In-House Courses on Specialized Technologies from the Department of IT, MAKAUT : Campus Karma

The New Age Courses

The Department of Information Technology of Maulana Abul Kalam University of Technology (MAKAUT), WB has initiated in-house courses on specialized technologies to meet the global demand in this area. Focused B.Sc. courses in Information Technology with specialization in Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics and Data Science are being offered that are designed to enable students to build applications using cutting-edge combination of these technologies. B.Sc. programs in Information Technology with specialization in Cyber Security, Blockchain Technology and Cryptography & Network Security has been introduced to educate students to handle common network attacks, malware and spamming and network security models. The objective of these new courses is to enable students to learn the history and application of transformative technologies such as Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, IoT, and Cyber Security as well as the implications of digitization.

The Haringhata Campus

The programs, specifically, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Data Science and Big Data Analytics have received a warm response from the students and intake in these programmes has been good. Many students have selected these specialized programmes forsaking their WBJEE ranks in B.Tech. with the objective to study in focused areas.

Under the aegis of this department, apart from the existing B.Tech and M.Tech programmes in Information Technology, and M.Tech programme in Information Security, the specialized Post Graduate programs in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Internet of Things and Geo-informatics have been introduced at the Haringhata Campus of the University.

Here is a glimpse of the new age courses introduced by the University from this academic year:

1) B.Sc in Information Technology (Artificial Intelligence)

The course will cover basic ideas and techniques underlying the design of intelligent computer systems. Topics include Introduction to AI and intelligent agents Solving Problems by Searching, heuristic search techniques, constraint satisfaction problems, stochastic search methods.

Artificial Intelligence is a source of both enthusiasm and skepticism in different measures. As humans and machines are coming together now more than ever before, AI is no longer confined to innovation labs and is being appreciated and used because of its transformation capabilities.

Basic requirements to learn AI:

· Stronghold on Mathematics.

· Strong experience of programming languages.

· Writing algorithm for finding patterns and learning.

· Strong data analytics skills.

· Good knowledge of Discrete mathematics.

· Strong will to learn machine learning languages.

Job areas relating to this course

There are many job profiles and specializations for an artificial intelligence specialist. Following are few examples of these profiles: -

· Design artificial intelligence enabled products and services

· Explore real-world problems where artificial intelligence technology can be applied

· Evaluate various algorithms

· Specialized research to advance current technologies

· Industry-specific data mining and data analysis to create more value

· Software design and information architecture

· Professional/managed services

1 Benefits of studying AI

· AI would have a low error rate compared to humans, if coded properly. They would have incredible precision, accuracy, and speed.

· They won't be affected by hostile environments, thus able to complete dangerous tasks, explore in space, and endure problems that would injure or kill us.

· Replace humans in repetitive, tedious tasks and in many laborious places of work.

· Predict what a user will type, ask, search, and do. They can easily act as assistants and can recommend or direct various actions.

· Organized and manages records.

· Interact with humans for entertainment or a task as avatars or robots.

· They can think logically without emotions, making rational decisions with less or no mistakes.

AI for Agriculture:

In agriculture new AI advancements show improvements in gaining yield and to increase the research and development of growing crops. New artificial intelligence now predicts the time it takes for a crop like a tomato to be ripe and ready for picking thus increasing efficiency of farming. These advances go on including Crop and Soil Monitoring, Agricultural Robots, and Predictive Analytics. Crop and soil monitoring uses new algorithms and data collected on the field to manage and track the health of crops making it easier and more sustainable for the farmers.

AI for Education:

One of the most exciting innovations is the idea of a personal AI tutor or assistant for each individual student.Because a single teacher can't work with every student at once, AI tutors would allow for students to get extra, one-on-one help in areas of needed growth. AI tutors also eliminate the intimidating idea of tutor labs or human tutors which can cause anxiety and stress for some students.In future classrooms, ambient informatics can play a beneficial role. Ambient informatics is the idea that information is everywhere in the environment and that technologies automatically adjust to your personal preferences.

AI in Health:

· One of AI's biggest potential benefits is to help people stay healthy so they don't need a doctor, or at least not as often. The use of AI and the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) in consumer health applications is already helping people.

· Technology applications and apps encourage healthier behaviour in individuals and help with the proactive management of a healthy lifestyle. It puts consumers in control of health and well-being.

· Additionally, AI increases the ability for healthcare professionals to better understand the day-to-day patterns and needs of the people they care for, and with that understanding they are able to provide better feedback, guidance and support for staying healthy.

AI in Business

Artificial intelligence can be used to solve problems across the board. AI can help businesses increase sales, detect fraud, improve customer experience, automate work processes and provide predictive analysis. The retail business can map consumer behavior using AI.

Eligibility: Students from Science background at the 11-12 level are eligible.

2) B.Sc in Information Technology (Cyber Security)

Cyber Security is the protection of internet-connected systems, including hardware, software and data, from cyber attacks. In a computing context, security comprises cyber security and physical security -- both are used by enterprises to protect against unauthorized access to data centres and other computerized systems. Information security, which is designed to maintain the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data, is a subset of cyber security. The syllabus includes: Introduction to hacking, Foot printing & Reconnaissance, Scanning Networks, Enumeration, Malware Threats, Sniffing, Social Engineering, Denial Of Service, Session Hijacking, Hacking Web-Servers, Hacking Web Applications, SQL Injection, Hacking Wireless Networks, Hacking Mobile Platforms, Evading IDS, Firewalls & Honeypot, Cloud Computing, Cryptography.

