Indian Institute of Technology - Kharagpur (IIT KGP)

Indian Institute of Technology - Kharagpur (IIT KGP)
Foreword:
The Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur is the oldest IIT in the country and almost at par with metro cities. Usually referred as IIT KGP, this institute was established way back in 1951, just after India attained Independence. Being the oldest institute, it is recognized as the Institute of National Importance by the Government of India. IIT Kharagpur is an autonomous engineering, technology and management (Vinod Gupta School of Management, VGSOM) institute.



Location:
IIT KGP is located on the east coast of India in the small city of Kharagpur, West Bengal. The campus is located in a pretty rural area and most of the students find accessibility a major issue. Moreover, unlike other hostels, IIT KGP’s hostels are not within campus. Some prefer to come on bikes/scooters, while some use public mode of transport. Oh, some choose to walk as well. There are no big multiplexes and malls close to the college. All in all, the locality is pretty dull and boring.



Campus and Infrastructure:
Even though the campus is located in quite a rural area, the college building is pretty modern in terms of its facilities. Most of the classrooms are air conditioned with quite comfortable benches and projectors. There is a vast library with books of all the possible streams of engineering and management available at any odd hours as well. Laboratories, an integral part of an engineering student, are well maintained. The campus is WiFi enabled, thus speeding up the research activities and projects. Also there's active ODC (high speed intranet) maintained by students for quick and efficient data sharing.

Unlike other IIT’s, the hostels are not located within the campus. More than 20 hostels are approximately a kilometer away where the facilities are quite decent. Beds are decent and not dusty, rooms are neat and clean, internet connection with unlimited download, and the above average washrooms. All in all, the facilities are pretty satisfactory considering it’s a hostel. Sports facilities include gymnasiums, swimming pools (with water polo in some) and hockey ground apart from the regular cricket, football, volleyball, basketball, badminton and table tennis.



Fees:
Rs 57876 per year



Courses Offered:
Undergraduate Courses : B.Tech
Aerospace Engineering
Agricultural & Food Engineering
Biotechnology & Biochemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Chemical engineering
Computer Science & Engineering
Electronics & Electrical Communication Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Energy Engineering
Instrumentation Engineering
Industrial Engineering
Manufacturing & Science Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Mining Engineering
Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture
There are more than 100 programs offered for dual degree, post graduation, management, doctorate and others at IIT KGP. For a complete list visit the official website.



Fees:
Rs 57876 per year
View breakup of fees, hostel/mess charges & fees for SC/ST students



Faculty:
IIT and its teaching go hand in hand. Definitely, the teaching is at a premium level professors having immense knowledge related to their subjects. The teachers at IIT KGP are highly experienced and completed their degree, PhD’s and what not from excellent American universities. The college has a facility for guest lectures as well. There are some professors who are extra ordinary and renowned while some are pretty ordinary and students find them just about tolerable. Most of the lectures are conducted in English, of which some are fluent, some aren’t.

Least attendance criteria is 50% before deregisteration. The rules are mended as per the wish of the professor taking the course.



Crowd:
Engineering is one of the streams in the world which is definitely male dominated. At IIT KGP, there are almost 90% boys, and one lacks to see a pretty face in the campus. Since, it’s a renowned and arguably the best institute in the country, students from all parts of India are seen here. Neither there is any race discrimination nor is a specific religion quota followed in the IIT. With such a varied crowd, understanding and maturity automatically follows. The students celebrate their college festivals on a large scale balancing their time with studies, placements and project work. Ragging is almost extinct now though there’ve been complains in the past.



Rankings:
Roughly, one needs a rank of around 400-500 in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) to get a desired stream at Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. If you’re willing to compromise a stream for the heck of joining IIT (which many would), then any ranks around 4000 will fetch you IIT KGP.
Being the oldest IIT, it’s still not ranked no.1 among other IIT’s, due to the lack of its location. Any which ways, it’s still ranked 4th or 5th after the metros.



Placements and Internships:
The placements at IIT are pretty different from the thousands of engineering colleges in the country. You need to maintain a good CGPA (academic score roughly around 7 on 10), to get short listed by the great MNC’s that visit the college every year. Microsoft, Google, Facebook, YES Bank, Nomura, Facebook and hundred more companies recruit students from the IIT Kharagpur campus. There are no mass placements, hence the salary students are offered is roughly around 7-9 lakhs per annum. International offers reach upto 50-75 lakhs per annum depending upon the company and your performance.

Students get on campus internship offers from excellent companies during their third year of engineering. They get paid around 35,000 per month (varies with the company). And yes, needless to mention, 100% placements.



Festivals and Activities:
IIT is quite famous for the numerous festivals that are conducted round the year. There are various hostel events and games that are played on regular basis. Apart from the zillion national level competitions, there are two main festivals conducted round the year. Spring Fest, the cultural festival, is held in the month of January, where you see participation from all over India and live performance by great musicians and singers. 'Kshitij', the techno management festival, is held around February.

There are active clubs for robotics, Formula SAE (making racing cars), Kraig (artificial intelligence), E-cell (entrepreneurship), Technology Transfer Group (TTG - it's links academic research to industry), etc.



Canteen/Mess/Hangouts:
As the campus of IIT KGP is located in a rural area, hangouts and fun activities lower down on a good scale. Students find happiness in their canteen and mess. The canteen serves decent and edible food at a nominal rate. Most of the items are junk food and students sometimes crave for desi food. Each hostel has its own mess which are just like in any other typical college - average. It serves moderately hot lunch with less variety but always on time. Students aren’t completely satisfied thought they haven’t complained much about the same. There are a few night canteens, nescafe and small vendors for milk, momos etc present at night.

There's a tech market within the campus, Prem Bazaar just outside the campus and Gol Bazaar about 30 minutes from campus. Government owned restaurant Tikka (within the campus), Chhedis, Veggies, Billo etc are popular restaurants. There is a CCD and a Baskin Robins outlet too. There are a couple of theatres in Kharagpur which students hardly care to explore. But one movie is screened every weekend in insti's very own Netaji auditorium.



Contact:
Indian Institute of Technology
Kharagpur 721302
West Bengal, India.
Tel: +91-3222-255221
Website: www.iitkgp.ac.in



Famous Alumni:
Arun Sarin- CEO of Vodafone
Arvind Kejriwal- close aide of Anna Hazre in anti-corruption movement
Arjun Malhotra- Co-founder of HCL technologies
Prith Banerjee- Director of HP Labs


Verdict:
IIT Kharagpur is definitely on the wish list of every ‘to be’ engineer of India, after Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.

Indian Institute of Technology - Roorkee (IIT Roorkee)

Indian Institute of Technology - Roorkee (IIT Roorkee)
Foreword:
Established way back in the 18th century, the institution was under University of Roorkee and got the dream status of Indian Institute of Technology in 2001. IIT Roorkee is a public university located in the small town of Roorkee in the state of Uttarakhand. Becoming the 7th IIT, the Roorkee branch is one of the best engineering colleges in the country.



Location:
IIT Roorkee is quite centrally located- just about 1 km from railway station - and has somewhat an urban campus. Since, Roorkee is not one of the big cities/metros; the overall feel still remains rural/semi-urban. Despite this, the college accessibility is pretty convenient as the whole city is located nearby the college. Hostels are within the campus; hence students need not travel all the way to the college. All in all, the feel of a small town in always felt at IIT Roorkee.



Campus and Infrastructure:
Spread over a mediocre 356 acres, the Indian Institute of Technology at Roorkee has one of the cleanest campuses among all the IIT’s. The classrooms are quite above average, with most of them air conditioned. Labs are well maintained, apparatus available most of the times, and 24 hour LAN and WiFi connectivity without any download limits ensure facilities quite up to the mark. There is also high speed intranet (DC++) for quick and easy data sharing. Students of the Roorkee campus feel that it’s Asia’s number no.1 library as there is no restriction to use the library at any odd hours and during exam time; the time is extended to midnight, has books of all the possible courses in abundance, internet facilities, air conditioners, etc. Guess that’s  the ONLY thing you do at IIT, STUDY!

There are more than 20 hostels within the campus and generally students get a hostel almost close to their lecture halls. During the first year, students have to share the hostel rooms but second year onwards; everyone is allotted an individual room. Royal treatment! There's a restriction for girls to return to hostel by 10.30 pm. No such restriction for boys.

Inter-IIT sports competitions 2012-13 were held at Roorkee, hence the sports facilities were made top notch. Separate grounds for football, cricket and athletics, various courts for badminton, tennis, squash, basketball & volleyball, olympic size swimming pool are some of the outdoor sports facilities. Table tennis and other indoor sports are available at sports complex, some of the student clubs and hostel common rooms.



Courses Offered:
Undergraduate Courses : B.Tech
Architecture (B.Arch)
Biotechnology
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Science & Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Electronics & Communication Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Metallurgical & Materials Engineering
Production & Industrial Engineering
Pulp & Paper Engineering
Polymer Science & Technology

Integrated Dual Degree (IDD)
Integrated M.Tech
Integrated M.Sc
Post Graduate Courses : M.Tech


Fees:
Rs 63,820 per year
View breakup of fees, hostel/mess charges & fees for SC/ST students



Faculty:
Just like all the other IIT’s, the faculty at the Roorkee campus is extremely qualified and highly knowledgeable. All the professors have their doctorate degree from great American universities; some are involved with current government projects while a few are the authority of metallurgy. The excellent experienced teaching staff is pretty co-operative with all student matters and doubts. Communication ain’t a problem as basic lectures are conducted in English.

