In the past engineers were mainly associated with the technical aspects of work. They would design, build, improve and service the product, but their responsibilities would end at that point. They would not be asked to participate in decisions involving the management of the company until and unless they were highly experienced and senior employees.
But currently that trend has been bucked world over where the engineer is called to actually start work as a manager itself. No longer are they tied down to purely technical tasks, but many engineers find themselves devoting more time, and in some cases all of their time, to managing the business and improving it rather than the product.
Given this scenario it is quite expected to find that schools which earlier focused on technology and science now have to incorporate courses of management. Thus a school of management and technology is more relevant to the industry and to society when compared to a purely technical or purely management oriented institute.
This is exemplified by the fact that in India, the Indian Institutes of Technology, which earlier concentrated simply on engineering and its allied fields have all included departments which provide courses in management as well. This was done even though the country has its own set of management schools which form the backbone of management study in the country. Now when the premier engineering schools of the country find the need to embrace management theory and principles, you can be sure that other such schools are sure to follow suit.
The typical school of management and technology in Delhi is governed by the rules as set by the government and overseen by either the UGC or the AICTE. The UGC stands for the University Grants Commission which primarily deals with private deemed universities and makes sure that the level of education offered, the facilities and fees are commensurate and within reasonable limits. There are other governmental guidelines covering the management and incorporation of the university itself and thus is checked by the UGC. They also provide the universities with grants for initiating or increasing research activities in their campuses.
The AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) on the other hand is more concerned with private schools of management and technology which are affiliated to their mother universities. Other than that they carry similar functions including conducting various training programs for improvement of the teaching faculty. The bonding between management and engineering can be seen here also, as the AICTE conducts its very own management entrance exam (CMAT) for gaining admission into the institutes under its purview.
Though we see the names together, in reality the management and engineering arms of the college exist as two separate and non-conforming entities. In every institute this is the case as management study gained prominence only recently and they were added as an extra and not incorporated into the engineering study process itself. This needs to change as both technology and management need each other, and can learn valuable lessons from the other as well.
