College of Engineering, Pune

History

The college was one of the first few colleges established by the British to serve the Indian subcontinent. The foundation stone of the new college was laid by the Governor, Sir Bartle Frere, who was to become the Vice-Chancellor of the University, on 5 August 1865. In June of the following year, Theodore Cooke M.A., was appointed the Principal. He went on to hold the office for next 28 years.

Initially, It was started on December 16, 1854, to train public works department (PWD) officials and was housed in three bungalows as the ‘Poona Engineering and Mechanical School’ to train subordinate officers for carrying out public works like buildings, dams, canals, railways and bridges. In July 1857, Henry Coke was given the charge of the institute. Admission was open to all, irrespective of nationality or caste. Good proficiency in English and basic knowledge of Mathematics were a prerequisite for getting admitted to the institute. The process of admission required that the aspiring candidate apply to the nearest government English school, to whom the entrance examination papers were handed over. The headmaster would take the examination on a date deemed convenient to him and submit the answer sheets to Henry Coke, the in-charge of the mechanical school. After examining the papers, Coke would notify the headmaster of the school with the names of candidates who were deemed fit for admission. Scholarships of ₹6 were offered per month after a period of six months of training in the mechanical school for fifteen students. The courses offered included Mathematics, Drawing, Surveying and levelling, building and construction and setting out works on the ground. The course would run for a period of two years.

Later on, in the year 1864, the school became the "Poona Civil Engineering College". The number of courses were increased to include forestry and agricultural subjects, which led to its name being changed to Poona College of Science. The college was inaugurated at the new premises on August 5, 1865, at the hands of then governor Sir Bertel Ferre. It started a course in licensed and civil engineering (LCE) and trained masons and overseers. Later it secured affiliation to the Bombay university. The course was revised in 1886 and the minimum criteria required for admission was raised from Matriculation to the then Previous Examination.

In 1909, the LCE was converted into the BE degree and the first batch of students passed out in 1912. The name ‘Government college of engineering, Pune’ was taken up only in 1911. All non-engineering courses were stopped by 1911, transferring the Bachelor of Science degree to the Science Institute of Bombay and subsequently in the year 1911, the name was changed to the "Government College of Engineering, Poona".

The institution was initially affiliated to the University of Bombay (now Mumbai) for a degree of Licentiate in Civil Engineering known as LCE in 1858. The certificate course was converted into a degree course and the first class of the Bachelor of Engineering degree graduated in the year 1912. After the University of Poona (now Savitribai Phule Pune University) was established in 1948, the college became affiliated to the new university. In 1968, the three-year degree was extended to 4 years constituting 8 semesters.

In 2003, the institute was granted complete autonomy by the State Government of Maharashtra, thus giving it the freedom to set its own curriculum and manage its own finances. With permanent affiliation to the Savitribai Phule Pune University, the institute now is an autonomous engineering school. This has been the biggest change as far as pedagogy at COEP is concerned. The following years have seen a multitude of positive changes in administration and academic strategies. Many of these have been responsible for the growing innovation in project work of college students. The institute contends that its autonomy now grants it greater flexibility in dynamically changing its syllabus to suit the changing needs of the industry.

Accreditation

The National Board of Accreditation, has accredited all programmes under Tier-2 (General) status for a period of 5 years from 2012. In the year 2014, 9 undergraduate programmes were accredited with tier-1 (Washington Accord) status. This particular accreditation gives way to recognition of the quality of undergraduate engineering education offered by the member country and is an avenue to bring it into the world class category. It encourages and facilitates the mobility of engineering graduates and professionals at international level. The tier-1 accreditation is effective from 01/07/2014 for a period of five years.

Architecture

Like most of architecture from the early days of Raj, the college does not seem to have a definite architectural style. Subtle Victorian influenced arched windows and tiled canopies are seen in the older parts of the college but the main tower of the administrative building however points to an indigenous inspiration. Gargoyles can be seen adorning the sharp edges of the building. Post independence, rapid additions and alterations to the college were done. The central library, auditorium, and other departments such as Electronics, Instrumentation have a very contemporary design reminiscent of the construction in most Indian metros in the late '60s and 70s. A new wing which has been constructed has the most modern design out of all. In all, the college is generally a potpourri of architectural styles.

