Prof. Manoj K Arora, Director, Punjab Engineering College (Deemed to be University), Chandigarh was given a respectful and emotional farewell by the institute after his stay here for over 5 years, in the presence of all Deans, HoDs and staff members of the institute. Prof. Arora marked the completion of his term as the Director in a memorable ceremony in the Board room of the institute.
Under the aegis of Dr. Arora, PEC has grown leaps and bounds in all fields be it academics, research, placements, infrastructure, curriculum development, MoUs with industry, research and defense organizations, and so on. He has the credit to introduce new PG curriculum which is based on fractal credit system and in compliance with Industry 4.0. The number of companies visiting the campus has increased from 90 to 140. He initiated and implemented the blended learning with MOOCS available on EDx, Coursera and SWAYAM.
He is credited for the initiating young faculty to write projects, research paper and undertake industrial consultancy. On the grounds of development of infrastructure, PEC has attained the next level of facilities in research, administration and sports. Some of the projects completed or initiated by him are A New State of the Art Academic Block, ICT ready Smart Lecture Halls, renovations of administrative block, New Open Air Theater, Shivalik Boys Hostel extension with 80 rooms, Kalpana Chawla Girls Hostel extension, Community Center and many more.
Under his administration two new computer clusters came up at PEC, Cloud Computing and Data Centers established, New generation software library with campus licenses, Controller based WiFi system in the whole campus, e-surveillance of campus, Six new PG laboratories in different disciplines under TEQIP programme are worth mentioning.
His collaborating skill sets and vision led PEC to new horizons of collaborations. Under collaboration mode Siemens Center of Excellence in Manufacturing and Automation consisting of 14 State of the Art Laboratories is being established at PEC. A Solar Technology Research Park worth 2.5 Cr from Bergen Group of Companies, Gurgaon has been established at PEC for research in non conventional sources of energy. He established Center of Excellence in Geospatial Technology with ESRI Inc. Design Innovation Center jointly with Panjab University from MHRD grants is established. Established Collaboration with foreign universities through Chandigarh Region Innovation and Knowledge Cluster (CRIKC) and conceptualized and materialized International Incubation Corridor with Nottingham University UK and China Campus.
Prof. Manoj K Arora, has about 30 years of teaching, research and administrative experience in academic institutions in India, UK and USA. He is credited for the initiation and execution of 45 sponsored research and consultancy projects with funding to the tune of over Rs. 8 Crores, publication of two books and 16 book chapters, 230 research papers in International and National Journals and Conferences, 50 invited talks and keynote addresses. He has guided 20 Ph.D. thesis and 56 Masters Dissertations. He has brought several administrative and academic reforms and has strengthened the academia-industry interface.
In the meeting with Deans and Heads of the Department, Dr. Arun Grover, Ex VC PU, Dr. Amarjeet Singh and Dr. Avikshit who joined PEC as Eminent Professors are introduced by the Director. Dr. Arun Grover with his vast experience in collaborative interdisciplinary research will assist PEC with his technical and administrative competencies. Dr. Amarjeet, has been associated with defense research labs like TBRL and SASE DRDO. He has vast research work in the domain of Shock wave, Applied CFD and Pulse Detonation Engine. Cdr. Avikshit, a PEC alumnus from Production Engineering Department has also joined the Centre for Management and Humanities (PEC) as Professor. He is Cdr. retd. Submariner. He left Navy in 2007 and thereafter worked with Pipavav and Swan Energy as COO. He has vast experience in Project Management of technology and operations.
In the meeting it is also intimated that Dr. Uma Batra, present Deputy Director will be Director PEC (ad interim). Before handling Deputy Director Office, she held the Office of Dean Sponsored Research, and Dean Faculty Affairs in succession. Dr Uma Batra is also presently the Head of the department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering. In addition to the administrative credentials, she is an established researcher in the field of Biomaterials, corrosion behavior of metals and ADI.