75% attendance is compulsory without any relaxation under any circumstances.



Crowd:
A typical IIT crowd - boys, boys and boys (ratio 11:1). As IIT’s are the premium and highly reputed engineering institutes in the country, getting into them is extremely difficult. So, when somebody gets into any IIT, location becomes an extremely worthless parameter, though metros are the top priority. Hence, you see students from different corners, big cities, small towns or villages, join the institute. Apart from the daily 23 hours studying, not literally, students spend time in their recreational centres, loitering in the city of Roorkee, and celebrating college festivals on an extremely large scale. Luckily, you don’t experience any ragging scene here.



Rankings:
Roughly a rank around 1500-1700 in the JEE exam can fetch you a desired stream in the Indian Institute of Technology at Roorkee. As an institution, students aim to join the IIT’s in the metro cities, hence IIT Roorkee becomes the 6th or 7th best institute in the country. Isn’t that sufficient also?



Placements and Internships:
When you’re in India’s top engineering institute, expect one thing for sure, 100% placements. High profile companies and MNC’s like Google, IBM, Microsoft, Barclays, TATA Steel, Siemens, and hundred such more come to the Roorkee campus during the placement season. The average pay package would be anything around a whopping 7 lakh rupees.

Students get internship offers in the third year from excellent companies which pay them around 20,000 to 30,000 per month for atleast two months.



Festivals and Activities:
There are two major college festivals held round the year. 'Thomso', the annual cultural festival, held in the month of October, where you see hundreds of cultural events, rock shows, musical nights by renowned Indian singers, etc. 'Cognizant', the tech fest of IIT Roorkee, is held in late February.



Canteen/Mess/Hangouts:
Each hostel hass a separate canteen (mess) which stays open till 3am. A typical college canteen where you see chit chatting going on round the clock. It serves average food at pretty subsidized rates. It’s decently spacious and sometimes nerds are seen completing assignments. Mess food is pretty normal and nothing to boast about. Occasionally you get to have some awesome delicacies, rest of the time; it’s the typical traditional food just about edible. With such subsidized rates, students rarely complain to the authorities.

College is built in such a way that every gate leads to some significant place. Take gate no. 2, right across which is the biggest market of Roorkee having places to shop, eating joints, theatres etc. Across main gate there's a bus stop where you get buses to go to all parts of city.



Contact:
Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
Roorkee 247667.
Uttarakhand, India.
Tel: +91-1332-285311
Website : www.iitr.ac.in



Famous Alumni:
Amit Singhal - Google Fellow who re-wrote the search algorithm in 2000
Ashok Soota - Co-founder of MindTree and ex-president of Wipro Infotech
Pradip Baijal - IAS officer and former chairman at Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
Rakesh Agrawal- Microsoft Fellow and Ex-IBM, “Father of Data Mining”


Verdict:
“At IIT Roorkee, you can meet quality of peers”, quoted by one of the Roorkee-ite with a microprocessor book in hand. Definitely, one of the premium engineering institutes in India, and will always be a dream institute for every aspirant.

Indian Institute of Technology - Guwahati (IITG)

Indian Institute of Technology - Guwahati (IITG)
Foreword:
The Indian Institute of Technology at Guwahati, generally referred as IITG, is an autonomous engineering and technology oriented institute. It was the sixth IIT in the country and the first in the state of Assam. Established in 1995, IIT Guwahati is currently almost at par with IIT Bombay and Delhi and is considered as an excellent engineering institute in India.



Location:
IIT Guwahati is located on the north bank of river Brahmaputra and is roughly 20 kilometres from the main city. Since, the college is not centrally located around the city, the campus is quite in a rural area of Guwahati. Accessibility is sometimes a concern but as the hostels are within the campus, students don’t find it cumbersome anymore.



Campus and Infrastructure:
To start off with, IITG’s campus is spread over a massive 700 acres land. The campus is excellently maintained and is always neat and clean. Almost all the classrooms are air conditioned, with comfortable benches and projectors to make the lecture sessions quite modern. The library is well equipped with all the books and can be easily accessed at any odd hours. There is wifi connectivity within the campus, hence academic and non-academic work is easily conducted.

As a rule, all the students studying at the IIT’s reside in the college hostel. The hostels are located within the campus and the rooms are pretty decent. There is a facility for single rooms as well but most of them stay with a partner (obviously, we mean of the same sex). Roughly, there are 10 hostels in the Guwahati campus and are quite above average with neat and clean rooms and washrooms. Internet facility, LAN and wifi, are available in the hostels.



Courses Offered:
Under Graduate Courses: B.Tech
Biotechnology
Chemical Engineering
Chemistry
Civil Engineering
Computer Science and Engineering
Design
Electronics and Electrical Engineering
Humanities and Social Sciences
Mathematics
Mechancial Engineering
Physics

Post Graduate Courses: M.Tech
Post Graduate Courses: Ph.D


Fees:
Rs 56,600 per year
View breakup of fees, hostel/mess charges & fees for SC/ST students



Faculty:
In one word, EXCELLENT! In spite of being located in small town and not ranked higher among the remaining IIT’s, the faculty at Guwahati is quite spell bounding. Most of the professors are PhD’s and have completed their doctorate from high ranking American universities. There is a facility for visiting faculties as well. Students are extremely satisfied with the level of teaching and communication. Some professors are definitely strict as they need to maintain the level of IIT while some are pretty lenient and gels really well with the students. Communication ain’t a problem as most of the lectures are conducted in English.



Crowd:
A typical IIT crowd, BOYS! Yes, expect almost 90% of the students to be boys, some or most of them nerds. Since, IIT’s are the most respectable institute in the country and a dream college for any engineer aspirant, the crowd is extremely diversified. There are students from all parts of the country joining this reputed institution. Apart from studying regularly, students do participate in various hostel events and the college festivals. Ragging scene is nil and freshers are extremely happy with the same.



Rankings:
Well, one needs a JEE around 1000 to get a desired stream, generally Electronics and Computers. If you’re ready to compromise a stream to join this reputed institute, then a rank around 1800 or so will do. Anyways, these numbers are pretty difficult to get as one has to compete with tens and thousand lakhs of students.

As a institute, IIT Guwahati is generally preferred after the metros. So, the standing would be around 5th or 7th in the country.



Placements and Internships:
Apart from the 100% placements, which is a very common thing at the IIT’s, the companies that recruit students are class apart. From Facebook, Microsoft, Google to the banking sector which includes, AXIS, YES Bank, Nomura and hundred such companies visit the Indian Institute of Technology at Guwahati during the placement season. Well, salary is something would obviously look for. The average pay package would be anything around 7-8 lakhs per annum while the highest can go up to 30-50 lakhs depending upon your performance and the company status. International offers are less but they do reach up to a crore at times. Luring, right!



Festivals and Activities:
At IIT, you see two things happening round the year. First is primarily and by default, studies. And second is the hundreds of competitions at national, international level, hostel activities and sports and the annual technical and cultural festival. These all keeps the students busy round the year. 'Alcheringa', the annual cultural festival of IIT Guwahati, is held in the first week of February while 'Technich', the tech festival, is held in late October. You can expect a footfall of around 10,000 students or more participating from all corners of India. Celebrities and politicians all chip in and make the event escalate to a larger scale.



Canteen/Mess:
As the campus is located 20 kilometres from the main city, hangouts next to the institute are quite less and pretty boring. Students travel all the way to the main city for some delicious food and rocking movies. Thus, canteen becomes hot favourite place for the students, obviously after the library. It serves above average food which is pretty much edible and not heavy on your pockets. The mess food is just about average. Sometimes cold, sometimes not cooked properly but that’s the story in all the mess in India. So, students are quite accustomed to this fact.



Contact:
Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati
Guwahati - 781039.
Assam.
Tel: +91 - 361 – 2690401.
Website : www.iitg.ac.in



Verdict:
We hate to give a verdict when it comes to IIT’s as it’s a dream college for any student. The Indian Institute of Technology at Guwahati has a reputed electronics department. Moreover, the design department is pretty rare in any engineering college in India which makes it the best one in the country. So, in short, TAKE IT provided you MAKE IT!

Institute of Technology – Benaras Hindu University (IT-BHU)

Institute of Technology – Benaras Hindu University (IT-BHU)
Introduction:
Although given IIT status only recently, the Institute of Technology at Benaras Hindu University has long been recognized as one of the top engineering colleges in the country. The IIT stamp is no surprise for the institute which was started way, way back in the year 1919.



Location:
IT-BHU is located right in the center of Varanasi, which people will tell you is the oldest city in the world. In the recent years, roads have been widened and the transport facilities have improved markedly. Varanasi is an ancient city, however, and there’s nothing ‘modern’ about the facilities here.



