Anna University, Chennai

About College:

The Anna University in Chennai is not very old but possesses tremendous history and heritage, plus an equally illustrious alumni list. It was earlier part of the University of Madras which had a separate faculty for engineering and technology. The University of Madras was itself set up back in 1857. There were then four institutes within this broad umbrella. Formally, the separate university was inaugurated in 1978, then known as the Anna University of Technology. The present name was only adopted in the year 1982. By 2001, the next milestone was ready, as the Anna University in Tamil Nadu was now deemed as an affiliating university, under which several colleges could now get recognition. The university had also been split later in the decade, before being merged back to its present avatar. The previously split entities now work as regional campuses of the university. These campuses exist in the cities of Madurai, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli and Tiruchirappalli. 

Multiple programmes are offered at Anna University, but all to do with engineering and science as is the mandate. There is also an undergrad programme on architecture. The Faculty of Civil Engineering offers B.E. courses in Geoinformatics, Civil Engineering and Agricultural & Irrigation Engineering. The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering meanwhile offers programmes in engineering disciplines- mechanical, aeronautical, industrial, automobile, manufacturing, mining, printing, production and material science. Then, there is the Faculty of Information and Communications Engineering. This offers B.E. in engineering fields of Computer Science, Biomedical and Electronics & Communications, plus a B. Tech in IT. The Faculty of Technology has all B. Tech courses for fields in – Chemical Engineering, Food Technology, Textile Technology, Pharmaceutical Technology, Leather Technology, Ceramic, Technology, Apparel, Rubber & Plastics Technology, Industrial-Bio and Petroleum Engineering & Technology. And finally, there is the Faculty of Electrical Engineering which offers two areas of BEs. 

But this is not it. There are multiple specializations of offer at the ME or MTech level. Some unique courses where master’s can be pursued include Power Systems, Coastal Management, Structural Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Transportation Engineering, Remote Sensing & Geoinformatics, Environmental Management, Mechatronics, Solar Energy, Aerospace Technology, CAD, VLSI Design, Medical Electronics, Avionics, Applied Electronics, Wireless Technologies, Footwear Science & Engineering, Industrial Safety & Hazards & Management and lot more. There are M. Arch courses available for Digital Architecture and for Landscape Architecture. There is a separate Faculty for Science and Humanities. One can pursue M. Sc. here in Medical Physics, Applied Mathematics, Applied Geology, Applied Chemistry, Materials Science, Electronic Media and Environmental Science. Some integrated programmes are also on hand. Students here can even pursue their M. Phil degrees, one of those areas is English. And to top all this up, there is the Faculty of Management Sciences where MBA is on offer. This MBA can be both generic as well as a specialized one in Tourism Management. 

Entrance to these courses is via the TNPC EE (Tamil Nadu Professional Courses Entrance Examination) at the undergrad level. For master’s level entry, the scores of the TANCET (Tamil Nadu Common Entrance Test) and the GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) are taken into consideration. In addition to the different faculty areas and the multitude of course options across the campuses, specific centres also exist. These are there for the purpose of augmenting further research- fundamental and applied- as well as for specific operational areas for the smooth running of the university. There are Centres for – Biotechnology, Aerospace Research, Academic Courses, Distance Education, Entrepreneurship Development, Environmental Studies, Faculty Development, Medical Electronics, Human Settlements, Intellectual Property Rights, Water Resources, Women Empowerment and many more. Industry partnerships are key to the expansion for any university especially those imparting professional education. And that is why a centres has been established for Quality Management in collaboration with the TVS industries. Academic partnerships have not been ignored either. One such example is the Urban Energy Centre established in accordance with the Ryerson University from Toronto in Canada. The Crystal Growth Centre was started in 1982 to abet the growth of faculty members and training methodologies. 

This focus on excellence has yielded substantial results on the rankings front. It featured 10th overall in India under the NIRF (National Institutional Rankings Framework), 2018. The same ranking featured the Anna University at 4th among universities and 8th for engineering. The management school was ranked 28th in the country. As part of the highly prestigious QS World University Rankings, the Anna University was placed in the 651-700 band worldwide and in the 301-350th for Asia. Within the BRICS nations, the Anna University secured the 85th place. 

One of the biggest strengths of Anna University is its esteemed alumni list. No name would be bigger than former President of India- Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. Another name would be Dr. Verghese Kurien, the founder of Amul, considered the father of the White Revolution in India. Another is HCL Founder and Chairperson- Shiv Nadar. Other prominent names include- AC Muttiah, Ravi Ruia, K Srikanth, Venu Srinivas, Raaghav, GV Prasad and many more.