Mahindra Ecole plans two more engg institutes

Proposed institutions will be linked to an autonomous college in Hyderabad

Mahindra Ecole Centrale (MEC), an engineering institute established in Hyderabad through a three-way collaboration involving the Mahindra Group, French university Ecole Centrale Paris and the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, is considering setting up two more such institutes in India.

“The proposed institutes will be linked to this autonomous college in Hyderabad. We are looking at multiple locations, and I hope they materialise sooner than later,” Vineet Nayyar, executive vice chairman of Tech Mahindra, told Business Standard.

Announcing the commencement of classes for the first batch of 240 students for the five-year integrated dual-degree programme in engineering on Monday, Nayyar said  MEC was looking at increasing the student intake to 300 next year, and make a provision for 2,100 students in five to six years from now.

Established on the 130-acre Tech Mahindra technology centre campus, the MEC takes an inter-disciplinary approach and offers specialised courses in electrical, mechanical and civil engineering, computer science and engineering. In addition to English, students are taught French. Fee for the programme is Rs 4 lakh (including a part of the fee to be paid to JNTU-Hyderabad, the affiliated varsity).

“The objective of MEC is to provide engineers for the global requirement. There is no bondage ... if M&M finds them (students) capable, competitive, then we will look at absorbing them into the group,” Nayyar said.

According to Sanjay G Dhande, founder director of MEC, the institute is planning to introduce professional education in the next four months to sensitise people in the industry. “We are also looking at offering Master’s and doctoral degree programmes. This, however, will take another six years,” he said.

On the research and development (R&D) front, Ravi Bollina, associate professor at MEC, said the institute was focusing on applied R&D, specifically to solve problems of small and medium enterprises.