Rajalakshmi Engineering College

Initial years

In 1997, the college was granted permission to conduct engineering courses in the disciplines of Mechanical Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering and Computer Science Engineering, awarded by the Anna University.

The College's city office at New Avadi Road, Kilpauk (near Purasaiwalkam) Chennai was inaugurated on 1997.

Expansion

The college was later expanded with 11 undergraduate and 11 postgraduate programs.The college started the Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Information Technology in 1999 and followed by Automobile Engineering in the year 2006, Automobile Department of Rajalakshmi Engineering College ranks good after Madras Institute of Technology under Anna University affiliation. Aeronautical Engineering in the year 2005, Biomedical Engineering, Biotechnology and Civil Engineering.The college also started to offer B.Ed and M.Ed programmes in 2006, Nursing in the year 2008.One of the integral course under civil and construction department named B.Arch (Architecture) was also started in the year 2011 and approved by Council of Architecture.

Accreditations

The college is an ISO 9001:2008 certified institution. REC was awarded the International Organization for Standardization 9002 certificate by TÜV NORD of Hanover and TÜV SÜD of Munich, Germany. It is approved and accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) of AICTE. The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has accredited the college for a period of five years with validity from 31 March 2007.

The college is also accredited by companies like Tata Consultancy Services, Cognizant Technology Solutions, WIPRO Trusted Academic Partner and Infosys Campus Connect. Ashok Leyland recognized the college as a centre of excellence in automotives. IBM named it a "Centre of Excellence for Certified Software Center".

Programmes at REC are accredited by the Institution of Engineers, India (IEI).

Cooperation with other organisations

REC has signed memoranda of understanding with a variety of educational institutions including:

It has memoranda with the following industry representatives:

Rajalakshmi Education Private Limited has entered into an agreement with University of Worcester to jointly offer courses in computing and management.

REC sponsored the Aircel Chennai Open from 2012.

Machine vision

Mission REACH (Relevance & Excellence in ACHieving new heights in educational institutions) programme was launched in the year 2000, as a Technology Vision 2020 for India initiative, by Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), an autonomous organisation of the Department of Science & Technology. TIFAC establishes centres of relevance and excellence (COREs) in educational institutions in emerging science and technology. These COREs form a tripartite relationship between the government, industry and educational institutions to provide technically qualified manpower of international standards. REC has been selected to establish a CORE in the area of machine vision. The CORE has been launched and is active since 14 February 2009.

Facilities

The REC library has a collection of 48,100 volumes and periodicals. The college auditorium has a capacity of 500. Sporting facilities include an athletic track, cricket pitch, basketball and volleyball courts, and football fields. Separate male and female hostels are provided.

The campus houses a medical center staffed by a nurse and doctor. An ambulance van is available.

Transport

Since the campus is located 35 kilometres (21.7 mi) away from Chennai city, transportation is provided between Chennai and the college. The college now runs over 64 buses. Buses are operated on Saturdays and Sundays for special classes and sports. On special occasions buses are sent for industrial visits and social service activities. The college owns four of the buses, one ambulance and a van.

Conferences and symposia

In 2013 REC organised an international conference on surface engineering for research and industrial applications, Interfinish SERIA 2013 Asia Pacific.

Rankings

REC was ranked 52 in the Dataquest DQ-CMR T-Schools Survey 2012. A 2012 survey ranking institutions on their collaboration with industry placed it in the top 20 colleges from Tamil Nadu.Rajalakshmi Engineering College has been ranked 22 across India amongst all Private Colleges by DataQuest in the DataQuest-CMR Survey Top Tech Schools 2015.

Societies and extracurricular activities

KRIYA

KRIYA is an "entrepreneurship development cell" with the stated aim of conducting research, inspiring students, assist with project development and provide interaction with entrepreneurs and industrialists. The facility is designed by students.

Alumni association

REC has an active alumni association. It has alumni chapters in the United Kingdom, United States and Saudi Arabia.

Some alumni have achieved a degree of international recognition.