The Main Hall

The main hall is the present day administrative building of the College. It houses the Director, the Dean Academic Affairs, the Dean Student Affairs, the Gymkhana, the Examination cell and other various important administrative heads of the college. The original building was almost three floors tall with a base floor length of 18 meters and a width of 9 metres. The hall was recently refurbished and the inauguration of the restored heritage building (pictured below) took place on 24 March 2012 by Sharad Pawar, Minister of Agriculture, Government of India.

Girls' Hostel Building

Designed by Prof. Christopher Charles Benninger the Girls' Hostel Building, an eleven storey structure with exposed concrete finish, is built as a prototype for future hostels to be built on the campus. A connecting street opens into the Entrance lobby of the building with a double height coffered ceiling on the Ground Floor. Adjacent to it is a large dining space for 200 girls which flow out into the landscape through large windows. The building can accommodate up to 600 girls with 20 rooms per floor.

Specializations and departments

At present, the college awards the degree of B.Tech., i.e. Bachelor of Technology (earlier the Bachelor of Engineering or the B.E.) in nine specialisations. They were introduced subsequently since the inception of college.

The sandwich pattern course was introduced in Mechanical, Electrical, Metallurgy (1974) and Production (1995). In this model, students spend their 5th and 8th semesters working in the industry and gain credit for such work, under the supervision of a faculty member and an industrial manager.

The Master of Technology (M.Tech.) is also awarded and the research for Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree is also conducted in selected fields.

Undergraduate

Undergraduate admissions to the College of Engineering, Pune are competitive and are based on merit. Earlier admissions were based upon the percentage of science subjects' marks secured in Higher Secondary Certificate exam of Maharashtra state and later on the basis of marks scored in JEE-MAINS. However, at present the admissions are conducted on the basis of the marks secured in JEE Mains and HSC board combined . These admissions are conducted by the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) through the Centralized Admission Process(CAP). Affirmative action programs exist for students belonging to socially and economically backward classes as stipulated in the Constitution of India and various statutes. There are programs for students from north-eastern India and Indian citizens from Kashmir. There are also programs for children of people working in Gulf countries, foreign nationals, foreign students and Person of Indian Origin (PIO) in the college. Non-Resident Indians can also apply for the courses.For the year 2015-16 this quota is applicable for admissions to Walchand College of Engineering, Sangli and Laxminarayan Institute of Technology. The reservations for different categories are based on the Government of India and Government of Maharashtra rules. Reservations in seats are provided for SC (Schedule Caste), ST (Schedule Tribes), NT (Nomadic Tribes), OBC (Other Backward Classes), PH (Physically Handicapped) as well as female candidates. In addition to the admissions through CAP, people wear caps and come for the admission. It has been included in the Guinness Book of world records, several admissions to direct second year of B.Tech. course are also conducted for those candidates who have completed Diploma in Engineering at different polytechnic institutes in the state of Maharashtra. These admissions are conducted through the Centralized Admission Process (CAP) by DTE itself.

Postgraduate and Doctorate

Postgraduate admissions to the College of Engineering, Pune are also on merit basis. The M.tech admissions are on the basis of the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering(GATE) conducted by the seven old IITs and the IISc. Seat reservations are applicable as per the Government of Maharashtra rules. The college also provides Doctor of Philosophy(Ph.D) programmes in various fields. Department of Applied Sciences is recognised as Ph.D. research centre by S.P. Pune University in the subjects of Environmental Sciences and Chemistry.

Activities

COEP is the hub of various curricular, extra-curricular and technical activities which attracts participation and praise alike from numerous colleges in India.

Gymkhana

The College gymkhana was established in 1914. The gymkhana co-ordinates all sports, co-curricular and extracurricular activities including the annual gathering, debating activity, magazine publishing, etc. The gymkhana is managed by the Gymkhana Managing Committee of the College which comprises secretaries of various clubs and is headed by the Gymkhana General Secretary. The Gymkhana General Secretary is the elected representative of the students. It co-ordinates the team delegations to various function, competitions and organises the college gathering and annual functions. The Gymkhana Managing Committee consists of a body of student members who look after their particular division. This is advised by the Gymkhana Staff Advisor and the Secretary. Gymkhana Day is an annual function to felicitate and honour the Gymkhana managing committee and gymkhana award-winners. On the same day, the awards for Best Outgoing Student, Best Outgoing Sportsperson, Best Outgoing Social Worker, Best Individual Activity in Arts and Best Outgoing Oarsperson are awarded.

