Times are changing
Industry experts believe that power electronics is an emerging field in India. In spite of being an interesting core engineering area of interdisciplinary nature with a lot of challenges, it is believed to be less popular.
Agarwal feels, “This is probably because of a general bias against the field of ‘power,’ which is considered to be an ‘old’ and well established field.”
He further adds, “Until a few decades ago, a power electronics engineer could find a job only in homegrown private companies (which were very few) and select government establishments such as BHEL, DRDO and ISRO. But with the coming of multinational companies (MNCs) and the increasing thrust on renewable energy conditioning, automotive industry, efficient lighting systems and electric drives, available opportunities and salaries have increased significantly.”
Garadi says, “All of these sectors offer numerous employment opportunities to graduates as well as postgraduates. There are both large MNCs as well as SMEs that pick professionals in power electronics on a regular basis. Incidentally, last year, our own company recruited a few from premier IITs.”
“With power electronics visible in almost all spheres of life, and with increasing competition among the local industries and the growing need for power electronics, a sharp rise in the demand for power electronics experts is inevitable,” believes Agarwal.
In the future
The global need for core engineering is increasing, which is one of the reasons why many of the global companies are setting up research and engineering units outside their base.
Nayak says, “Core engineering is very much in demand as there will be a huge capacity build up with country’s plan of 100 GW during the current Planning period, i.e., 2012-17.”
He adds, “Considering recent developments in the field of power systems, all-round focus on renewable energy and drive towards efficiency and bulk transmission, both in India and abroad, there is enough scope for power electronics. There will be tremendous placement opportunities for those who are willing to pursue a career in power electronics.”
IET Power panel, headed by Nayak, consists of representatives from industries, academia and research units, focuses on ways to develop the core engineering resources and how to make them employable through the panel’s young professional and student chapter activities with continuous interaction and guidance.
