- AICTE launches Project PRACTICE to reform 1,000 low-performing engineering colleges in tier-2 & tier-3 towns by 2028.
- The ₹23.31 crore initiative will benefit 5 lakh students & 10,000 teachers through project-based learning, faculty training, internships, and soft skills.
- Partners include CRISP, IIT Madras’ LEAP, and Maker Bhavan Foundation, aligning with NEP 2020 to boost employability & industry linkages.
1,000 low-performing engineering colleges in tier-2 and tier-3 towns will be reformed pedagogically to enhance students' employability under Project for Advancing Critical Thinking Industry Connect and Employability (PRACTICE), a project initiated by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The project will benefit more than 5 lakh undergraduate students and 10,000 teachers in government and private engineering colleges associated with AICTE.
As per officials, the main interventions under the initiative are project-based learning through boot camps, faculty development for more than 10,000 teachers, and innovation support for institutions. The project will also concentrate on improving industry linkages through internships and projects, increasing employability through soft skills training, and establishing a national mentor network for counseling and guidance.
The recently initiated project PRACTICE will be rolled out in three phases - 200 colleges in first; 300 in second and 500 in third between 2025 and 2028 with the Centre for Research in Schemes and Policies (CRISP), a policy think tank; Learn Engineering by Activity (LEAP), an initiative of IIT Madras that supports hands-on, project-based engineering education; and the Maker Bhavan Foundation, an American nonprofit organization focused on Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in Indian colleges. The project of ₹23.31 crore (50:50 fund contribution by AICTE and partners) is conceived to turn India's next-generation engineers competent, employable, and innovation-oriented.
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"Reflects a strong commitment of the government of India's towards providing equitable access to quality technical education as per National Education Policy (2020)", Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in a video message during the launch of PRACTICE initiative by AICTE officials on Engineer's Day 2025.
AICTE has more than 5,800 affiliated diploma and engineering colleges with more than 30 lakh students enrolled in them. AICTE chairman T. G. Sitharam has stated that just 25% of engineering colleges in tier-2 and tier-3 towns are having industry linkages at the moment.
"With one of the largest engineering college networks in the world, half of our graduates are not employable in today's industry. We will bridge this employability gap by linking colleges to industry, educating teachers and enhancing pedagogy under PRACTICE initiative. .PRACTICE will reimagine project-based learning and enhance industry-academia partnership, especially in aspirational colleges with yet untapped potential", he stated.
R. Subrahmanyam, CEO and founder of think-tank CRISP stated that the thrust of the initiative PRACTICE is towards non-meritorious and sometimes downgraded institutions. "The initiative seeks to spur these colleges, foster their development, and integrate them into the mainstream of quality technical education and innovation", he stated.