Infrastructure:
While there’s nothing extraordinary about the infrastructure here, the administration ensures that it is regularly improved to service the needs of the students. There are no mega hostels, though plans are in place to make a few in the coming years. All the hostels are either 1 storeyed or two storeyed buildings, and have a capacity of about 300-400 students. There’s no concept of ‘house-keeping’ here; students are expected to clean their rooms themselves, but they prefer it. All the laboratories are clean and well-maintained, and the computer labs are airconditioned. The library is spacious enough for the students, and doesn’t get too crowded even during exams. There’s a good supply of books as well. IT-BHU is well known for sports; the infrastructure for extracurriculars is excellent. What’s more, students get to use all the facilities of BHU as well, free of cost.



Courses Offered:
UnderGraduate : B.Tech
Ceramic Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Electronics Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Metallurgical Engineering
Mining Engineering

PostGraduate : M.Tech


Fees:
Rs 66,200 per year
View breakup of fees, hostel/mess charges & fees for SC/ST students



Faculty:
The students are full of praise for the faculty members. All of the professors are highly qualified, and most are even interested in teaching. Students may have minor issues with a couple of professors, but there aren’t any major problems, and teachers don’t normally hold ‘widespread grudges’.



Attendance:
They’re quite strict about attendance at IT-BHU. Students have to maintain at least 70% attendance overall, failing which they are barred from writing the papers. Subject-specific attendance is allowed to fall to around 50%, but the overall attendance better be above 70%, or you’re in a lot of trouble. Unless wasting a year is something that appeals to you, of course.



Crowd:
In spite of the frankly awful girl/boy ratio (1:11!), the crowd overall is quite nice. Students tend to gel with each other easily, and that can probably be attributed to the complete lack of regionalism. Since Varanasi is a holy city, you often find students sometimes getting a bit too carried away with spirituality and religion, but don’t worry – it doesn’t happen too often.



Canteen/Mess:
The messes are meant only for meals, and the food they serve is actually not too bad (which is excellent by IIT standards). There is a new trend of ‘corners’ and ‘cafes’, which are located right next to hostels and named after them. These serve snacks and are really popular among students.



Hangouts:
People coming from bigger cities will dislike Varanasi, but students from tiny towns will quite certainly love it. It’s a highly spiritual city with temples everywhere, so there aren’t too many places for your average student to hang around. There is a lot of eye candy though- Varanasi attracts a huge number of foreigners.



Festivals:
The brilliant named cultural fest, Kashiyatra, is enthusiastically participated in by students from all over India. The technical fest Technex and sports festival Spardha are also crowd-pullers.



Famous Alumni:
S.P.Sukhatme - Former Director of IIT Bombay
Pankaj Chandra - Director, IIM-Bangalore
Krishan Kant - Former Vice-President of India
K.K.Nohria - Dean of Harvard Business School and Chairman Emeritus at Crompton Greaves


Verdict:
A great, historic educational institute located in a not-very-interesting city.

Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (IIT BBSR)

Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (IIT BBSR)
Foreword:
IIT BBS started in 2008 functioning from IIT Khadagpur campus and remained there for 1 year. IIT BBS is first of the new IITs to move out in search of a temprorary campus in its destined city i.e., Bhubaneswar. It is the only new IIT with civil engineering as its one of the discipline.



Location:
IIT Bhubaneswar is as of now still functioning from a temporary campus with its main building known as IIT KGP extension campus in the heart of the city. There are a number of buildings taken by IIT BBS for its functioning. Biggest one is Toshali plaza building for first year students and civil engineering workshops.



Campus & Infrastructure:
Though it lacks on sports facilities, IIT BBS provides all the facilities that other IITs provide. Apart from hostels full campus is air conditioned. The best thing which IIT BBS posses is hostel for third and fourth years. There are thee hostels - each of them located in different parts of the city and are quite far from each other. Hostels are quiet comfortable with a maximum of 3 student living with each other, it has both Wi-Fi and LAN access 24 hours. There is one main central library which provides just enough books to the students. Also there are all necessary labs with world class machine & instruments for each discipline.



Courses Offered:
B.Tech
Civil Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Computer Science

Joint M.Tech - PhD


Fees:
Rs 68600 per year
View breakup of fees, hostel/mess charges & fees for SC/ST students



Faculty:
Although there are many young members in faculty with little experience of past, overall faculty is world class.



Crowd:
As it's an IIT, the crowd is bound to be multicultural. Boy-girl ratio though is about 11/1 which is poor compared to even the IIT standards. There are all kind of people from different parts of the country living together and involved in fun stuff. Societies/clubs are an integral part of the college life here. There is a great bonding within all batches. This may be attributed to absolutely no ragging stand of the senior students making juniors feel comfortable to gel up with them.



Rankings:
It should be ranked in top 20 among engineering colleges. It requires JEE rank from 2500-4000 though it changes every year. Changing branch is tough as minimum CGPA of 8.5 is required and only 10% of total strength is in consideration for branch change.



Placements & Internships:
Internship cell has been working up to the mark many of the students went abroad for there paid internships, Placement is 90-95 percent every year with highest of 12 Lakh and average of 4 Lakh though it differs for each discipline. Top companies visited the campus are Samsung, ONGC, BPCL, L&T are few of them.



Canteen/Mess/Hangouts:
Mess provides edible food. That's it. Nothing great about it. Not many hangout places within the campus but certain malls in the city are common hangout places.



Festivals & Activities:
It has two major festivals ALMA Fiesta - the cultural fest and Wissenaire its techno-management fest both of them have started to make a name in the eastern part of the country. Many activities such as cultural week, festival celebrations, sports general championship as a part of extra curricular activities are organised every year.



Contact Address:
Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar (IIT BBSR)
Samantapuri (Rearside of Hotel Swosti Plaza)
Bhubaneswar - 751 013
Phone: +91 674 2301 982
Email: info@iitbbs.ac.in
Website: http://www.iitbbs.ac.in



Verdict:
Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar being a new IIT is an advantage to a certain extent as it provides you to start new culture in the college rather than following old ones. Student should join if they can afford to go extra mile in every field and want to workout new things as there is no cooked culture for them to follow.

Indian Institute of Technology – Hyderabad (IITH)

Indian Institute of Technology – Hyderabad (IITH)
Foreword:
Started in 2008, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) is one of the 8 new IITs. Currently it is based in a temporary campus on the outskirts of Hyderabad. It is special because of its close proximity to Hyderabad, which is home to many industries & IT giants. It is generally considered top among new IITs.



Location:
Located on the far outskirts of Hyderabad, IITH has a temporary campus set in a rural backdrop with urban facilities. It is part of central government's 3000 acre Ordnance Factory - Medak's campus in Yeddumailaram. College is allocated some 50-100 acres in this campus. It is about 50 km away from the city. Permanent campus is being constructed in Kandi which is also about 50 km away from Hyderabad.



Campus & Infrastructure:
Temporary campus of IITH is pretty good. Main institute and all labs are air-conditioned. All the laboratories are clean and well-maintained. The library is small but e-library which can be accessed on the intranet is highly resourceful. Entire campus, including hostel area, is Wi-Fi enabled. It is connected to 1 Gbps optical fiber network as a part of National Knowledge Network (NKN). There is no limit on downloading during the day but internet is switched off from 12 am to 6 am from Monday to Thursday.

There are 12 different hostels and 3 mess. Each room is shared by 2 students. There is a big market near hostel area where you can buy anything.

The permanent campus in Kandi will be spread over 550 acres. It is supposed to be ready by early 2014.



Fee Structure:
Rs 59,275 per year
View breakup of fees, hostel/mess charges & fees for SC/ST students



Courses Offered:
{slider=Undergrad Courses: BTech}

Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Science and Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Engineering Sciences
Mechanical Engineering
{/slider}

{slider=Postgrad Courses: MSc}

Chemistry
Physics
{/slider}

{slider=Postgrad Courses: MTech}

Biomedical Engineering
Biotechnology
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Science and Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Materials Science & Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
{/slider}

{slider=Postgrad Courses: MPhil}

Liberal Arts
{/slider}

{slider=Postgrad Courses: PhD}

Biomedical Engineering
Biotechnology
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Science and Engineering
Chemistry
Electrical Engineering
Liberal Arts
Materials Science and Engineering
Mathematics
Mechanical Engineering
Physics


Faculty:
At IIT Hyderabad, ratio of students to permanent faculty is pretty good. There are many international guest lecturers too. Faculty-to-Student ratio is better for Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Electrical Engineering as compared to Computer Science Engineering. All the faculties are well experienced and have their PhDs from institutes of international reputation. They are constantly updating their knowledge by doing research work.



Crowd:
Boy/Girl ratio is same like every other IIT - around 9:1. Crowd is diverse; students from various parts of the country are seen studying here. There is strictly no ragging at IIT Hyderabad. Lectures start from 8:30 am and end at 5 pm. After which you are free to pursue your interests. Facilities for sports like football, cricket, volleyball, hockey, basketball, swimming, table tennis, badminton & lawn tennis are available. Also, there are many technical & cultural clubs that you can be a part of. Overall IITH students have a happening campus life.



Ranking:
At this point it is too early to rank the institute as a whole. However CSE from IITH can be considered a great option due to its close proximity to Hyderabad which has offices of Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon & other IT giants. Also Electrical Engineering is a very good option if you are interested in research. Majority of EE final year BTech student have a publication in reputed conference or journal and many of them even have direct PhD admits from top universities in the world. Opening ranks of IITH start from 3 digit and may go up to 3400. CSE and EE closing ranks are comparable to some of the old IITs.



