The school was founded as Orissa School of Mining Engineering in 1956 as a diploma school and began offering degrees in 1995 with Mining Engineering as its first branch. It has been at the forefront of Mining Education, research and consultancy services in India. It is located in close proximity to many mineral and coal mines both opencast and underground. Then, in 1997, Electrical Engineering & Mechanical Engineering branches were added as an expansion program. It became a constituent college of Biju Patnaik University of Technology, Rourkela in 2006. In 2008, Mineral Engineering and in 2009, Metallurgical & Materials Engineering were added. In 2011, as per a government notification, it was declared as a Full-fledged government engineering college. In 2015, Computer Science & Engineering and Civil Engineering were added. On 8 September 2017National Cadet Corps was introduced in the college for the students to join it as an extra-curricular activity and getting an opportunity to serve the armed forces.
Campus
The campus of the Government College of Engineering, Keonjhar is located in Keonjhar district. The institute has its 45-acre campus at the foothills of the mountains near Judia Ghat.
Courses offered
The institute offers a 4-year Undergraduate Degree program in the B.Tech in the engineering branches of:
Students are admitted through the All India level CBSE JEE exam. There is also provision of Lateral Entry of 10% of sanctioned intake for diploma holders directly to the third semester. For diploma holders to get admission into the third semester they have to pass in OJEE. Some seats are reserved for diploma engineering as per the rules of SCTE & VT, Odisha and DTET.
Training and placement
The Training and Placement cell provides placement assistance to the students. Personality development programs, group discussions, seminars, etc. are convened from time to time. Companies are invited for on-campus selections through the institution's industrial link ups. Companies visit the college to recruit students. Training and placement liaise with companies for the summer training programmes. Though training has not been made compulsory, after the second year, students are encouraged to apply. Vocational Practical Training is a curricular requirement, the objective being to give the engineering students a scope to supplement their classroom knowledge and have exposure to industrial life before they step into the professional world. Every student takes a minimum of 30 days practical training. Students have been placed for practical training in organizations like Satyam, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Mindtree, Tech Mahindra, US Technology, Accenture, Essel Mining, Runguta Mines, Mesco, Crompton Greaves, Ultra Tech Cement, Mesco, KCCL Odisha, Vedanta, Jayswal Neco, Paradeep Phosphates Limited, OCL Steel, IMFA, ACC Cements, Monnet, MGM Steels, Arya Iron and Steels, OCL Cement, Vedanta Resources, and Tega Industries.
Clubs and societies
Club Innovare
Dance And Music Club
Robotics and Automation Club
Photographic Club
Society of Mining and Exploration http://smegcekjr.co.in
Computer Society of India Student Branch https://xenesis.in