MindSpark

MindSpark is the national level annual technical festival hosted by the college and established in 2007. The idea behind MindSpark originated from the need to unite various departmental level festivals that were scattered across the academic calendar. It features about 50 events across various disciplines of engineering and has been backed by the support of industrial sponsors who also associate with COEP for placement.This event is usually scheduled in an odd semester and is of 3 days(usually weekend).

Zest

Zest is the annual sports competition that witnesses participation of students from institutions including the IIT's, NIT's, IIST and other institutes from states like Gujarat, Punjab, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

The competition includes sports like Hockey, Cricket, Football, Kho kho, Kabaddi, Baseball, Basketball, etc. Indoor games like Carrom, Chess, Bridge and Water polo are also organised.

Regatta

The College of Engineering, Pune is among the few colleges in the world which hosts an annual regatta. Since its inception in 1928, it has showcased around 165 boats, notably the Eighter, which is one of the oldest boats. The 87th edition of Regatta was held on 22 March 2015.

Cultural activities

COEP has been one of the leading colleges from Pune in various cultural competitions like Firodiya Karandak, Purushottam Karandak, Mood Indigo (festival).

Impressions

Impressions is the newly initiated cultural festival of COEP. It started in 2016 after the cultural team recognised the need of a cultural platform for budding artists. The events span across dance, music, dramatics, arts and crafts and film-media.

Sesquicentenary celebrations

In 2004, COEP celebrated 150 years of its existence. The celebrations were marked by a visit by the Hon. Ex-President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. A postage stamp to mark the 150th anniversary of the college was released.

Participation in Guinness World Records

The college has made three entries so far in the Guinness World Record books. It holds the record for "Most people skipping on the same rope", which still stands as the world record and "The longest painting by numbers"

On 4 November 2012, 3248 people solved the Rubik's cube at the same time for breaking the Guinness world record for "Most number of people solving the Rubik's cube". It was previously held by IITB, where 937 students solved the puzzle within 30 minutes in March 2012.

Other technical events

There are various clubs which impart technical knowledge in various fields which are run by students and co-ordinated by senior professors. The college has good relations with many manufacturing industries in and around Pune including Bajaj Group, Tata Motors, Thermax, FIAT India and Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited, where students participate in various academic projects. The presence of several research laboratories including the Meteorological Survey of India, National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), National Centre for Radio Astronomy (NCRA), Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) and Center for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) provide students with access to R & D facilities. In addition, the city is home to the growing software and hardware industry (mainly in Hinjawadi Infotech Park), thus enabling more students to pursue final-year projects in these industries.

The College team was declared the overall winner at the Baja SAE India contest 2013 held at Pithampur, near Indore at the National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project. The team also won the Best Acceleration, the Raftaar award, CAE(Computer Aided Engineering) award, Best Build Quality, Endurance winner awards.

Clubs

COEP has a strong culture of clubs which span across a swathe of interests. The clubs come under the purview of the college gymkhana. Each club is represented by a secretary who co-ordinates the activities of the group.

Astronomy Club

The COEP Astronomy Club was started in 2004 by a small group of Astronomy enthusiasts in COEP. Over the years, the club has grown into one of the most prominent center of activity in the college. Activities of the club include sky observations, regular lectures, astro-photography, building telescopes etc. The students have also built one of India's largest amateur-built telescopes- a 12" Newtonian Reflector. The COEP Astronomy Club also conducts star parties biennially.

CoFSUG ( COEP Free software users group )

The Free software users of COEP was initiated to create, develop, and contribute to software and in the Free and Open source software community and spread awareness about the same, and also to spread the culture of freedom in Software development, thereby making available educational facilities to all. Activities of this group usually take place at the Free and Open Source software lab of the college, and include installation fests (Teaching to installing GNU/Linux, or other Free software), workshops on linux administration, creative commons, open hardware, drupal,etc.This group is open for all.