Canteen/Mess/Other Hangouts:
Mess food is inconsistent. Sometimes it is very good and sometimes horrible. IITH campus is very beautiful. People like to walk on big roads of campus with lots of big trees, peacocks and greenery around. In summer people go for night walk at 3-4 am. Outside the campus students usually hang out at Necklace road, GVK one, Pradad's IMAX, Himayath Nagar, Inorbit mall etc. Famous dhaba near IITH - Zam Zam dhaba is also a hot spot.



Festivals and activities:
IITH has a technical festival NVISION & a techno-cultural festival called ELAN which is Hyderabad's biggest college festival. There are lots of other events in hostels like danzen night, musical night, technical club's night, ice-cream night, etc.



Placements & internships:
About 90% of the students got their internship in foreign universities like Purdue, University of Washington, Univ of Tokyo, NUS-Singapore; MNCs like Microsoft & Amazon; and in IISC & IITs. Average salary was around 8 LPA and highest was around 120K $ (60 LPA). Companies that visit college are - Microsoft, Amazon, Strand Life Sciences, Broadcom, Xilinx, Altair, Mercedez, Dell, Qualcomm, Paypal, Ebay, Mobiz, Morgan Stanley, Infotech, HP, EA, Cisco, Polycom, NetApp, Redpine, Flytxt mobiles. PSUs also visit IIT Hyderabad.


Contact Address:
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH)
Ordnance Factory Estate,
Yeddumailaram - 502205,
Andhra Pradesh, INDIA.
Phone: (040) 2301 6033
Email: info [at] iith.ac.in
Website: http://www.iith.ac.in


Verdict:
Indian Institute of Technology - Hyderabad is probably the fastest growing IIT in one of the biggest industrial cities of India. There's a great deal of flexibility in designing of curriculum. New courses like fractional credit course and interdisciplinary branches such as Engineering Science are on offer. Being in a metropolitan city with huge number of research centers, labs and MNCs it has an edge over other IITs/NITs located in smaller towns. IITH can be considered a one of the best, if not THE best among new IITs.

Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IITGN)

Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IITGN)
Foreword:
Established in 2008 and based temporarily in Vishwakarma Government Engineering College, IIT Gandhinagar is one of the new IITs started by Indian Ministry of HRD. The pioneer batch is passing out in April 2012. The institute aims to provide the best quality of education and morals to all its students and for the same reason, the faculty recruitment is very strict and the recruited faculty are one of the best in their own fields. The institute as of now has Chemical, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering departments in the undergraduate level. Graduate and post graduate courses are also being offered.



Location:
As of now, the operations are held in a temporary campus (Vishwakarma Government Engineering College, Ahmedabad). The permanent land is obtained and the construction is yet to start on the river banks of Sabarmati River. The permanent campus stretches 450 acres with Sabarmati River on one side and lush green forest type cultivation on the other side. Nearly 20 min from the Ahmedabad international airport, the campus is well connected with the main city of Ahmedabad.



Campus and Infrastructure:
All the academic and administrative blocks are air conditioned along with Wi-fi facility in the whole campus. There are two sets of hostels (In campus and off campus). In campus, there are boys and girls hostel and the off campus hostel is only for boys. The off campus hostel is just across the road from the college (walk-able distance). Library is fast growing and is also air conditioned and has wifi facility. All the labs are new and meet international standards. The institute takes utmost care regarding the education and infrastructure.



Fees:
Rs 62,600 per year
View breakup of fees, hostel/mess charges & fees for SC/ST students



Courses Offered:
Undergraduate Courses : B.Tech
Electrical Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering

Post Graduate Courses : M.Tech
Post Graduate Courses : Ph.D.
Faculty:
Most of the faculty at Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, are recruited after a very tough screening procedure and the recruited faculty are one of the best in their own fields. Most of the faculty are very experienced and had previously taught in tier-1 US universities.



Crowd:
Boy/Girl ratio is same as any other IIT. “Guys, don’t expect much”, says a disheartened boy with a fake smile. The crowd comes from across the country. Students from Assam, Kerala, Jammu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and almost every nook and corner of India is seen at IIT Gandhinagar. It has all the cultures possible and the students celebrate all the festivals with equal enthusiasm and zeal. Common festivals like Holi, Diwali have already etched their memories in the present students which they will cherish for the ages to come.



Rankings:
The institute is not yet ranked as the pioneer batch is yet to pass out. Typically from the past four years the trend has been such that, JEE rank upto 3700 can get in (General Category)



Placements and Internships:
Well, this might surprise you and could be very enticing for any IIT aspirant. IIT Gandhinagar is the only IIT where 25% of the strength got foreign internships in their second year of under graduation. Despite this enormously huge point, the placement standards are way below the Bombay, Delhi and Madras campus. Over the years, the institution can reach the top notch level. At least, students believe so.



Festivals and Activities:
Annual cultural festival - Blithchron and technical festival – Amalthea are the two primary festivals at IIT Gandhinagar. Other than these two, the college organizes intra college tech fest week, Halla bol - intra college sports fest, Jashn - Intra college Cultural festival.

Note: Only IIT in the whole country to organize a inter college cultural festival in its year of inception. Blithchron grew to be one of the biggest cultural festivals of Gujarat.



Canteen/Mess:
The mess food is decent and boasts of many cuisines. Chinese, South Indian and North Indian are mostly served. Hostel canteen runs from 11 am to 3 am (night). There are many hang out places in Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad which can be easily reached from here. Himalaya mall, Alpha one, Acropolis, ZK, Happinezz, Havmor to name a few.



Contact:
Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar
Vishwakarma Government Engineering College Complex,
Chandkheda, Visat-Gandhinagar Highway, Ahmedabad,
Gujarat - 382424, India .
Tel: +91 93284 74222; +91 93284 74226; +91 93284 74223
Website: www.iitgn.ac.in



Verdict:
The excellent environment for intellectual development and the student driven activities going on in the campus through out the calendar makes the student not only fit educationally but also gives and overall exposure to the student making him/her ready for the corporate and academic world. IIT Gandhinagar has probably all the qualities to reach the top tier of engineering colleges in the country.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi
Foreword:
IIT Mandi started in 2009 and is one of the new IITs. It is developing faster than expected. It already has a functional main campus with 3rd year and Ph.D. classes going on in the main campus already. The main campus is located at Kamand, at a distance of 14km from town of Mandi. The institute as of today is placed slightly at a disadvantage due to not having been setup completely but due to the IIT brand it is likely to pick up fast.



Location:
Mandi town is a famous religious place with historical importance. It is situated on Delhi-Manali highway. The campus is 70km from Kullu, 110km from Manali and 150km from Shimla. Train and bus travel is convenient from Delhi and Dehradun. It offers you the opportunity to explore beautiful places. Main campus is somewhat away from suburbs. You can easily visit Dharamshala, McLoedganj and other beautiful places in Himalayas which you will crave to see when at home.



Campus and Infrastructure:
The main campus is coming up at great pace. It has a lot of open space, and you are free to move around, one is not forced into a shell. The weather here is such that you won't need an air-conditioner. Temperature here is generally 7-8 degrees less than Delhi, so fan at most will be needed. Computer labs and National Knowledge Network (NKN) rooms are air-conditioned by the way. Transient hostels are 2, 3 and 4 seater while at main campus, they are 2-seater and totally comfortable. Wi-fi is one of the best facilities available with an average speed of 2Mbps. Library and laboratories are equipped according to requirements and updated every now and then.



Courses Offered:
B.Tech:

Computer Science
Electrical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering

Fees:
Rs 62300 per year
View breakup of fees, hostel/mess charges & fees for SC/ST students



Faculty:
Faculty is good, and the minimum qualification for a professor is Ph.D. Some of the faculty is from old IITs and some are newly recruited. Being a new IIT and a totally new curriculum, professors try to make studying interesting. As time passes once again the IIT brand value will attract professors and research scholars to join the list of faculty.



Crowd:
This factor disappoints a lot. The boy to girl ratio is around 10:1. We have students from across every state other than from the north east states. Hence crowd is quite multicultural. Students live in harmony and make great friends out here. Life on campus is one of the most memorable things to ever happen to anyone. Ragging is totally prohibited in here and we feel that it will stay this way since the germ of the ragging culture itself does not exist.



Rankings:
Being an IIT, it surely adds fame to the name of the college. It stands among the top 20 colleges of country. You need to have a JEE (Advanced) rank of 3000-4500(Gen) to get into IIT Mandi in the branches offered here. The college may become one of the best in the long run as it establishes itself.



Placements:
Companies like Microsoft and Cisco have come and offered internships to 3rd year students. Around 75-80% placements took place this year. First batch of IIT Mandi went out this year and grabbed very good offers. Microsoft offered 16.5 lakhs to 3 students; Amazon took 1 student for 19 lakhs and many others at 6.8 and 9 lacs. Average package of CSE was around 9 lacs and overall it was 7.5 lakhs. Companies visiting apart from Microsoft, Amazon, Cisco Systems are DRDO, Samsung, TCS, Cognizant and Infosys among others.



Festivals:
One of the best experiences at IIT Mandi is EXODIA, the tech-cultural festival which had a footfall of around 2000 people this year. It takes place at a very large scale and people from other IITs, BITS and many other colleges attended. Talking about sport events, there are two sport events every semester. Cultural week with Exuberance, Aakarshan and Hostel day are celebrated every year. Inter and Intra hostel sports and technical events are also held for the students.



