Working professionals are aiming for engineering seats at evening colleges to enhance their skills.

Hyderabad: Securing admission to evening engineering colleges is becoming increasingly competitive. With growing demand from working professionals for undergraduate engineering programs, six engineering colleges have introduced a specialized common entrance test scheduled for July 21.

This marks the first time such a test is being conducted. Admission for the academic year 2024-25 will be based on the merit obtained in this entrance exam.

Alongside Osmania University College of Engineering (OUCE), five private engineering colleges have also introduced lateral entry admissions into the second year of engineering this year. These colleges will conduct classes from 6 pm to 9:30 pm on weekdays, with full-day theory and practical sessions on Sundays.

Responding to the significant demand for up-skilling and reskilling among the workforce, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) introduced engineering programs tailored for working professionals last year. In the academic year 2023-24, 12 engineering colleges in the state received approval from AICTE to offer these specialized courses. However, among them, only OUCE, an autonomous college, admitted working professionals based on their merit in the qualifying examination.

This year, a common entrance test will be conducted for working professionals," stated Prof. P Chandra Sekhar, Principal of OUCE and Convener of the CET. "Previously, there were four applicants competing for each seat at OUCE. We anticipate even more competition this time.

Admission requires working professionals to hold a diploma in engineering and possess a minimum of one year of full-time or regular work experience in a registered industry or organization within a 100 km radius of the admitting institution. Interested candidates can submit their applications through the website https://www.uceou.edu/.