Bhau's Entrepreneurship Cell (BEC)

Bhau's Entrepreneurship Cell, also formerly known as Entrepreneurship Development Cell (ED-Cell), was started to inculcate and enhance skills like marketing, brand selling and revenue generating, etc. through experience. BEC has conducted many national events as well as lecture series and workshops. E-Cell had its first ever annual festival, the E-Fest, on 3 March 2012. Various other activities followed by. With dedicated and full-fledged support from Bhau Institute of Entrepreneurship (COEP), the cell firmly believes in harvesting innovative ideas and intends to nurture them. The club is also associated with National Entrepreneur Network (NEN), who help us build an effective and a vibrant entrepreneurship ecosystem on campus. The Entrepreneurship Development Cell successfully conducted the first-ever ED-Weekend on 11 and 12 October 2014.The ED-Weekend, which stands for Entrepreneurship Development Weekend was a part of the Cell’s purpose to promote and create awareness about entrepreneurship. Three main events were held spanning over two days.

FAB Lab

An MoU was signed with MIT Media Lab, USA for setting up a FAB Lab (Fabrication Lab) in the college. It was followed by FAB 5 – the fifth International FAB Lab Forum and Symposium on Digital Fabrication which was held during 16–22 August 2009 in the college. An outreach project of MIT Media Lab's Center for Bits and Atoms, COEP's FAB lab facilitates technological empowerment, peer to peer project based technical training, local problem solving and high-tech business incubation.

HAM Club

Established in 1986, Amateur Radio (HAM) Club is the oldest technical club of COEP. COEP's Amateur Radio Club communicates by HAM radio, using the call sign VU2COE. COEP "HAM"s have communicated with almost every corner of the world, including the International Space Station. Every year, HAM Club organises the ASOC examination and also coaches students for the exam. It also conducts introductory workshops, basic antenna designing workshops annually in COEP and also in other colleges on invitation.

Robot Study Circle

College of Engineering, Pune also has a Robot Study Circle where students study, design and manufacture armature robots. Established in September 2004, it is an inter-institutional, organisation at institute to create awareness about robotics. The club works with an aim of producing prospective winners for the national level robotics competitions like Robocon, Techfest and Shaastra. The College has also participated in various competitions like the prestigious ABU Robocon. In fact, COEP finished a remarkable 2nd Runners-up in the national-level competition in 2011 as well as 2012. The team also bagged the "Best Aesthetic Robot" award of Robocon 2012. In the 2013 edition of Robocon, the team was one of the two task-completing teams among the overall 81 teams participating. Reached the quarter finals & won the "Best Innovative Design" award in this edition.

COEP Satellite Team (CSAT)

As a response to the call by ISRO in order to develop micro-satellites, COEP students gathered and formed satellite team (CSAT) in December'08. The team developed a satellite Swayam operating in the HAM frequency band. The satellite is India's first passively stabilized satellite. The team cleared all the reviews and tests and the satellite was handed-over to ISRO. Swayam was launched successfully on 22 June 2016 along with ISRO’s CARTOSAT-2C by Polar Satellite Launch vehicle PSLV-C34.

COEP Sunrisers Club

Year 2015, COEP Automotive second year post graduating students gathered together for the development of 'SOLAR - ELECTRICAL vehicle" which is a need of future world in the crisis of oil & its stake as well as atmospheric value. In this club, students from undergraduate as well as postgraduate are contributing to develop a vehicle. These all students are not from a specific branch or department, many of them from Mechanical, Electrical, Instrumentation, Electronics, production department.

Wikipedia:India Education Program

Wikipedia, which ranks among the world's biggest and most referred encyclopedias, had signed an agreement with the COEP to facilitate training of students as well as faculty in content editing and article writing aspects. This program was a part of the Wikimedia Foundation's Global Education Program. Its goal was to engage students and professors across disciplines, universities, and countries in using Wikipedia as a teaching tool.

Abhijaat

Abhijaat is the newsletter of COEP.

Abhiyanta

Abhiyanta is the annual magazine of the College of Engineering, Pune. Articles are written by students, alumni and faculty. Articles are written mainly in three languages: English, Hindi and Marathi.

Arts & Crafts Group

The Arts and Crafts group, fondly called as “AnC” in the college, has made COEP proud by creating the Guinness World Record for the longest painting by numbers in 2008. It consists of students from the first year up to the final year. All the activities of the Arts and Crafts group always have something new, creative and innovative. The Arts and Crafts group has been instrumental in decorating the entire COEP campus during college festivals like Mind Spark, Zest, Regatta and also during the annual gathering. The Arts and Crafts students organise an annual exhibition every year in the college campus where the team displays its art collection and also encourages other students to participate.

