students’ employability skills should be improved. To minimize skill gaps and prepare students for careers in the industry, value-added courses are helpful. Students will further also get the opportunity to build inter-disciplinary abilities which is highly required in today’s job market. It is encouraged that rather than being job seekers, students are molded to become job providers. With the availability of a wide variety of knowledge through these value-added courses, it is seen that leading spaces can be occupied by students. We aim to do that for our students, hence the department offers various value-added courses. Some of these courses are offered in collaboration with organizations from outside the university. Students have the option of choosing from these courses independently of their majors.

The different value-added courses that you can choose from are as follows-

• Fundamentals of Plant Breeding and Genetics
• Landscaping Architecture
• Food Engineering
• Fundamentals of Bio-security
• Pest Surveillance
• Packaging and Branding of Agricultural Products
• Agricultural Marketing Management
• Socio-economic Impact of Livestock Diseases

The B.Tech. in Agricultural Engineering at GIET University has several Value-Added Courses. The goal of these courses is to provide a learner-centric technical program. These courses provide students with an awareness of the expectations of the job industry and improve the employability skills of the students. The courses also bridge the skill gaps and the students become industry-ready. The courses focus on skill development and the emphasis of these courses is on providing students practical training and improve their problem-solving skills. The following are the various value-added courses that are offered by the B.Tech. Agricultural Engineering department:

Fundamentals of Plant Breeding

The goal of teaching this course is to impart knowledge to the students about the different principal and procedures of plant breeding in self and cross-pollinated crops for the development of high yielding varieties / hybrid crops. Students also learn about different population improvement programmes among plants. They also learn about the fundamentals of mutation, polyploidy and wide hybridization and their role in crop improvement.

Principles of Soil Science

This course imparts knowledge to students about the basic concept of soil alumina silicate minerals, the process of soil formation, soil classification, and so on. Students also become familiar with topics like soil colloids, ion exchange phenomenon, problems of soil, irrigation, water quality, soil environment quality, etc.

Hydrology

The course on Hydrology imparts knowledge to students on different concepts related to hydrology like hydrological analyses and planning for hydropower projects, Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote sensing applications in hydrology. Students also learn about important measures that conserve water like watershed management, artificial recharge, groundwater modelling, etc.

Environmental Studies

The course on environmental studies provides the students with a systemic understanding of the scientific and socio-economic contexts of different environmental issues. They learn about global issues like climate change, global warming, pollution, energy needs, resource exploitation and subsequent depletion. Students after going through the course can critically evaluate issues related to environmental governance, law and sustainability.

Farm Machinery

The course on farm machinery comprises basic principles and the use of modern technology such as image, processing, microcontrollers, sensors and embedded systems. Students learn about the importance of farm machines in the context of enhanced production, multiple cropping, labour scarcity, etc. They also learn about the use of different equipment and machinery for irrigation, crop harvesting design and operation.