Information Science/Technology is the buzzword today in all walks of life be it space or down to agriculture. With revolution in technology, information science engineering (ISE) is making an impact on all businesses and services. The Internet & Communication Technologies (ICT) is shrinking the globe and we can see an information explosion. The world economy has moved up and globalisation is the key word today. Prior to revolution in Information Sciences, Multi National Companies (MNCs) were dominating industry and business spreading their wings across the globe. This monopoly is no longer in existence. The world is thrown open for liberalization. Flexibility in international trade and business is all due to the evolution of Internet & Communication Technologies and its advancements. The e-paradigms like electronic business (e-bus), electronic commerce (e-com), e-learning (electronic learning), e-medicine (electronic medicine), e-governance (electronic governance) demonstrate advancements in information explosion and technology scenario. Information Technology (IT) and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) is a booming area, wherein we see how the world has opened up for BPO, IPO, KPO (business process outsourcing, intellectual process outsourcing, knowledge process outsourcing) services. Advanced countries are outsourcing these areas due to competitive pricing, easy delivery and availability of key human resources. The emerging areas of bio-informatics, genetic engineering and bioscience have made enormous progress in this sector.

GAINS TO INDIA:
India with its massive resource availability and a very strong base of intellectual and knowledge concentration is rightly positioned to reach the status of a developed country. The technical/logical strengths combined with its mastery in English by a large technically qualified young population gives this claim a strong basis. As per the vision statement of our Hon’ble President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, Year 2020, India will be a knowledge warehouse for the entire world. Information Science will play a crucial role in making that vision into a reality.

The Department of Information Science Engineering was established in 1995 and has developed over the last few years, evolving to meet the demands of the 21st century.

INFORMATION SCIENCE- Application:
Professionals from other domains who require large data intensive applications harness the power and flexibility provided by the information science engineering. As a result this branch integrates all the domains and is much sought after.
These days we need connectivity of data across the globe and we need it at the click of the mouse. That is the challenge Information Technology has to meet. We need more and more sophistication in the way we can handle data and obtain information.

Some critical application include: Office automation and accounting, expert systems for diagnostics, monitoring for live projects, online exams and results and decision support systems.

COURSES
The department offers an undergraduate course of eight semesters, as per the VTU syllabus leading to a bachelor’s degree in information science. The syllabus is revised from time to time to align itself to the changing needs of the industry.

IN KEEPING WITH THE CURRENT TRENDS
Some of the additions made in the courses by VTU include subjects like Engineering Management, Software Practices and Testing, C# and .Net, Web commerce, Internet Programming to name a few. We offer all these subjects. Besides the regular courses we also have augmentation courses, which are offered not only to our students but also to other branches of Engineering. We have an alliance with NIIT and IBM for the courses like C, C++ and J2EE.
Industry experts from software companies are invited for seminars where they address the students. The idea is to expose students to current trends in the industry.

Our strengths
Well-stocked library, state of the art infrastructure and committed faculty guide students through the learning process.

AN EXCELLENT RECORD OF RESULTS:
Some of the brilliant students with very top scores join the course from across the country and have been scoring high percentages at all University examinations bringing honour and glory to themselves and the department. A consistent level of distinction by the passing out students has been reflected by visits of some of the big names from industry and services.

PLACEMENTS: MANY REPUTED COMPANIES LIKE WIPRO, INFOSYS AND HP HAVE BEEN RECRUITING STUDENTS EVERY YEAR, WITH STUDENTS GETTING PLACED EVEN BEFORE THEY GRADUATE.

Curricular activities:
Students get plenty of opportunities to participate in quiz, essay competitions and other IQ measuring events, held in the college and also to represent the college, in other prestigious institutes. Students are also sent out to visit IT exhibitions/ expositions to interact with industry representatives and technocrats, participate in industry sponsored seminars and conferences. These events are good learning opportunities. These experiences are later converted into reports, which are published in the Department Newsletter.

Students have developed their own web site to consolidate all the important events and data like results, attendance in one place. They write articles for the Dept Newsletter based on their interest and post them on the web site. Students also post their queries on the site and share any new info they come across. The Department also has a web site, which gives information on various aspects of the department like syllabus, projects, and seminars organised in the department.

Network Lab workshop for VTU faculty:

Curricular activities include workshops conducted from time to time. Workshops on Entrepreneur Development, Network Lab to name the most recent ones. Network Lab workshop was organised jointly for the benefit of Computer Engineering and Information Science faculty of VTU colleges. A new topic such as Network Lab needed in depth discussion and exposure from experts, which was very admirably facilitated by the college.

The workshop shared know-how and extended all its expertise, which was well appreciated. For the faculty it was a great experience, which gave an opportunity that allowed showcasing its skills in designing and implementation of the newly introduced lab syllabus. The response to the workshop was overwhelming. Over 200 faculty members from all over Karnataka engineering colleges benefited from the workshop.

Co-curricular activities like sports and cultural events are held in every semester.

FACULTY
The department has a large number of dedicated and versatile faculty. The details on the faculty are available in the individual profiles presented separately. A good composition of veteran and young team in the faculty brings about a perfect balance of new ideas and experience very effectively employed for the right training and guidance of the destinies of the students. As a part of this process, a proctor system ensures every student’s academic and personal need is very effectively met.

Faculty take special effort to deliver the best education to students so as to meet the specific needs of the software industry. All the faculty members share any new findings or information and discuss on various points amongst themselves, to improve the quality of teaching/learning process. Meetings are held to analyse results, identify root causes and take appropriate action. Students’ feedback is also taken at regular intervals and incorporated appropriately.

Imparting good social values along with academic excellence is crucial and required emphasis is placed on training students in this sphere. The importance of right attitude through correct dress sense, food, play and reading habits receive adequate attention.

INTERACTION WITH PARENTS AND ALUMNI
On a regular basis meetings are held with parents, to discuss their ward’s progress and on other issues. Parents’ volunteer to offer expertise in specialised areas, contribute to build the department library and bring strong net working strengths to help the placement process or in bringing individuals with special skills into the college and the department.

The Alumni Meet is held regularly. Alumni are strong resource strength. Organising the large number of alumni is now a priority.

RESEARCH INITIATIVES
Since DSI is privileged to have multidisciplinary higher education units like Dentistry, Pharmacy, Polytechnic, Nursing and Engineering under the same umbrella, the department is entering into interdisciplinary research. Sophisticated facilities are near completion and there is going to be a very powerful initiative towards research in the campus through the use of technology. Establishing the fact that the power of software will always have a major role to play in faster communication and speedy delivery of answers to human needs.

Towards doctoral programs
Several of the faculty members have registered for Ph D and they will be contributing to the frontiers of Software Technology. Faculty members have presented Papers in both national and international events/ conferences, the details of which are mentioned in their respective profiles.

The department has an alliance with NIIT and IBM for augmentation courses. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with Linux Learning Centre and QSIT – quality consulting. Collaboration plans include Software Development and Testing Training.

Areas of study in Information Science:
Programming languages
Operating system
Computer Graphics
Computer Networks
Database management
Security and Cryptography
Data Communication
Software Engineering
System programming
in addition to the core courses in other branches of Engineering.

Application areas

Academics

Placement
90% of the students get placed and 10% go for higher studies. Even before they graduate they have the offer letters in hand. We conduct placement related training for the students.

Faculty

Research Initiatives, consultancy and papers