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VJTI: Shifting orientation to IT applications
Reena Mital - Mumbai

With employment in the organised sector of the textile industry remaining stagnant, textile technology institutes are doing a relook at their course curriculum. Apart from the usual courses on spinning, weaving, processing technologies, institutes are placing emphasis on newer areas such as information technology, brand and retail management, etc, which offer better scope.

Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), one of the premier engineering institutes in the country today, was one of the first institutes to start a textile technology diploma, way back in 1887. The textile curriculum was oriented towards the technician cadre, eligibility for the course being completion of Standard V, and students had to be above 14 years of age.

Since then, the institute has come a long way, and offers degree and post-graduate courses and doctorate in textile technology. According to Dr H V S Murthy, head, department of textile manufactures, VJTI, “The institute continues to remain one of the best textile technology institutes in the country, however, the changing face of the textile industry has made it necessary for us to add some more subjects and areas in our curriculum. We have begun placing emphasis on IT, CAD/CAM, etc, which are becoming extremely important today. In fact, almost 30-40 per cent of the students do full-fledged computer courses simultaneously with the textile technology courses. This has helped widen the opportunities available to them.”

With an IT orientation, students are today able to get placement not just in textile companies, but also in IT companies, which are in need of people with textile backgrounds. “A number of textile companies have gone in for IT applications, and the industry, to survive the stiff global competition will have to increasingly adopt IT. Solution providers for the textile industry have to know the working of the companies, and a textile background will definitely help,” observed Dr Murthy.

Besides this, VJTI has broadened the scope of the courses to teach the electronics of the machines, and not just the mechanical functioning, in keeping with the advancements in technology. VJTI has 20 seats for the degree course, and 40 for the diploma course. “We have been able to provide 100 per cent placement to the degree students, but this has not been possible for the diploma students this year, due to the recessionary situation of the textile industry. But newer subjects will help placements.” The institute also offers wool technology as an elective subject, following the institution of scholarships by the Indian Woollen Mills Federation (IWMF). “IWMF places the students who opt for wool technology, in the woollen and worsted sector. This is one sector which still has scope, apart from apparel technology, furnishings, knitting, nonwovens, all of which are being taught to the students,” informed Dr Murthy.

The focus is also on the latest issues in the textile industry, such as BT cotton, management issues, sickness, etc. “These are special subjects that teach students the economics of the textile industry, and not just the production aspects of textiles. Industry experts are invited to deliver these special lectures,” said Dr Murthy.

Practical training is given by way of projects undertaken by the institute for the industry. “We’ve undertaken a project on tertiary blends, to develop shirting fabric, by blending three fibres, instead of the usual practice of blending two fibres. We’ve also done a project for Arvind for its denim division, two projects on wool.

The department has well-equipped workshop and laboratories, and has installed some of the latest spinning, weaving and processing machines, and testing equipment. With the addition of a full-fledged nonwoven plant in 1991-92, a lot of work was carried out in geotextiles under the guidance of Dr M K Talukdar. “A post-graduate student prepared around 10,000 metres of nonwoven for geotextiles, which was laid in an approximately 1 km long road at Ichalkaranji. After completion, and testing, the road has been found to be performing better than the road which has no geotextile,” said Dr Murthy. Internship with the industry further helps the students to get hands-on training, and they could also get absorbed by the companies. “The best of students are eligible to join the VJTI courses, and the starting salary for the graduate and post-graduate students is around Rs 10,000.

A lot of students also go in for higher studies, management studies, etc, which further improve the scope for placement,” according to Dr Murthy. Teacher training is also important at VJTI’s textile manufactures department. “Of course, there have been no new recruitments, so load on the existing staff is quite heavy. But the staff does attend workshops conducted by NCUTE, which are very good. The staff has taken the necessary training to teach computer related subjects to the students, informed Dr Murthy.

According to Dr Murthy, “The theoretical and practical training and internship give the students a feel of what they will be doing on the job, and prepare them for placement in the textile industry. This makes it easier for them to understand the problems that crop up during the production process, and help in trouble-shooting.”