Boat Club

Situated on the banks of Mula River, the Boat Club was established in the year 1928. The club has presently about 70 trainee and racing boats, which are used for various competitions besides regular practice. The club is an active member of professional boating and rowing associations like Maharashtra Rowing Association (MRA), Maharashtra Association for Canoeing & Kayaking (MACK) and the Amateur Rowers Association (ARA). Every year the COEP Boat Club organises its annual showcase event, the Regatta, which literally means a series of boat races. It consists of events like Arrow Formation, Shell Games, Kayak Ballet, Wharf Dance, Canoe Wars, Mashaal dance, Telematches and Punt Formation. The 87th edition of Regatta was held on 22 March 2015.

Debate Club

COEP Debate Club is among the oldest and the most popular groups in the College. Students having interest in debating are invited for auditions every year and selected students represent the college in various state and national level debating competitions. The group has two sections- English and Marathi. The students have won many prestigious debate and elocution competitions like Ranade Vaad Spardha, Ni Go Panditrao Smruti Vaktrutva Spardha, Bajirao-Mastani Karandak, Anant Fandi Vaad Spardha, Rambhau Mhanlgi Vaad Spardha and many more.

The most important event of the debating group is the national level English and Marathi debate-cum-elocution competition, Sir Vishweshwaryya Memorial Debate Competition, held annually in January. Various workshops on soft-skill development, discussions on issues of social importance, talks by renowned speakers are some of the peripheral activities arranged by the Debate Group.

History Club

The club was founded in 2007 to provide a common platform for students interested in History. Every year club organises a lecture series, delivered by prominent speakers, called 'COEP History Week'. Having good relations with prominent associations like Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal and Itihaas Premi Mandal, it is a social activity pursued by the students of COEP vigorously over four years, out of their passion for history. The club organises many site visits and treks on places of historical significance, wherein field experts or prominent historians occasionally accompany the students. The History Club has also taken an initiative to help the college students in their preparation of competitive exams like IAS, IPS and other UPSC and MPSC exams. Regular lectures delivered by dignitaries in related fields are arranged and kept open and free for all, including students who are not members of the club.

Janeev Club

COEP Janeev Club (previously COEP Environment Club) had evolved from an environmental project initially undertaken by a group of Civil Engineering students. The club realized that all environmental and social issues are interconnected, and do not exist in isolation. Thus, it was decided to transform the club with a view to increase its scope by working on social issues as well. In the year 2011, the Environment Club was transformed into Janeev Club (Marathi: जाणीव, meaning: consciousness) as the socio-environmental club of COEP.
The club aims at sensitizing students about various social and environmental issues and enhancing their knowledge regarding the same. The club conducts various activities like lectures and seminars by intellectuals and activists, documentary screenings, classic film screenings, discussions, street plays, awareness campaigns, tree plantation, poetry recitation, etc. Janeev Club members meet every Wednesday at 6 pm in Applied Mechanics Department in front of Boat Club. The club is open to all, runs democratically and disregards any hierarchical structure for its functioning.

National Service Scheme (NSS)

This activity was introduced in the college for the first time in the year 2009–10. It has carried out various activities for students as well as society. Through shramdan, students of NSS unit have participated in plantation on the college and hostel campus. It also carries out tours to heritage sites with experts and winter camp at Mandede village near Pune.

Spandan

The social group formed by COEP students in 2003 went to become an NGO. Through Spandan, social activities ranging from environmental to educational projects have been undertaken by the students.

SPIC MACAY

Continuing its legacy of promoting ancient art and culture, COEP has a chapter of SPIC MACAY (Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture amongst Youth). SPIC MACAY was pioneered with the motive to promote Indian classical music, dance, and culture amongst youth. It organises annual VIRASAT series in which prominent artistes perform line and give lecture and demonstrations.

Student Welfare Forum (SWF)

(SWF) founded by the students to help students in different aspects of academics and to develop personality so that students made proper balance between academics and extra curricular activities.

Philomystics

The Philomystics club was formed in 2010 to inculcate and enhance emotional and spiritual quotient of the students. The group plans various seminars and workshops.

Personality Development Club

This club provides the required training to enhance one's own personality. The motto of this club is to invoke character and competence in leaders of tomorrow. The club emphasizes on invoking hidden soft skills which are very vital to stay and deal in current scenario of cut-throat competition. The club also invites experts to conduct various workshops and training sessions to enhance communication skills, technical presentations and industrial etiquettes. this club is best for students for developing their soft skills.

