"Transforming the lives of rural students through quality education", says, Prof. N Venkata Rao, Dean, Academics, Sasi Institute of Technology and Engineering, when asked about the mission of the institution. Founded in 2002, Sasi Institute of Technology and engineering is located in a rural area of West Godavari, Tadepalligudem, Andhra Pradesh. "Students from around the town do not have the knowledge of what and how the whole industrial processes work and are not in touch with the corporate world. That was reason enough for us to set up an engineering institute here," adds Prof. N Venkata Rao. Established with an objective of providing a quality education to the rural students and making them industry ready, this institution has already crossed many milestones.

To prepare the students for the corporate world, the institute has taken many initiatives and one of them is a program called 'learn from the leaders', the institution has been inviting eminent corporate personalities for lectures and interactions. The students learn about how the corporate world functions and also become familiar with the personalities and their companies, which help them with their internship. These leaders share their success stories with the students which further motivates the students to pursue their goals in life. The institute also sends the students for symposiums, seminars and conferences on

similar areas regularly, where the students present papers and participate in discussions and learn more about their fields.

The management of the institution supports the students with their start ups and helps them enter the market

Sasi Institute maintains several other MoUs for training and skill enhancement of the students. The institute has collaborated with NASSCOM for Foundation Skills in Integrated Product Development(FSIPD), Aspiring Minds and Monster.com for pre placement trainings. Students are trained in soft skills, personality development and leadership skills, the trainings are made a part of the daily classes from the very beginning of the courses. Every year more than 30 reputed organizations visit the campus for the placement drives and pick the students according to their requirements. Companies that recruit most of the graduates from the institute regularly are Tech Mahindra, Mphasis, Polaris, Petrofac, HCL and Mindtree; the students have received offers up to five lakhs per annum so far.

Apart from the trainings and placements the institute also has a 'Career Guidance and Counseling' cell and an 'Employment Bureau' in the campus. The career guidance cell helps the students figure out what career they want to choose in life, the cell organizes tests to help the students choose the right career for themselves. The employment bureau regulates information about private and Government jobs to the students, if the students are interested they take the job interviews.

In order to provide better opportunities to the students the institute maintains collaborations with many companies which result in programs and activities that are

beneficial for the students. A course called the Technology entrepreneurship is being initiated by the institution in collaboration with Indian School of Business, Hyderabad; this program not only provides the students with an extra certification but also provides them with a thorough knowledge of entrepreneurship. It is not a new thing to have an entrepreneurship development cell but to provide a separate course on entrepreneurship is not what every engineering institute has thought of before. The management of the institution supports the students with their start ups and helps them enter the market after carefully assessing their business plan. Two students from the institution have already set up their business and are ready to start their operations and services.

Besides the collaborations, placements and the entrepreneurship, the institute's students are involved in productive research to help the neighborhood. Being located in rural area where agriculture is the main vocation of the residents, the institute understands the importance of the occupation and encourages the students in taking up research work related to agriculture. Research is being conducted on organic farming and on techniques and concepts to improve agriculture in the area. The students have published many papers in national and international journals and also present papers in the seminars and conferences on a regular basis.

Providing all the required facilities to the students and encouraging them for entrepreneurial ventures and research, the institute has created the most conducive environment for the students to grow their skills and knowledge. Currently focused in their research and development programs, the institution plans on setting up a rural; BPO to cater to the rural public.