Computer science courses now come in over 25 flavours – Times of India

Such is the demand for computer science courses that what was once a plain computer science engineering programme in universities has now branched out into more than 25 allied programmes, and the seats in most of them have risen sharply over the past couple of years.
Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), internet-of-things (IoT), blockchain, robotics, quantum computing, data science, cybersecurity, 3D printing & design, virtual reality (VR), DevOps, big data – these are being offered in various combinations with computer science engineering, and sometimes even as standalone courses, by technical universities.
In Visvesvaraya Technological University, the umbrella varsity of engineering colleges in Karnataka, the number of seats in the core computer science & engineering (CSE) course this year rose by 1,349 compared to last year, that in the course called computer science engineering – data sciences rose by 1,008, that in computer science engineering – AI, ML rose by 725, and that in the course called artificial intelligence and machine learning rose by 526.

KVK Rao, general secretary of the Federation of Self-financing Technical Institutions (All India), says in 2020, AICTE (the national level apex advisory body on technical education) released a list of eight emerging technologies, and suggested that these be introduced as optional or elective subjects. The idea, he says, was that a student could take up CSE as a major discipline, secure 160 credits, and earn an additional 18-20 credits in an emerging area, which would fetch them a BTech Hons. computer science degree in the emerging area. One could even take an emerging area as an optional with a stream like mechanical engineering. “However, most universities tweaked the AICTE rules to frame these emerging areas as regular 160 credit courses. The Andhra Pradesh high court upheld the move, citing a varsity’s academic freedom to decide,” Rao says.
Karisidappa, former vice chancellor of VTU, says while some colleges opted for the new programmes in 2020, this year, a larger number of colleges opted for them because of the demand. In Karnataka, there is an increase of over 5,000 seats in computer science and allied programmes, with total seats touching 27,193.
The uptake in all of these computer science related courses is far more than for other engineering programmes. After the first phase of counselling in Telangana, 98.5% of the seats in CSE and IT related courses (17 in number) were taken. AI, CE, CS & business system, and CS & technology saw 100% enrollment.
In Tamil Nadu, of the 55,183 seats in computer-related courses, 44,666 (81%) were filled. CSE accounted for 21,805 of 27,954 seats (78%). 91% of the seats in AI & ML, and IoT were filled. 87% in cyber security, and 81% in AI & data science were taken.
On the other hand, only 28% of civil engineering seats were filled, and 36% in mechanical. In electronics & communication engineering, it was 66%, and in electrical & electronics engineering, 49%.
It was similar in most states.
This raises two issues. One, the plethora of CS courses confuses students. Two, the exodus of talent to CS is starving other disciplines. Is that good for India? We look at these two issues in the adjoining stories.