Junoon: COEP Streetplay and Mad-Ads team

This team aims at creating awareness about various issues like corruption, female foeticide, child labour etc. These issues are depicted as a satire through the street plays. Along with this, the same team performs Mad-Ads in the college annual gathering. Mad-Ads is a type of stand up comedy performed to entertain the students. This team has the record of getting a podium finish for 4 consecutive years in the cultural festival Mood-Indigo from 2010-2013. It also has a record of getting the most medals in a single year where it won 15 medals in the year 2013-2014.

Unregistered clubs

The clubs which do not receive funding from the Gymkhana also operate in the college.

Aero Zealous

Inspired by an airshow in COEP's Regatta festival, 2011, the students of COEP started the Aero Zealous Club for students who have an avid interest in remote controlled Aircraft.

Sport teams

COEP used to participate in many sports. COEP has its own Athletics, Baseball, Handball teams.Team members are students of COEP itself.

Startups Initiatives

The College provides incubation facilities for both undergraduate and Post graduates courses.

Hostel

The College provides residential facilities for both undergraduate boys and girls. Due to limited vacancies admissions are merit-based. There are ten residential buildings in the hostel campus. Boys' blocks are named Purandar, Shivneri, Panhalgad, Torna, Raigad, Pratapgad, Sajjangad, and Vishalgad. For girls, there are two blocks, namely, Jijaoo and Kondhana. Kondhana and Pratapgad are two-storied, Vishalgad & Jijaoo are four storied, and the remaining buildings are three storied. The hostel campus houses about 1064 boys & 422 girl students. A new residential complex for girls has been constructed which started accommodation from the 2012–13 batch. This was constructed keeping in mind, the huge number of the college's girl-students staying outside. Further it comprises the director's residence, hostel office, security room, guest house of three rooms, nine rectors' quarters, a co-operative store, two common rooms for web-connectivity, a medical clinic, a laundry, three common rooms for entertainment, and students' dining rooms. FX Cosmo, Abhiruchi and Fusion and "Aaswad" are the four boys' and Suruchi is the girls' dining room in the hostel campus. All the four students' dining rooms, only boys', are run on co-operative basis. The College has installed a Total Hostel water recycling solution under the Natural water treatment technologies (NaWaTech) initiative from 2014. The system will treat a total of 180 m³ of water everyday. The reuse potential is of 113 m³ which will be used flushing and gardening in the campus. In future, the treated water is to be used for construction activities as well as dust suppression in the college Cricket ground. COEP Hostel campus is the first campus in India to have such a Wastewater treatment plant.

Ranking

College of Engineering, Pune has been ranked 21st in Best Engineering College of India by the National Institute of Ranking Framework(NIRF) of Ministry of human resources, Govt. of India.

Notable alumni

Previous Director of COEP

Previous Director on deputation from IIT Guwahati Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe went on to become the Chairman of AICTE (17 July 2015) and also serves as the secretary of the Board of Governors of COEP.

Land acquisition

In December 2005 the Pune Municipal Corporation asked the college for some of its land for road widening. This led to considerable outrage amongst students, and the issue was under heated debate. It was pointed out that the college was classified as a 'heritage complex' by the state government.

Rechristening

1854–1870: Poona Engineering Class and Mechanical School

1871–1911: Government Science College(Agriculture and Botany Classes)

1911–2003: Government College of Engineering, Pune

2003–2006: Pune Institute of Engineering and Technology

2006 onwards: College of Engineering, Pune

In 2000, COEP claimed independence from the state government and was declared an autonomous institute in 2003. Considerable confusion ensued over a proposed name change from COEP to Pune Institute of Engineering and Technology (PIET) which was strongly opposed by alumni and students. The newly autonomous entity's name was rolled back to COEP in November 2005.

Road widening and flyover construction

The College was at loggerheads with the Pune Municipal Corporation over the proposed construction of a flyover in front of the college, that would not only deface the renovated Main Hall but would also encroach upon the College's premises. The College and its alumni were of the opinion that the flyover would not, in any way, decongest the traffic plying through that road. It also considered the flyover as serious danger to the safety of the pedestrians, including students, as it was not considered in the plan of the flyover. Many civic activists and organisations supported the College's opinion.