Canteen/Mess/Hangouts:
Mess is decent with edible food. They offer sweets twice while paneer and non-veg items are served thrice a week. Though sometimes you may feel the need to go out to escape from the common routine. You can visit Treat, Raj Mahal, Reagent Palms and Hotel RiverBank. There is a swimming pool and snooker point too. When we get free time we head out to new places (one day trip), as there are plenty of such places in Himachal Pradesh.



Contact Address:
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi
PWD Rest House, Near Bus Stand
Mandi - 175 001, Himachal Pradesh
Tel: +91-1905-237943
Email: regis[at]iitmandi.ac.in
Website: http://www.iitmandi.ac.in



Verdict:
Apart from the IIT tag, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi offers great places around the college. Adventurous folks would certainly fall in love with the location. We feel the college will take a few more years to develop completely, so you may want to consider options in older IITs, BITS Pilani and a couple of the top NITs as better choices.

Indian Institute of Technology – Indore (IITI)

Indian Institute of Technology – Indore (IITI)
Foreword:
Started from the academic year 2009-10, Indian Institute of Technology – Indore (IITI) is one of the 8 new IITs. It is an autonomous engineering and technology institute of higher education and an institute of national importance. It will come up in 501 acre of land at Simrol, a small town 25 km from Indore. The foundation stone of the institute was laid by the then Union Human Resources Development Minister Mr Arjun Singh on 17th February, 2009. Indore is the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh with many industries in the area of mechanical engineering, pharmacy and electronics. This gels perfectly with the disciplines provided by the institution. The institute as of now has Computer Science, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering departments in the undergraduate level. M.Tech is about to start next year (from A.Y 2013-14). There are many PH.D scholars in each branch, always willing to help B.Tech students.



Location:
Currently, IIT Indore is functioning from the premises of Pithampur Autocluster Limited (PACL) and the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya. The former is mainly for sciences and later for engineering. IET campus is in the city but PACL campus is about 15 kms from the city. As in the case of other IITs, the Institute is fully residential. At present, temporary hostel facility is provided to the students in the city itself in Silver Springs Township, which is one of the finest & costliest places to live in Indore. Simultaneously, the task of getting the new campus at Simrol ready at the earliest is in progress. Indore is an educational hub and the only city to have an IIT as well as an IIM. Apart from a young and vibrant student population, Indore also has institutes of international repute like Raja Ramanna Center for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), IUCA, etc.



Campus & Infrastructure:
All the academic and administrative blocks are air conditioned along with Wi-fi facility in the whole campus. The Central Library at IIT Indore has a fine collection of text books, reference books, periodicals, and electronic resources which are undergoing continuous expansion. In fact the library is so good that students claim they don’t need to buy a single book during four years. The institute has a virtual classroom as a part of the National Knowledge Network (NKN) that was launched on 5th February, 2011 by the Union Minister for Human Resource Development. The institute has world class lab facilities for extensive research. IITI is famous for SIC (sophisticated Instrument Centre) located in IET campus, which also offers services to many other IITs. Also, it has Ion Beam Sputtering lab, the first of its kind in India. The institute takes utmost care regarding the education and infrastructure. As already mentioned, the hostels are probably best in the country.



Fees:
Rs 70,650 per year
View breakup of fees, hostel/mess charges & fees for SC/ST students



Courses Offered:
Undergraduate Courses: BTech
Computer Science (CSE)
Electrical Engineering (EE)
Mechanical Engineering

Postgraduate Courses: PhD


Faculty:
Most of the faculty at Indian Institute of Technology, Indore are recruited after a very tough screening procedure and the recruited faculty are one of the best in their own fields. Most of the faculty are very experienced and have ample reputed publications when it comes to research. However most of them are strict to undergrad students.



Crowd:
IITs are (in)famous for their boy/girl ratio which is around 9:1 here. However, the ratio is increasing with the coming batches. Students from almost every nook and corner of India are seen at IIT Indore. It has all the cultures possible and the students celebrate all the festivals with equal enthusiasm and zeal. Festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Holi, Diwali, Janmastami have already etched their memories in the present students which they will cherish for the ages to come. You will definitely find good friends here. Ragging is almost zero as the management is very strict for this issue.



Ranking:
The institute is not yet ranked as the pioneer batch is yet to pass out. However in students’ opinion, IITI can be ranked 2nd among new IITs. Typically from the past four years the trend has been such that JEE rank up to 4000 can get in (General Category) with all the batches opening from AIR (All India Rank) close to 2000.



Canteen/Mess/Other Hangouts:
The mess food is decent and boasts of many cuisines. Chinese, South Indian and North Indian are mostly served. Indore is especially famous for its wide variety of Namkeens, Poha & Jalebi, Chaats, Kachoris and Samosas. Cuisines of various types such as Bengali, Mughlai, Rajasthani, continental are available in Restaurants. Confectionery sweets as well as local delicacies such as Dal-Bafla are also worth a try. Mention of places like Sarafa Bazaar and Chhappan fill your mouth with water!
Ujjain and Omkareshwar are around 1 hour drive from hostel. Mandu is around 2 hours’ drive and is one of the best scenic places in MP.



Festivals and other activities:
‘Fluxus’ is the annual cultural-technical festival of IIT Indore. The institute also hosts ‘Road to Rutas’ as one-of-its-kind industry simulation competition every year wherein participating teams are invited to play the role of companies bidding for a tender, in a virtual setting. ‘Ferocia’ is the annual sports festival of IIT Indore. Besides, the institute has various clubs like Literary, Music, CRC (Centre for Robotics & Control), Programming, Electronics, etc.



Placements and Internships:
The students are supposed to undergo summer internship as a part of their course curriculum. IIT Indore students underwent their summer internships at reputed foreign universities and companies after their third year of graduation. Indore is an industrial area. You will not face any problems for getting internships, as college have good relations with most of the industries. The placement statistics of first batch students are not yet out but with the quality of students here, the average package is certainly expected to meet standards of the IITs!



Contact Address:
IET Campus
M-Block, Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET)
Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya Campus
Khandwa Road, Indore - 452017
Madhya Pradesh, India

PACL Campus
Pithampur Auto Cluster Limited (PACL) Building
Survey No. 113/2-B
Village Harnia Khedi
Tahsil MHOW, Dist Indore
(opposite Veternary College)
Madhya Pradesh, India

Phone: +91 (0) 731 2364 182
Email: contactus[at]iiti.ac.in
Website: www.iiti.ac.in



Verdict:
Indian Instiute of Technology Indore is a college striving hard to be the best IIT. Your first preference should be a core branch in old IITs. Among the new IITs, IIT Indore should be your immediate preference after IIT Hyderabad.

Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur (IITJ) Rajasthan

Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur (IITJ) Rajasthan
Foreword:
Founded as one the 8 new IITs in 2008, Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur emphasizes on multidisciplinary approach of study in its undergraduate curriculum and interdisciplinary specializations at the postgraduate level which we feel is something very new in the Indian education system. Jodhpur as we know it is “Sun City” with soaring temperatures in summer, ultra-cold winters and a place rich with cultural heritage and traditions. If you do choose to spend your 4 years here, observing fascinated firangi tourists looking around in rapture will become second nature to you.



Location:
Quite an urban area by itself Jodhpur, can be considered a big city. In terms of area the city of Jodhpur covers 22850 sq. km. and in terms of culture, it is perhaps one of the richest cities in the whole of India. The classes are held at MBM Engineering College which is about 17kms from the hostels and buses ply to-and-fro every 30 minutes. MBM campus is in the heart of the city while hostels are more towards outskirts.



Campus & Infrastructure:
The facilities are amazing considering the fact that the campus is still temporary and hopefully the permanent one - likely to start from 2016 - will surely have the best of facilities. The class rooms, labs, discussion rooms and reading rooms are air conditioned. The hostels having flat system are also pretty amazing. In the 1st year, a 2BHK spacious flat is to be shared between 5 students while later on a 1 BHK flat is shared by 4 students. The rooms are spacious and clean and also have an attached toilet and bathroom in each flat which is regularly cleaned. Wi-Fi is amazing with 1Gbps speed. One can’t ask for anything better from the newer IITs. The library is not one which has gained too much of liking among the students.



Courses Offered:
Undergrad (B.Tech):
Computer Science and Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Systems Science
Biologically inspired system science (a unique course offered only by IITJ)

Postgrad (M.Tech):
PhD:


Fees:
Rs 68750 per year
View breakup of fees, hostel/mess charges & fees for SC/ST students



Faculty:
The professors are decent considering the fact that the college follows a multi-disciplinary approach towards education. The professors are very helpful. All of them have secured a Ph.D. at least. Many teachers and faculty visit the campus as well. Some students here are said to be unhappy with the quality and number of professors. Like any typical college the type of faculty will vary from branch-to-branch and also on how you conduct yourself with them.



Crowd:
The type of crowd varies from branch to branch. On an average 1:9 is the girl:boy ratio and is better in the new upcoming branches. Large parts of the crowd are from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.



Rankings and Branch Change:
Generally those having a rank anywhere between 1400 and 6000 in JEE advanced are admitted, wiith opening-closing ranks on the branch you wish to apply.

