The quality of education (1–3), including teaching and learning in technical subjects, depends on a number of factors irrespective of the discipline. Here the major focus areas to consider are socially and industrially relevant outcome-based curriculum for holistic development of the students, qualified and motivated teaching staff, a well-organized academic system, an effective and practical industry internship program, and students’ evaluation based on expected outcomes. So it is imperative that a model curriculum must be prepared for each discipline starting from its undergraduate (UG) degree course. Accordingly, in India, All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) (1) constituted teams of subject experts from academics and industry and formalized a suggestive curriculum for each discipline which became acceptable to all universities/boards of technical education and autonomous engineering institutions of the country as there were provisions to exercise flexibility in developing their respective curriculum with necessary readjustment of courses, but within the stipulated credit limit. As per AICTE guide lines (https://www.aicte-india.org/sites/default/files/Model_ Curriculum /Updated-AICTE %20- %20UG %20CSE. pdf), mandatory internships had been introduced in the implemented curriculum so as to equip the engineering students with industry experiences in a real environment of a suitable industrial infrastructure or organization for their practical training and necessary understanding. By considering the latest trends of industry and the market requirements, the Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) (2–6) appears to be a promising career choice for tech-savvy individuals who are fascinated by the latest computing advancements. The field offers excellent job prospects and high earning potential. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, computer and information technology (IT) occupations are projected to grow at a faster-than-average rate of 11% from 2022 to 2032 (https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/home.htm) whereas it is projected to grow at 13% from 2020 to 2030 (https://www.upgrad.com/blog/scope-of-computer-science/). The growth of the Indian computer industry appears to be no exception. So Computer Engineering UG curricula for an AICTE-approved, NBA-accredited, autonomous, and self-financed engineering college (5) are chosen in the present work as a sample to study and discuss its current status in Indian engineering education, highlighting the reforms introduced in line with the requirements of the computer industry. The purpose of this research work is to evaluate how well-defined academic curriculum learning satisfies industry requirements.

B. Tech. in CSE is an academic program where the study period covers four years with eight semesters in almost all countries of the world, including India. Being one of the most favorite courses among engineering students, this course basically integrates the fields of computer engineering and computer science (2–5). It emphasizes the basics of computer programming and networking along with related interdisciplinary electronic and electrical circuitry. The broad major topics covered in the course are computation, algorithms, programming languages, program design, computer software, and computer hardware, which expose the learners in different aspects of computing, from the design of individual microprocessors, personal computers, and supercomputers to circuit designing and even writing software that empowers them (https://www.shiksha.com/engineering/computer-science-engineering-chp).

Here it may be mentioned that IT professionals who understand the trends in computing remain competitive for the best career opportunities, exploring recent computing developments and trends in IT with artificial intelligence (AI), Cyber Security, and robotics. Inclusion of Data Science and Business Analytics, AI and Machine Learning (ML), Project Management and Cloud Computing creates opportunities for entrepreneurs to start up their business careers and enterprises with fast-track leadership in the areas of Software Development, Agile and Scrum IT Services and Architectures, Digital Marketing, and Big Data Analytics, etc., (7, 8) maintaining the quality management.

Accordingly, a standard curriculum of CSE of an autonomous NBA-accredited engineering institute located at North 24 Pargnas, West Bengal, as a sample, is highlighted here, which may help to understand the course to the fullest. Subjects and credits included under Regulation 18 (R18, first batch graduated in 2022) were discussed at the beginning (Tables 1 and 2). This academic curriculum framework shows the academic structures and credit distribution followed by several autonomous engineering colleges in the southern part of West Bengal.

After the implementation of the above curriculum, different stakeholders’ feedback was taken intermittently as they played a very crucial role in curriculum development (12–16) to cater the need of the society. The survey had been conducted amongst all the stakeholders connected to the progress of the academic institute, including the faculty and staff members of the department, students, alumni, society/industries, and the employers. In response to the specific set of queries on developed curriculum, a total of 150 feedbacks were collected from different stakeholders and enlisted in Table 3. An overall analysis is shown in Table 4 (percentage-wise) and is represented in the form of a bar graph in Figure 1.

