APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University has decided to sanction state-of-the-art engineering courses in 21 colleges in Kerala during the academic year of 2020-21.

On Thursday, the university syndicate of AKTU sanctioned 27 undergraduate and 13 postgraduate courses in certain colleges. The courses will be offered by three government colleges, two aided colleges, three government-controlled self-financing colleges and 13 private engineering colleges. The sanction is subject to the approval of the AICTE and the state government of Kerala.

The number of seats for Computer Science in the College of Engineering Trivandrum will be increased by 60. The college will also offer courses in artificial intelligence and power electronics, with 18 seats allocated for each course.

Thrissur Engineering College has been granted permission to begin five M.Tech courses, each having 18 seats. New courses are being introduced, such as industrial engineering, VLSA instrumentation, health safety and geo-technical.

Palakkad Sreekrishnapuram Government Engineering has been given permission to start a B.Tech course in Civil Engineering with an intake of 60. The college will also start M.Tech courses in Robots and the Internet of Things.

Among aided colleges, KTM Engineering College is set to increase 60 seats in Computer Science and Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, each. 13 private colleges will start courses in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and Machine Learning. 

The syndicate has also nominated a committee, led by Vice-Chancellor MS Rajasree, to prepare a report on arranging government suggestions regarding the setting up of academic activities in engineering colleges in such a manner that students pursuing higher education can also earn while studying.