Branch change depends upon the student's capabilities. The rules for branch change are:

The changed branch cannot exceed more than 105% of existing strength.
The older branch must not have lesser than 75% of initial strength.
A minimum of 8 CPI is needed to be eligible for a branch change.
The rest depends on merit.



Placements and Internships:
Students take up internships in a variety of sectors such as Core, Consulting, Finance, FMCG's, Analytics, IT, NGO's and Government Institutions apart from the research internships taken up in various Indian and foreign universities. The jobs are also provided in the above sectors.

The highest salary offered was 17 Lakh per annum.
The average was above 9 LPA for CSE students.
For the rest of the students it was around 8 LPA.
Companies ranging from Microsoft to Morgan Stanley and Flipkart come for on-campus placements.



Festivals:
There are 2 inter-collegiate festivals:

Varchas: the inter college sports festival
Ignus: the inter college techno-cultural and business festival.
These festivals have made a mark in the 2-3 years since their birth and are surely one of the biggest festivals in Rajasthan and India.

The intra-college festivals:

Nimble: the technical festival
Spandan: the cultural festival
Kridansh: the sports festival


Canteen/Mess/Hangouts:
Mess food is decent. Although slightly over priced but has a particular level of quality and hygiene. Apart from this you’ll find the regular run-of-the-mill maggi shacks and sandwich corners which is something common to all Indian colleges. Outside campus there is a CCD and McDonald’s not very far away approximately 1km from the campus. The nearest theatre is about 1.5 km from the campus.



Contact Address:
Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur
Old Residency Road, Ratanada,
Jodhpur, Rajasthan - 342 011
Phone: +91 291 244 9024
Website: http://iitj.ac.in



Verdict:
The college enjoys a brilliant student culture and an all-round college life. Above all it’s an IIT with a decent name and statistics and has a lot to offer. It’s one of the best places to study. IIT-Jodhpur is definitely one of the better among the newer emerging IITs and will develop a strong foothold into the research and education field in the coming years, however we would suggest that you consider options even if they are off-beat branches in the top 5 IITs or good branches in BITS Pilani or the top 2 NITs, simply because the campus is yet to stabilize and with just a couple of graduated batches the alumni network is obviously not going to be any good compared to any senior institute

Indian Institute of Technology – Ropar (IIT Ropar)

Indian Institute of Technology – Ropar (IIT Ropar)
Foreword:
Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar - a relatively new IIT - was established in 2008. Students claim that this is one of the best among the new IITs. Internships and placements are picking up at very good pace for the batches.



Location:
IIT Ropar is located at Rupnagar which is 35kms from Chandigarh. Satluj river is just a 5 minute walk from the main gate of the campus. The campus is ex government polytechnic campus but is a temporary one. The construction for the permanent campus has already started. Current campus is definitely smaller compared to conventional IITs, but facilities are at par. Unpolluted atmosphere, typical town setting, fresh farm fields and beautiful climate throughout the year are the highlighting features of IIT Ropar.



Campus and Infrastructure:
Infrastructure of temporary campus is pretty decent. Labs are nice, just enough to meet all requirements of every department. Computer labs are air-conditioned. Library is huge and contains all sorts of academic books plus a range of informative magazines and journals. Sports facilities are provided for Cricket, Volleyball, Tennis, Basketball, Hockey, Football, Badminton and table-tennis. Canteen, an eatery, small hospital, 2 eateries just outside the main gate, xerox facility, stationary shop are the other facilities which students make use of while on campus.

Recently 2 big hostels were constructed to suppport the increased intake. Also there are multiple hostels around the campus. Facilities in hostels are spacious rooms, clean and cool water, washing machines, clean washrooms and WI-FI internet. There are two mess and both serve decent food.



Courses Offered:
Chemistry
Computer Science and Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Humanities
Mathematics
Physics


Fees:
Rs 58,650 per year
View breakup of fees, hostel/mess charges & fees for SC/ST students



Faculty:
Oh! Don't get intimidated with the new IIT tag. The faculty is pretty superb and students are impressed with the quality teaching. Everyone has a PhD degree as it is mandatory in IITs. Knowledgeable faculty and decent research is what you can expect at the Ropar campus. CS, EE and Mechanical are the 3 disciplines with wide variety of courses like humanities, physics, chemistry, mathematics and other departments are covered. Overall the experience with the teachers is pretty warm and students love the friendly atmosphere.



Crowd:
Just like all the IITs have a 10:1 boy to girl ratio, IIT Ropar is no different. Multicultural society has students from about 22+ states of the country. Educated, aspiring, quality students come to this institute as it is an IIT. Life on campus is too good. Classes, academics, cultural activities, sports, outings, industrial activities are all excellent. IIT Ropar has high learning atmosphere and strong peer competition.


Rankings:
Well, as mentioned before, students claim that this is the best IIT among the new ones. A good performance in the JEE exam can fetch you a seat in Ropar.



Placements and Internships:
The first batch was provided with decent internships and good placements. Both are really picking up as the institute is making its mark and marching forward in every field. Several of the current students have got internships in top notch companies, industries and many are doing internships even from abroad universities. Only the first batch has been placed till now i.e the pioneering batch.

The statistics for IIT Ropar are as follows:

Institute Average - 9.3 LPA (lacs per annum)
CSE - 12.1 LPA (Highest - 80,00 USD/annum)
EE - 6.4 LPA (Highest - 13 LPA)
ME - 7.2 LPA (Highest - 10 LPA)


Festivals and Activities:
Diwali, Holi and Sankranti and other festivals are celebrated on grand scale. Apart from institute funding, students also contribute to make the event a grand success. Cultural festival is Zeitgeist which was started in 2010. Both in 2010 and 2011, the event was a huge success drawing several students from various colleges of North India. Inter-hostel cultural, sports, quiz and gaming events followed by cricket league and football tournaments are the activities that students like to indulge in.



Canteen/Mess:
One canteen, one hangout spot (fuel zap), two canteens just outside the main gate and two mess are the socialising places in and outside the college. Chawlas, Lilly motel, Sahil hotel and HMT Resort etc. are few nearby restaurants.



Contact:
Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar
Nangal Road, Rupnagar,
Punjab - 140001
India
Tel: +91-1881-227078
Website: http://www.iitrpr.ac.in/


Verdict:
It's too early to give a verdict regarding IIT Ropar but students say, "wonderful experience through the 4 years is guaranteed".

Indian Institute of Technology, Patna (IIT-P)

Indian Institute of Technology, Patna (IIT-P)
Foreword:
IIT Patna is one of the eight new IIT’s established by Government of India in 2008. Indian Institute of Technology Patna is situated in the historic city of Patna (Bihar) which was the Mecca of learning and arts in ancient India. It is the birth land of two great religions-- Buddhism and Jainism. The first university of the whole world, Nalanda, is also located in the heart of Bihar state.



Location:
The temporary campus of IIT Patna is located in the urban section of Patna district. IIT Patna falls in the most posh colony of Patna city, surrounded by residences of the elite class of Patna. The permanent campus of IIT Patna is developing in Bihita which lies in perimeter of 25 km of Patna city.



Campus and Infrastructure:
Every facility related to academics is at its best at IIT Patna. All the classrooms, library, laboratories and all academic complexes are fully air conditioned. There are three boys hostels and one girl’s hostel, a new hostel is coming up soon. Hostels are moderately furnished and are shared by two or three depending on size of rooms. The internet facilities here are 24 hours and 7 days and are up to mark. Library is well-equipped with textbooks, reference, scientific journals and facilitated with computers.



Courses Offered:
Undergraduate Courses : B.Tech
Computer Science and Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering

Post Graduate Courses : Ph.D


Fees:
Rs. 60,250/- per year
View breakup of fees, hostel/mess charges & fees for SC/ST students



Faculty:
All the professors are Ph.D from some of the reputed institutes of India and abroad. All the professors are young with age and heart. They are experienced as well but lesser than their counterparts in other older IITs.



Crowd:
The boy/girls ratio here is approximately 7/1. People from all over India come to this college. You find a diverse crowd in terms of mother tongues. One can enjoy every aspect of an ideal hostel life at IIT Patna. There has been no scope or cases of ragging.



Rankings:
IIT P, as adorably referred, ranks first among all the new IITs. You need to get really good rank in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) to get into this institute; one must be under 4000 rank in general category.



Placements and Internships:
The year 2012 is the first year for placements of pioneer batch of IIT Patna. The trend is very satisfying and glorious.



Festivals and Activities:
There is an annul techno-cultural festival, Anwesha. Nebula, the annual fresher party, is a tradition at IIT Patna. We celebrate reverberance party every year during the series of vacations around Diwali and Durga Puja. Presently, there are no individual hostel events as such.



Canteen/Mess:
Mess food is like mess food but let me assure you it’s quite better than other institutions. There are many good restaurants in Patna and one can easily savour his taste buds.



Contact:
Indian Institute of Technology, Patna
Navin Government Polytechnic Campus, Patliputra Colony
Patna - 800 013. India.
Tel: +91-612-2552067
Website: www.iitp.ac.in



Verdict:
The diversity in masses, excellent academic backgrounds, personality development and sports facilities are something one would look for at IIT Patna. If you have qualified JEE but aren't amongst the top hundreds, and want to be in the best IIT amongst all the news, then this is for you all.

Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology - Jalandhar (NITJ)

Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology - Jalandhar (NITJ)
Introduction:
Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology was started in Jalandhar in the year 1987 as a Regional Engineering College. In 2002, it was conferred NIT status and thus is an Institute of National Importance. Being one of the newer (younger) NITs, NITJ isn't as popular as the others, but is expected to quickly climb up the ranks.



Location:
NITJ is located in a rural area on the outskirts of Jalandhar. The campus is just off the highway, and is very close to an army camp. The nearby villages are quite developed (which means people there can watch cable TV), but to find proper civilization, you need to drive down to Jalandhar.



Infrastructure:
Since NITJ is one of the newer NITs, you could say that it's still in the development stages, but the infrastructure already is one of the best among the NITs. There is constant need for construction and reconstruction, especially since the strength has gone up considerably. The institute has a state if the art Mega-hostel that houses 1600 students, with a couple more of the same under construction. Even the older hostels are very clean and well maintained. The laboratories are pretty good, but the library is somewhat lacking in terms of infrastructure as well as books. Facilities for sports are absolutely fantastic - they have floodlit grounds and courts for all possible sports. The mess is pretty good, and the food is edible, but it isn't the extraordinarily tasty Punjabi food you might dream of / expect. Damn.



Courses Offered:
Under Graduate Courses: B.Tech
Biotechnology
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Science and Engineering
Electronics and Communication Engineering
Industrial and Production Engineering
Instrumentation and Control Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Textile Engineering

Post Graduate Courses: M.Tech


Faculty:
Students give mixed reviews about the professors at National Institute of Technology Jalandhar. Although there's no doubt in their qualifications, some of the professors can be really stringent and orthodox, and at times even unreasonable. However, there are also those who are extremely liberal, and who share excellent rapports with the students.



Attendance:
It's quite strict. Even the 'liberal' professors are very particular when it comes to attendance. Students are expected to maintain a minimum of 75 percent, failing which they are failed in the particular subject in which they fall short of attendance. Oh, it really happens.



Crowd:
Even though most of the students are from Punjab, they stress on the fact that the crowd bears no resemblance to the 'Delhiite Hooligans'. You wouldn't find boys driving flashy cars with deafening Punjabi music playing, and passing lewd comments at girls. People here are quite decent and very friendly, without getting creepy. The 5:1 boy/girl ratio is actually better than what you would see at most NITs, and it's ever-improving.



Hangouts:
There aren't too many activities to do once you get out of the college, which is probably why there are so many things to do within the campus itself. Of course, Jalandhar (like most other places in and around Punjab) is a food-lover's paradise, so you have umpteen number of dhabas and small eateries around, but that's about it.



Placements:
As you'd expect at any NIT, the college has 100 percent placements. About 40 companies participate in the placement process, and the average salary goes up to about Rs. 6 lpa. The highest salary is about Rs. 12 lpa, which is pretty awesome for a fresher.



Festivals:
The technical festival, TechNITI is held in September while the cultural fest Utkansh is held in March.



Contact Address:
National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar
National Highway 1,
Jalandhar, Punjab - 144011
Website : www.nitj.ac.in


Verdict:
Yes, it is a relatively new college, but the chilled out environment and the lovely infrastructure ensures that you'll have good four years at NIT Jalandhar. Oh, and needless to say, the NIT tag will make a huge difference in shaping your career.

Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT) – Bhopal

Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT) – Bhopal
Foreword:
The National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, like many other NITs used to be a Regional Engineering College. Perhaps the most popular engineering college in Madhya Pradesh, it’s among the top few NITs. It celebrated its golden jubilee year in 2010.



Location:
The NIT Bhopal campus is situated in main city Bhopal. Much of the area inside and around is Urban. It is the largest among all NITs (area wise) with a campus of about 650 acres! It has a great variety of flora inside the campus which is maintained by college itself.



Campus and Infrastructure:
It has almost all the facilities an engineering college should have, except for some like a common room which might be open 24x7 for students to work, night canteens, and decent furniture in some of the classes. Many laboratories of this campus are air conditioned, especially computer labs. There are seven hostels as of now and new ones are under progress. Hostel infrastructure is a bit below average though. Unavailability of drinking water sometimes is a problem. Each year hostels change so number of roommates change as well. LAN access is available in every room with good downloading speeds. Labs here are not too well equipped. And even if they are, equipments don't work properly. Oh dear.



Faculty:
Some of the professors are very good and experienced too. But most of them have bad teaching methodologies which drives students away from attending regular classes. Deans are very helpful in their respective areas. They lend students a friendly ear and try to sort out their problems.



Crowd:
The boy to girl ratio is not good, but what do you expect at an NIT? With roughly one girl for every four boys, the ratio is probably much healthier than what you’ll see at most other places. People come here from across the country so the culture is rich and varying.  This blend of cultures makes life on campus very exciting and happening. Ragging was common once upon a time, and it was pretty scary too, but for last two years it has stopped.



Rankings:
Amongst all engineering institutes in country, NIT Bhopal stands at around 25-35 and amongst NITs it stands at around 6th or 7th position.

You need to have a rank of anything higher than 12000 to get a decent branch here.



Placements and Internships:
Placements have really improved in the past couple of years. Though always quite excellent, they’ve become even better now. Software and IT companies are now joined by finance firms which pick up a number of students with really good packages.



Festivals and Activities:
Every year the technical festival 'Technosearch' is organized in the even semester. It’s a national level event. This year NIT Bhopal took an initiative to organize an Inter NIT Robotics Championship which, needless to say, was a great success.



Canteen/Mess:
The food in the mess, unfortunately, isn’t too good. But students are forced to eat it because they cannot spend daily on food.

Bhopal is a city of lakes, and students can be found hanging out by the lakes. Also there is a new mall called DB City mall which is a treat to visit.



Contact Address:
Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT)
Bhopal-462051.
Madhya Pradesh, India.
Telephone : +91 755 4051000 / 4052000
Fax : +91-755 2670562, 2670802, 2671175
Website : www.manit.ac.in



Verdict:
NIT Bhopal, thanks to its location at the centre of the country, experiences a rich culture. Students come to know about people from different parts of India and interact with them. They get good exposure, and coupled with the weather which is pleasant throughout, it’s a great experience. It’s a top college which provides a very conducive environment for studying.

Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur (MNIT)

Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur (MNIT)
Introduction:
Malaviya National Institute of Technology was formerly the Regional Engineering College (REC) in the capital of Rajasthan. Established in 1963, it was given the status of an NIT in 2003. The college is also considered an Institute of National Importance, which is a pretty cool thing, if you ask us.



Location:
Malaviya NIT Jaipur is located in quite a prime area, right in the heart of the city. This ensures that, unlike what is the case with most NITs, MNIT has an urban campus, and there actually are a number of things to do once you step out of the college. The area is partly commercial and partly residential, and also houses the very famous GT Market.



Infrastructure:
The huge, 350 acre campus is tastefully designed, with lush greenery prevailing in spite of the extreme conditions of Jaipur. Ever since it was given NIT status, the college has been involved in constant renovation activity. The college gives a look of being in transition. Most of the older buildings are being torn down, and swanky new buildings have come up. The fully air conditioned, computerized library has more books than you could bargain for and – more importantly - they are made available to students whenever required. The new laboratories are air conditioned, and the old ones are pretty well-maintained as well. The old hostels aren’t that appealing, but the new hostels (which are coming up very quickly) are fantastic. The present canteen is nothing to boast about, but the upcoming one promises to be quite excellent. For the time being, students are happy with the juice corners in the hostels. The messes are huge, and serve food which isn’t great, to be honest, but is more than edible.



Ranking:
NIT Jaipur is widely considered to be in the top 5 NITs. For the in-demand courses, you’ll need a rank of about 2000, while the less-loved branches would admit you with a rank of around 8000.



Courses Offered:
Undergraduate Courses :
Architecture
Civil Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Computer Engineering
Chemistry
Electronics & Communication Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Humanities & Social Sciences
Mathematics
Metallurgical & Materials Engineering
Physics
Structural Engineering
Information Technology

Post Graduate Courses :


Faculty:
The faculty, as you would expect at most colleges, is a decent mixture of good and not-so-good professors. Senior professors outnumber junior professors, and almost the entire staff is quite approachable. There are a few problems, though. Some teachers are said to be very annoying, and some are said to hold grudges for the longest time. So you’d best make sure you’re in everyone’s good books.



Attendance:
Most professors insist that each student needs to maintain a minimum of 75 per cent attendance. In some cases, your rapport with a professor might help you work around it, but don’t count on it. If you fall too short of attendance, they might just fail you.



Crowd:
Now, a great crowd isn’t something you associate with NITs, and MNIT is no different. The boy/girl ratio is a terrible 7:1 (and it may be worse), so girls are at an absolute premium here. But the one thing that really stands out is the excellent rapport that students have with each other. Especially the hostellites, who develop strong bonds through their four (or more) years at the college with each other.



Festivals:
NIT Jaipur hosts national level festivals every year, out of which the stand-out events are their technical fest, Neuron and their cultural fest, Blitzschlag.