Significantly, such an analysis conducted on the passed-out first graduation batch of 2022, considering various common aspects of the Computer Science and Engineering curriculum framed under Regulation 18 (R18) following AICTE’s directive, identified some lacunae or deficiencies in the implemented curriculum (see Tables 3 and 4). In general, engineering institutions in the country were found to lack sufficient resources, infrastructure, and qualified teachers, which couldn’t help in providing the quality of education and was found to fall short of the global standards due to such challenges. The course material was also found outdated and so failed to equip students with the necessary skills for the modern workplaces, and so that curriculum and theoretical approach had proven to be ineffective, for which the country might face a surplus of unemployed engineers in the near future. A more industry-focused practical approach has been designed to tackle this type of problem and to increase industry job opportunities.

Accordingly, it was found to be crucial to revamp the curriculum by introducing the relevant subjects in line with the global requirement and to ensure the state-of-the-art laboratories, which might provide the up-to-date knowledge and skills to meet the demands of the rapidly evolving tech industry. Regulation 21 (R21 continuing now) was planned to be introduce by AICTE, apprehending the outcome of the R18 curriculum from 2021 to 2022 B.Tech. batch onwards. Modification from R18 and year-wise (with two semesters) curriculum are detailed below in Tables 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, respectively (https://www.aicte-india.org/sites/default/files/Model_Curriculum/Updated-AI CTE%20-%20UG%20CSE.pdf) and analyzed from various perspectives to identify the changes made there from R18 and the logic behind such updates. These changes aim to include topics in the academic curriculum that match industry trends and new technological development.

Figure 2’s high “Strongly Agree” in proportion indicates that respondents strongly support the curriculum and syllabus. Although there is some variance in the Moderately Agree category, overall there is an increased trend that suggests a few concerns. With only minor variations, the disagree responses remain low, indicating limited dissatisfaction. The general consensus is that there is little disagreement and an elevated level of agreement.

Many prominent software sector executives suggest incorporating subjects like robotics, AI, and data analytics into the computer science curriculum. These areas of expertise are already in high demand, and a few colleges, including the institute under consideration, are offering these specialized courses after a job sector survey. Several other trends contribute to the exciting future of computer science. With an estimated global data sphere to grow to 16 zettabytes by 2025, there will be huge requirements of data storage facilities. This will create fantastic opportunities for experts who can develop innovative solutions on data retention and storage, designing effective applications on cloud computing for anytime, anywhere access to businesses and individuals, data security, data optimization, and many more. AI has already revolutionized business and technology processes and is here to infinitely grow to make solutions for complex problems and repetitive tasks. Professionals with development and implementation experience in AI will be in high demand as the technology becomes more widespread. In the era of digitalization, information security is crucial.

With the rise in cyber threats, protecting sensitive data and systems has become paramount for organizations. The field of computer science offers opportunities for individuals to specialize in information security and develop innovative solutions to safeguard digital assets. Here it may be mentioned that under India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Regulation 23 (R23) is already taken up by AICTE (1) approved institutes to restructure and map certain aspects of the ongoing curriculum of R21 by broadly categorizing the entire course structure. The distribution highlights major (core), minor, interdisciplinary, ability enhancement courses, skill enhancement courses, value-added courses, summer internships, and research project/dissertations relevant to the Computer Science and Engineering curriculum with an aim to convert the country’s computer science graduates to readily skilled workforces for handling effectively the rapid growth in this field as per the global standard.

This article presents a qualitative study on 4-year undergraduate B.Tech. CSE curriculum development. For choosing this research methodology, the background of this study is outlined. The findings may infer the fact that a proper curriculum or module design (Sloan et al. (10), Moller et al. (11), Sucharita et al. (12)) needs considerations from various perspectives related to the successful teaching and learning. These include a curriculum developer’s or program administrator’s capability of predicting the issues and shortcomings of existing curriculum, which not only should be rooted in a collegial context but it must fulfill the requirement of the professional world as well. In this context, the global scenario comes into the surface where global recruiters like Amazon, Deloitte, CGI, Mindtree, HCL, Google, IBM, and Microsoft’s requirements need to be addressed. But to incorporate the emerging areas with evolving content, the curriculum revision and redistribution for a subject like CSE should be done by incorporating the expected changes for the coming decades at least, as regular infrastructural modifications as per the requirement of the modified curriculum for an academic organization may not be an easy task, particularly for the self-financed ones.

The manuscript’s conception, methodology, analysis, writing, and revision were all performed by both authors.

Authors acknowledge the institute authority for encouraging to carry out this research work.