PANAJI: As work on the new campus for the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Goa, has begun, director Gopal Mugeraya said the institute will engage, on a stipend, 15 students from the state, who have recently completed their engineering programme from an ITI.
Mugeraya said this will give the diploma holders an opportunity to upgrade their skills and help them find better employment opportunities.
“We have asked the directorate of technical education to give us details of 15 students who have completed their ITI programme in civil engineering. We will engage them for a stipend of Rs 3,000 a month at the cost of NIT Goa in the construction work of the new campus. It will give these youngsters an opportunity to work with world class professionals in the field of civil engineering,” said Mugeraya.
The institute had committed to employing locals in the work of developing the new NIT campus. The director said that engaging the 15 civil engineering diploma holders is only a beginning and more locals will be involved in different kinds of work shortly, including in carpentry, masonry, etc.
“Often, students opt for the diploma programme in engineering because they cannot afford the engineering degree programme. We will engage the 15 boys for 10 months and issue them a certificate at the end of this period. This will help them improve their profile, learn the latest construction technology, get hands-on training,” said Mugeraya. He said once the young men are prepared for better employment opportunities, it will help uplift the living conditions of the 15 families as well.
NIT Goa became operational in 2010 and has since been functioning from a temporary campus within the Goa Engineering College premises at Farmagudi, Ponda. The new campus is being developed at Cuncolim for the NIT.
The construction of the new campus is expected to be carried out using latest technologies to ensure that the first phase is ready within 21 months, so that NIT Goa can shift to its own campus at the earliest.
In August, the institute marked the beginning of the construction work by planting thousands of saplings of indigenous tree species, mostly mancurad, to help propagation of local plant varieties. The new campus is planned as a green campus with more than double the number of trees as students and faculty on campus. Also, a solar plant is expected to be set up to generate green energy to compensate for the campus’ power consumption.