The history of Ichalkaranji, a small town located about 45 kms south of Kolhapur in the state of Maharashtra, is a fascinating one. Known as the ‘Manchester of Maharashtra,’ Ichalkaranji could be deemed as one of the premier textile hubs in the country, knitting the fabric not the just for the domestic market, but for Italian and French companies. The textile industry in Ichalkaranji was started with a mere single unit in 1904 and today the city hosts over one lakh power looms, giving employment opportunities to around 1.2 lakhs people directly and another one lakh in ancillary industries.
However, till 1980, Ichalkaranji lacked educational institutes that can produce technically trained manpower, despite the phenomenal growth of its textile industry. That was the time when different co-operation organizations from Ichalkaranjidecided to collaborate under the leadership of Mr. K.B. Awade (Ex. M.P.) to form an educational society with a view to start colleges to cater to education in the field of Textiles, Engineering, Management, Medicines and others so as to provide education facilities in various fields to students of this rural area and also to support the growth of industry by providing technically qualified professionals. The education society thus formed was named after Late Shri. Dattajirao Kadam, an ardent social worker and veteran co-operator of this town. The Dattajirao Kadam Education society as its first step established the Textile and Engineering Institute in 1982, which now known as D.K.T.E. Society’s Textile and Engineering Institute.
“Since its humble inception, the institute has grown multi-folds and has branched into various disciplines. Now, we offer11 Degree Programs namely Textile Technology, Man Made Textile Technology, Textile Plant Engineering, Textile Chemistry, Fashion Technology, Electronics Engineering, Mechanical engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunication, Civil Engineering and Electrical Engineering. We also offer six Post Graduate programmers in Textile Engineering, Textile Chemistry, Technical textiles, Electronics Engineering, Mechanical engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Master of Business Administration (MBA) in general and in Textiles,” shares Dr. P.V. Kadole, Director, D.K.T.E. Society’s Textile and Engineering Institute. Today, the institute is a recognized research center for Ph.D. in Textile Engineering, Electronics Engineering and Mechanical engineering and Computer Science & Engineering. It has over 3700 students studying in various courses and about 215 highly qualified and experienced faculty members and 13000 alumni are the strength of the institute.
An ‘Autonomous Institution’since the academic year 2016-2017, D.K.T.E. Society’s Textile and Engineering Institute has accredited with A+ Grade (3.53 CGPA) by National Assessment and Accreditation Council. The Institute is also holding a prestigious ISO 9001-2015 certification and has emerged as the Winner of ‘Best Industry-Linked Engineering Institute’ for the year 2015 and 2017 in a nation-wide survey conducted jointly by All India Council for Technical Education and Confederation of Indian Industries. “Our institute has been identified to act as “Mentor Institution” under AICTE’s Margdarshak Scheme and as a “Potential Mentor” by UGC under PARAMARSH scheme to promote Quality and Accreditation. We have also been honored as ‘The Best Educational Institute for Textile Engineering’ by Ministry of Textiles, GoI, in 2013,” proudly shares Dr. Kadole.
An Institute of Difference
D.K.T.E. Society’s Textile and Engineering Institute may not be a metro-based college, but it has managed to collaborate with 21 Foreign Universities from the US, Germany, Italy, China, Czech Republic, South Korea, Africa, Bangladesh and many more. These MoUs help the institute to carry out activities like Student Exchange programs, Faculty Exchange Programs and Joint Researches. As a result, the institute conducts many prestigious R&D projects worth Rs.55 crores and it is equipped with excellent infrastructure in terms of spacious buildings, ultra-modern machinery and equipment in laboratories, cozy and library. “The philosophy of our institute is teaching and learning through research. Therefore, since the inception of this institute, research is strongly encouraged,” opines Dr. Kadole.
The institute has been deputing its faculty members to reputed institutes to pursue higher qualification. So far, 40 faculty members have completed their Ph.D and rest of the faculty are pursuing their Ph.D. “Our faculty members have filed many patents and regularly publishing their research in reputed journals. State-of-the-art equipment, centre of excellence in Nonwovens, funded projects from government and industry, and industry supported laboratories are available here for undertaking research,” shares Dr. Kadole. At D.K.T.E. Society’s Textile and Engineering Institute, faculty members and students are closely working together on many projects. They also regularly participate in the national and international seminars/conferences to understand the latest happenings.
Dr. Kadole pinpoints, “An institute cannot separate itself from research, as the teaching and research go hand-in-hand.We always support the students’ activities leading to innovation and creativity.” D.K.T.E. Society’s Textile and Engineering Institute encourages students to participate in all the co-curricular and extracurricular events in the institute and outside the institute. Students have bagged numerous prizes and awards in these events and are felicitated by the management. Recently, final year U.G engineering students group won ‘Gold Trophy’ of the ‘Mitsubishi Electric Cup-2019’ Competition. “It was euphoric moment for our students who grabbed first prize which includes a cash prize of Rs.1,00,000 along with fully sponsored Plant Visit to Mitsubishi Electric, Japan for the team of students and faculty members,” proudly shares Dr. Kadole.
Programs, Training of Faculty, Joint Research Projects and Joint Publications.
Today, a significant number of D.K.T.E alumni are entrepreneurs and are also successful in their ventures. To promote entrepreneurship skills in students, the institute has established a separate Entrepreneurship Development cell, organizes expert lectures/seminars and workshops for students. The institute also has a Technology Business incubation center with all the facilities to support students to start their ventures. “Our curriculum has entrepreneurship component and imparts necessary knowledge required for entrepreneurship,” states Dr. Kadole. Khator Technical Textiles, Mumbai, S.K.Fabrics, Ahmedabad, U.P Processors, Malegaon, Jain Textiles, Bhiwandi, Tara Rani Processors, Ichalkaranji and Sangamesh Exports, Erode are some of the ventures started by the D.K.T.E. students. “Lifelong learning ability, Self-motivated, Analytical and problem-solving skills, Leader and team member and Societal responsibility are the qualities of our graduates. In the coming years, we would like to strengthen partnership with premier national and global universities. We would also be working on to strengthen research and development in our institute,” conclude Dr. Kadole.
Dr. P.V. Kadole, Director
Joined in 1990 as the Professor of Textile Technologies, Dr. Kadole has been working withD.K.T.E. Society’s Textile and Engineering Institute for the past 29 years. Strong information technology professional with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) focused in Engineering from Shivaji University, Dr. Kadole became the Director of D.K.T.E. Society’s Textile and Engineering Institute in 2011. A skilled professional in Academic Administration, Negotiation, Planning & Execution, Analytical Skills, and Textiles, Dr. Kadole holds Fellowship Member of The Textile Institute, UK and is also a member of the Global Engineering Deans Council (GEBC), USA.