Job areas relating to this course:

· To prepare students with the technical knowledge and skills needed in jobs to protect and defend computer systems and networks.

· To develop graduates who can plan, implement, and monitor cyber security mechanisms to help ensure the protection of information technology assets.

Eligibility: Students from Science background at the 11-12 level are eligible.

3) B.Sc in Information Technology

(Cryptography and Network Security)

The course deals with the underlying principles of cryptography and network security. It develops the mathematical tools required to understand the topic of cryptography. Starting from the classical ciphers to modern day ciphers, the course provides an extensive coverage of the techniques and methods needed for the proper functioning of the ciphers. The course deals with the construction and crypto-analysis of block ciphers, stream ciphers and hash functions.

Job areas relating to this course:

The students should be able to identify and mitigate software security vulnerabilities in existing systems.

Eligibility: Students from Science background at the 11-12 level are eligible.

4) B.Sc in Information Technology (Big Data Analytics)

Big Data Analytics is required to deal with the problems faced by industry today. The techniques and tools are used to solve problems from a wide variety of Industries such as manufacturing, services, retail, banking and finance, sports, pharmaceuticals, and aerospace etc. It is interdisciplinary and is required to analyse ever growing large data (growing by volume, velocity and variety) by applying techniques like data mining, machine learning, and deep learning from computer science, statistics and mathematics. Big Data Analytics is required to cope up with rapid changes in both, domain knowledge and technology. It is one of the fastest growing and most promising technologies.

Job areas relating to this course:

These types of skill will help the students to become data scientists, data analysts and so on.

Eligibility: Students from Science and Commerce background at the 11-12 level are eligible.

5) B.Sc in Information Technology (Data Science)

This course includes concepts from statistics, computer science, and software engineering. Students learn the necessary skills to manage and analyze data. They learn concepts such as exploratory data analysis, statistical inference and modeling, machine learning, and high dimensional data analysis.

Job areas relating to this course:

The students will learn the necessary skill to develop data products including R programming, data wrangling and so on.

Eligibility: Students from Science background at the 11-12 level are eligible.

6) B.Sc in Information Technology (Internet of Things)

This course imparts firm foundation in computer science wireless communication and computer networks. It aims to train students with systematic professional knowledge and strong practical skills in the fields of computer technology, communications networks and IT that provides a wide range of applications in the Internet of Things. The programme equips students with strong skill for sensor network design and network planning for IoT.

Job areas relating to this course:

This course aims to train students to be equipped with a solid theoretical foundation, systematic professional knowledge, strong practical skills in the fields of computer technology communications networks and IT that provides a wide range of applications in the Internet of Things. After the completion of this course, the students will be able to: Understand internet of Things and its hardware and software components; Interface I/O devices, sensors & communication modules; Remotely monitor data and control devices; Develop real life IoT based projects.

Eligibility: Students from Science background at the 11-12 level are eligible.

7) B.Sc in Information Technology (Blockchain Technology)

The objective of this course is to provide conceptual understanding of how block chain technology can be used to innovate and improve business processes. The course covers the technological underpinning of block Chain operations in both theoretical and practical implementation of solutions using block Chain technology.

Job areas relating to this course:

At the end of this course, the students will be able to: Understand block chain technology; Develop block chain based solutions and write smart contract using Hyperledger Fabric and Ethereum frameworks; Build and deploy block chain application for on premise and cloud based architecture; Integrate ideas from various domains and implement them using block chain technology in different perspectives.

Eligibility: Students from Science background at the 11-12 level are eligible.

Post Graduate Programmes

Specialized Post Graduate programmes are also introduced in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Internet of Things and Geo-informatics.

M.Tech Course in Geoinformatics

The Geoinformatics and remote sensing cell of the Department of Science and Technology and Bio-Technology (DSTBT), Govt. of West Bengal is the nodal agency of the State of West Bengal in the fields of remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS). It has been supporting varoius state government departments in their planning process by providing spatial data support. For utilising these spatial data sets, the need for trained man-power in this field has been ever increasing. The department has been offering one year PG DIPLOMA course in Geoinformatics under the affiliation of MAKAUT since 2008. Recently it has been observed that the scope of applications of various new technologies like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, UAV, web based real time spatial analysis etc in Geoinformatics are rapidly increasing. Hence it has been decided that the new M.Tech course in Geoinformatics will be organised in collaboration with MAKAUT to cater to the above needs. The course will cover the use of the State of the Art technologies in application fields like remote sensing, GIS and GPS. Moreover, there will be intensive hands on industry oriented training on various relevant aspects.

About the Course

The course covers the use of the State of the Art technologies in the fields of remote sensing, GIS and GNSS, including web GIS, Geospatial Big Data Analytics and machine learning, engineering GIS, Cloud computing, programming for Geospatial Analysis using Python, JavaScript and Spatial Databases.

Qualifications and eligibility criteria

A student should secure at least 60%(55% for SC,ST) marks in the master's level or in the bachelor's degree in engineering or a minimum of 55%(50% for SC,ST) in post Graduate level.

Students with a master's degree from a recogniZed University or Institute in Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Geology, Geophysics, Geography, Agriculture, Atmospheric sciences, RS&GIS, Environment sciences, Botany, Zoology, Forestry, Marine Sciences, Computer Application, Bachelor's degree from a recognised University or Institute in Civil engineering, Computer Sciences, Information Technologies, Mining Engineering, Surveying, Architecture, Regional Planning, Electronics and Communication or equivalent will be considered for admission to M.Tech course in Geoinformatics.