Grooming Engineers of Tomorrow

Umesh Pai, Managing Director, EPLAN India, offers an insight into the company’s endeavor to bridge the ever-growing gap between the industry and the academia...

Part of the owner-operated Friedhelm Loh Group, EPLAN provides software and service solutions in the fields of electrical, automation and mechatronic engineering. The company develops one of the world’s leading design software solutions for machine and panel builders. EPLAN is also being acknowledged as the ideal partner to streamline challenging engineering processes.

Working together

EPLAN is committed to developing specialist engineering knowledge right from the start. Its belief that the industry must closely work in tandem with academic institutions is based on the great rewards that have been reaped through such fruitful collaboration.

Umesh Pai, Managing Director, EPLAN India, elaborates on the company’s pursuit to beef this bond, “EPLAN is closely associated with academic institutions with twin end goals. First is to bridge the gap between the industry and the academia. That the engineers coming out of academic institutions need additional training for them to be ready to serve the industry has been one of the major concerns of the industry.”

The company, however, acknowledges that academic institutions work under the constraint of imparting fundamental skills needed by the industry as well as keeping abreast with the latest trends. “Hence, it’s our endeavor to be that link which connects the industry and the academia,” he emphasizes.

The second goal, he reveals, is assisting research students in their work by providing our tools so that they help them in their research.

Getting students industry-ready

EPLAN’s aim behind the reaching out to the academia is to help it become abreast with the latest requirements of the industry. “Our tool EPLAN has become an industry practice, which has become critical for the students to learn. We know what the industry is looking forward to and we work with the institutions to incorporate that in the curriculum,” adds Pai.

EPLAN is used where Electrical Engineering expertise is in demand, ranging from the Energy, Automotive, Machine Building through to Process industries. “EPLAN is used wherever integrated processes from engineering to manufacturing are in demand. We are, hereby, making an important contribution to implement current trends such as digitization and Industry 4.0. It’s yet another reason why it’s worthwhile for upcoming engineers to become familiar with EPLAN before starting career in electrical engineering,” he informs.

EPLAN Education

Developed for schools and colleges, EPLAN Education is a training concept that includes software solutions for electrical, fluid power, instrumentation, control and automation (ICA), and control cabinet engineering.

“EPLAN Education gives prospective engineers, schools and universities access to our EPLAN software solutions. Lesson plans, exercises, and written exams supplement the training concept, which is now being used at more than a thousand institutions worldwide as a training tool. You can close the gap between theory and practice and secure your progress through knowledge,” Pai explains.

EPLAN Education includes a range of functions in a wide variety of disciplines and integrated data. Instructors can refer to structured lesson plans, relevant practical assignments, handouts for students and sample exam questions, including answers. Students and trainees using the EPLAN program receive a free download license for the duration of their training. The license’s duration has just been increased to three years and can also be used at home for assignments, tutorials and term papers. Integrated machine and plant design ideally prepares students for starting their engineering careers.

EPLAN-PSG collab

PSG, in Coimbatore, is one among the foremost of institutes of national importance in higher technological education, engineering, basic and applied research. The college has established 48 Centers of Excellence in the campus in association with various leading industries.
EPLAN works closely with its department of Robotics & Automation.

The program trains students on how to program and operate the latest robotic automation. The students work on EPLAN to design the automation schemes. These programs significantly enhance student learning and provide them training for real-world applications with real-world industrial robots. “As more companies are incorporating automation & robotics into their operations, the demand for high-paying careers related to design and program of automation & industrial robots is increasing,” Pai points out.

The coming together of EPLAN and PSG will only pave way for the industry to join hands with the academia to help it understand its requirements and open up avenues for students in their pursuit of becoming engineers of tomorrow.

Sovan Tudu
Sub-Editor
Magic Wand Media Inc
Sovan.tudu@magicwandmedia.in

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