With the new courses, with 12 seats each in both the categories, ISM is trying to attract students towards its core competency, which has otherwise received lukewarm response.

?We have integrated a management degree with mining engineering as a professional from the very first day has to demonstrate not only technical excellence but managerial acumen as well. In fact, only a mining engineer can be a general manager in collieries,? Kumar said.

With many overseas placements by petroleum and mining companies of the country and international players displaying increased interest in Indian talent, the core sector is expected to offer increased job opportunities. But at present, software giants like Infosys, HCL, TCS, Satyam and Cognizant are making a beeline for ISM graduates and it is to be seen how the counsellors are going to convince the aspirants about virtues of core sector loyalty.

Even core sector engineering graduates are opting for software companies in the campus placement drives and a five-year dual course will be preferred by students who decide to commit themselves to the core sector giants right at the beginning.

?Initially the response can be lukewarm but with the popularisation of the dual courses, it is likely that the students will start competing for a seat in the course as after all the core sector companies offer packages much higher than what the software companies have been offering. Petroleum giants like Schlumberger, Essar Oil, and Reliance Industries among others are offering a package of almost Rs 8 lakh per annum.

The dual courses are likely to raise the packages offered to core sector students as postgraduate talent is not very forthcoming in the country and the IITs have, in fact, launched such courses,? Kumar said.

The ISM campus, spread over an area of 100 acres, will add another 200 acres of land to its campus and is also to launch another batch of five-year integrated courses. Twenty students will be taken through the IIT-JEE entrance examination for the courses in M.Sc in applied physics, chemistry, geology, geophysics, mathematics and computing.

The deemed university, which took the path of diversification way back in 1996 with the introduction of IT courses apart from catering to core sector, will also introduce B.Tech in environmental engineering ? the first in the country ? and B.Tech in electrical engineering from 2006-07 taking the total intake of students from IIT-JEE to 400.

Fresh M.Tech courses will also commence in bio-mineral processing and clean coal energy technology.

Apart from the science and technology courses, ISM is going to offer courses in applied arts like BBA and MA in mass communication from the next session.

?We have a full-fledged department of humanities and social sciences right from the inception of the college but we were not offering any major classroom courses. We will change this from the next academic session,? Kumar said.