Core Engineering Branches Bounce Back in Chennai Campus Placements
After several years of poor campus placements for core engineering branches, mechanical engineering and electrical and electronics engineering (EEE) have experienced a revival in demand during the 2025-26 academic year. Top colleges, including the College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG), Madras Institute of Technology (MIT), Rajalakshmi Engineering College (REC), and RMK Engineering College, have placed nearly all their eligible students in these two branches this year.
Reasons Behind the Revival
Experts attribute the higher placement percentages to increased hiring by core and IT companies, as well as a smaller number of graduating students in core branches. This has resulted in higher placement rates compared to computer science engineering (CSE) and information technology (IT) branches this year.
K Shanmuga Sundaram, director of the Centre for University-Industry Collaboration (CUIC) at Anna University, stated, “The manufacturing sector, including automotive, aerospace, and electronics, is growing. This was reflected in campus placements this year.”
Placement officers also suggest that new investments in Andhra Pradesh could be contributing to more hires from city colleges.
Placement Statistics
At CEG, 91 out of 97 mechanical engineering graduates and 45 out of 46 EEE graduates secured jobs, resulting in placement percentages of 94% and 98%, respectively. These figures are higher than the 87% placement rate for computer science engineering, where 163 out of 188 students were placed. Mechanical engineering in Tamil medium also placed 19 out of 20 students this year. Mining, printing, and packing technology achieved 95% and 97% placements this year.
Salary Packages and Recruiters
The average starting salary for mechanical engineering students ranges from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 10 lakh per annum. Key recruiters included Ashok Leyland, Bosch, Caterpillar, Hitachi Energy, Emerson, JSW Group, Siemens India, Royal Enfield, and Rane Group.
Philip Praveen, director of training and placement at Rajalakshmi Engineering College, noted, “In our college, nearly 50% of EEE students and 20% of mechanical engineering students received job offers from IT companies.”
Strategies for Improved Placements
City colleges adopted various strategies to boost campus placements. K K Sivagnana Prabhu, dean of the Career Development Centre at RMK Group of Engineering Colleges, explained, “We followed specialised skill-based training initiatives, including AI, cybersecurity, embedded systems, VLSI, and foreign languages, to improve placements. As of now, we have placed 81% of students, which is 5% more compared to last year.”
Overall, Anna University’s four campuses have placed 70% of undergraduate students so far, a 10% increase compared to last year. Anna University’s registrar (in charge) V Kumaresan said, “We invited more companies, including small firms and startups, for campus placements this year. Many students who went for internships received job offers there. Additionally, placement training for all students helped.”
Future Outlook
The placement season gained momentum in January and is expected to continue until June. However, experts predict a dip in campus hiring by IT companies for the 2026-27 academic year. Ganesh Thirunavukkarasu M, founder of UniqShift Ventures and campus hiring strategist, commented, “IT service majors hired at near-historic volumes in 2025-26, but there is a dip in the forecast for 2026-27 offers. IT hiring for the new financial year, 2026-27, opened well below the previous year’s numbers.”
