Motivation &Objective:

      A Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Systems Science (SS) is established to promote a new academic interdisciplinary engineering education and research program for a sustainable future. The Bachelors of Technology program in Systems Science therefore, has the aspiration to educate the students to become critical, conscious and engaged engineer scientists in the spirit of systems thinking towards society for a diverse set of application domains such as engineering systems, cognitive systems, ecological systems, business & Financial systems and complex networked systems such as smart communities, with the emphasis on the ethical stance towards society, sustainability of the solutions proposed and awareness of the implications to the environment and society. The students will have the opportunity to validate to a large extent the acquired knowledge via a project. The programme is structured such that milestones in the development of competences can be defined after each semester. The learning environment in CoE SS will enable students to practice observing patterns in the characteristics of systems, study systems to build models, and cultivate systems thinking in solving problems that face humanities in the coming century. The aim of this program is not just to create systems engineers who would develop, construct and design systems, but also their operation, control, analysis and verification, the understand as far as possible the entire life-cycle of the system. A wide variety of research activities are planned concerning systems that have immediate benefits for society, ranging from energy systems to the healthcare. Complex systems engineering with the focus on the underlying mathematical foundations forms the essence of this program.

The Systems Science & Systems Engineering perspective:

Systems can be classified broadly of two types: Natural Systems and Artificial Systems. Natural systems are those who do not require human support and are not always amenable for human intervention. Artificial systems on the contrary are about artificial objects that are often controllable to achieve a desired goal.

In systems science we study system to build models, and in systems engineering we design and build systems using model.

Complexity in the environments with which the systems interact is a prime issue in systems designing, and thus understanding complexity in natural systems (for example, neural systems) help students learn how to build/improve systems. Thus studying systems science is the first step to become a system engineer.

Interdisciplinary structure of the course curricula:

      This course is recommended for aspirants who wish to become system engineers making full use of software and hardware, financial engineering, sustainability, High-performance Computing, those hoping to tackle socially relevant problems including energy issues and environmental problems. There will be about 20-25 lectures every week, as well as tutorials and labs. In the first two semesters students will be educated in basic science, engineering science, social science and interdisciplinary science courses in systems perspective that help them to understand the dynamics of physical systems. In the following semesters (up to 7th semester) students will have the full freedom to opt various open-elective courses offered in ICT and Energy. Besides, open electives in Social science, engineering systems & design, complexity & behavior, earth sciences, business etc. may also be opted. Elective courses in Systems Science will be offered in each semester (3rd semester onward) along with the core systems science courses. Students in Systems Science will have the full freedom to choose one SS elective course. In the 8th semester, student is free to do the project in systems engineering. There will be technical courses offered during summer by reputed industries and students would experience the complexity and challenge in industry.

Overview of Courses:

Course Structure (Semester wise) in BTech Systems Science:

PDS: Programming & Data Structure, SID: System Integration and Design, ECS: English & Communication skills, EECO: Engineering Economics, EGRA: Engineering Graphics,SS-ELEC:Systems Science Elective, OPELEC: Open Elective, HSS: Humanities & Social Science, SS core: Systems Science Core

Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains :

A committee of colleges, led by Benjamin Bloom (1956), identified three domains of educational activities, namely

• Cognitive: mental skills (Knowledge)
• Affective: growth in feeling or emotional areas (Attitude)
• Psychomotor: manual or physical skills (Skills)

Bloom's Taxonomyin the Systems Science BTech program

Learning outcomes:

• Formulate a problem in technical terms including the relevant aspects form the mathematical point and system thinking
• Determine and implement the appropriate modelling approach for problem solution
• Apply feedback to improve system performance and perform sensitivity analysis
• Understand all components in the design of large, complex systems from eliciting customer requirements through disposal
• Model and analyze systems having conflicting criteria and interacting decision variables
• Understand the impact of the solution on society and the environment
• Understand roles, advantages, disadvantages and dynamics of teams and have successful experience on team projects
• Communicate effectively with team members and clients through both oral and written means
• Develop customized solution software
• Use high level modelling and computing tools such as spreadsheet programs, equation solvers, UML, and simulation software to analyze engineering problems
• Deal with clients (including instructors) in a professional manner covering demeanour, presentation style, and work ethic
• Understand different career options within the profession and preparation for lifelong learning
• Differentiate between ethical and unethical behaviour

The roadmap

Future prospect of B.Tech SS:

Systems thinking is becoming indispensable in developing several decision support systems in various walks of life. The graduating students are expected to find suitable opportunities in all industries that develop human friendly technologies as well as pursue higher studies in domains as diverse as humanities and management sciences.