Contact Address:
Malaviya National Institute of Technology,
Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg,
Jaipur - 302017,
Rajasthan.
Website : www.mnit.ac.in



Verdict:
Students say “it’s like any other engineering college, but it’s an NIT”. Good overall development, but not the greatest life, it must be said.

National Institute of Technology – Patna (NIT Patna)

National Institute of Technology – Patna (NIT Patna)
Foreword:
The National Institute of Technology Patna is the 18th National Institute of Technology created by the Ministry of H.R.D. Government of India after rechristening the erstwhile Bihar College of Engineering Patna in January 2004. NIT Patna marked its humble beginning in 1886 with the establishment of pleaders survey training school which was subsequently promoted to Bihar College of Engineering Patna in 1924. This made this institute the 6th Oldest Engineering Institute of India. The graduate level curriculum was later elevated to the post graduate level in 1978.



Location:
NIT Patna is situated on the south bank of the holy river Ganga behind Gandhi Ghat, one of the most important and reverential place of Patna. The Gandhi Ghat is associated with the immersion of ashes of father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi in the river Ganga. The Institute campus is 8 Km from the Patna junction railway station and 20 Km from the Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport, Patna. The entrance to the institute is from Ashok Rajpath and it is about 3 Km from the famous Gandhi Maidan. The Institute is residential in nature and provides residential facilities to its students as well as teachers as per availability. Its 60 acres campus has a picturesque river view with eyecatching historic buildings presenting a spectacle of architectural and natural beauty.



Courses Offered:
Under Graduate Courses: B.Tech
Civil Engineering
Computer Science and Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Electrical and Communication Engineering
Information Technology
Mechanical Engineering
Campus and Infrastructure:
NIT Patna provides to all its students, employees and staff all the basic amenities that are required for a more resourceful and healthy development. A fully equipped Wi-Fi campus ensures uninterrupted 24 Hrs internet access at every nook and corner of the campus.

The institute provides residential facilities to students through three boys hostels and one girls hostel. The Institute maintains a central Library which has over 50,000 books and about 1,100 internationally acclaimed e-journals and works for about 10 hours per day. The library as well as all the computer labs everywhere in the institute are centrally airconditioned.



Faculty:
The faculty at NIT Patna ensures that the atmosphere is very friendly. Although most of the professors are quite old, they’re very very well updated. The new teachers too, while not as experienced as their older counterparts, are quite learned and very approachable.



Crowd:
The boy girl ratio is roughly 4/1, which isn’t too bad considering that this is an NIT, and the added fact that it’s in, well, Bihar. People from every corner of India can be found here, but all of them are in agreement about the fact that there isn’t much to look forward to in the campus, apart from maybe the WiFi access. There’s no night canteen, and the library isn’t functional at night either. Fortunately, there are some places to go to once you step outside campus limits. Plus, there’s heavy construction work going on within the campus, so things are expected to improve sooner rather than later.

Ragging at NIT Patna is a strict no-no; juniors are treated as friends. Allegedly.



Rankings:
Though NIT Patna lacks a bit in infrastructure, students are firm in their belief that very soon, it’ll be among the top 5 NITs.



Placements and Internships:
Every year, about 90% of the students get placed, and most are quite pleased with the jobs they get. The highest salary is normally about 10 lac per year, while the average stands at roughly Rs.4.5 lac per annum. Some of the companies that hire in number from NIT Patna are DRDO, IOCL, NTPC Ltd., Ispat Industries Ltd., Gammon India Ltd, ITC Infotech India Ltd., PGCIL, Infosys, Gati Infrastructure Ltd., Punj Llyod Ltd., L&T, Vodafone Ltd., Tech Mahindra, HPCL, etc.



Festivals and Activities:
NIT Patna hosts its techfest called 'Corona' and cultural fest called 'Melange', for which technical colleges from all across India are invited. It also hosts a Saraswati Puja every year, which is probably the biggest in Patna.



Canteen/Mess:
Each hostel has its individual mess, which have their separate menus, none of which are exceptionally good, to be fair. There are two canteens as well, which serve decent food, but you have to pay for it, of course. Fortunately, there are a number of hangouts very close to college. Ganga Ghat right behind college is lovely and picturesque, and has few nice restaurants like Kapils Elevens, Purple Lounge, etc. A place called Haajipur is a very common place to hang out, and you’ll find a number of ‘late night parties’ taking place here.



Contact Address:
National Institute of Technology, Patna
Ashok Rajpath,
Patna - 800 005. Bihar.
Phone: +91-612-2371715 / 2371929
Email: registrar@nitp.ac.in
Website : www.nitp.ac.in



Verdict:
As some students mentioned, ‘NIT Patna is for grown-ups. Mama’s boys aren’t welcome here’. While that might sound intimidating, it’s not really too bad. And people who have a terrible, terrible impression about Bihar in the back of their heads will probably be quite surprised once they see this place. All in all, a decent college, and a very rich heritage.

National Institute of Technology (NITC), Calicut

National Institute of Technology (NITC), Calicut
Introduction:
The National Institute of Technology, Calicut was previously known as Calicut Regional Engineering College. Established in 1961, it became an NIT in 2002 and is an institute of national importance. Apart from being one of the most sought after engineering colleges in the country, it is one of the few institutes in India to host it's own supercomputer. Yikes!



Location:
Now although it's called NIT Calicut, the college is far, far away from the city. A whole 22 kilometres away from Calicut, NITC is located in a rural area, with nothing apart from a few rivers around it.



Infrastructure:
NIT Calicut is one of the oldest institutes in India, but the constant construction and renovation ensures that it doesn't look ancient. Yes, some of the buildings may look like they're from a long bygone era, but the management ensures that they are well maintained, and new, modern buildings come up on a more than regular basis. The students are provided with all facilities they might need; the college has good, air conditioned labs, a fantastic library, three tennis courts, two basketball courts, indoor badminton courts, grounds for football and cricket, and even a swimming pool. There is a mega hostel coming up, which would have all modern amenities, and house about 1500 students. That should take care of the fact that the current hostels are way too cramped and really not up to the mark.



Rankings:
Though there's no official ranking available, NIT Calicut is widely regarded as the fourth among all NITS.



Courses Offered:
Undergraduate Courses : B.Tech
Biotechnology
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Science and Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Electronics and Communication Engineering
Physics
Mechanical Engineering
Production Engineering

Post Graduate Courses : M.Tech
Post graduate Courses : M.Sc (Tech)
Ph.D. Courses:

M.C.A. - Computer Science and Engineering


Faculty:
All the professors are properly qualified and maintain good relations with the students. A very healthy percentage of the staff is senior, and junior professors teach only first and second year students. NIT Calicut is currently mentoring NIT Sikkim, which is why a few professors have left recently for there, but that hasn't reduced the quality of staff, students claim.



Attendance:
Somehow, NIT Calicut doesn't have too many attendance issues. The degree of leniency in terms of attendance is department specific. The Comps department is said to have absolutely no problems if you don't attend, and even other departments aren't too finicky about it. Of course, there may be a few professors who get touchy about attending their lectures, so all you have to do is identify them and keep them happy.



Crowd:
When you come to an NIT, you can't expect to meet supermodels, and NIT Calicut is no different. The crowd is quite nice and very amiable, juniors and seniors share good relations with each other. Of course, this doesn't mean that ragging is absent - it does take place, but it's all done in good fun and never ever gets ugly. The one bad part is the awful boy/girl ratio, which is nothing more than 5:1. Oh lord.



Canteen:
The messes at NITC have a decent variety of Indian food, but it must be mentioned that most food is cooked in the typical South Indian style, which may not please too many taste buds. They have a canteen which is open till 3 in the morning, and serves all kinds of snacks at pretty reasonable prices. And much needed coffee, of course.



Hangouts:
As you've probably read by now, NITC is in the middle of nowhere, so if you want to 'chill', you had better find some place to do so within college itself. Once you get out of the college gates, there's not much civilization for a good while, just a forest. A nice weekend getaway 30km away is Wayanad, and students often find themselves going trekking there, mainly because they have nothing else to do.



Festivals:
NITC hosts its annual technical festival, Tathva in September and it's cultural fest Ragam in March. Both attract participants from all over the country, and are always huge successes.



Contact Address:
National Institute of Technology Calicut
N.I.T.Campus P. O.
Kozhikode- 673 601,
Kerala.
Website : www.nitc.ac.in



Verdict:
As a student claims, "an excellent place to spend four important years of your life".

National Institute of Technology Karnataka , Surathkal (NITK)

National Institute of Technology Karnataka , Surathkal (NITK)
Introduction:
Started in 1960, NIT-Surathkal was originally the Regional Engineering College (REC) of the state. In the year 2002, it was christened National Institute of Technology - Karnataka and was also given the status of an Institute of National Importance. Rightly so, it seems, because NITK has quickly moved up the ranks and is widely regarded as being among the top ten engineering colleges of India. It is also currently mentoring NIT-Goa, which is pretty cool, if you ask us.



Location:
Though the name Surathkal may not be terribly appealing, students swear by the location of NITK. Surathkal is a tiny place, just off National Highway 17, and is probably known mainly because of the college. Anyway, NITK is right on the coastline, and even has a private beach all to itself. Also, the lovely city of Mangalore is just 25 kilometres away. Its not SO perfect though - the weather isn't too great; there are just two seasons- 7 months of summer and 5 months of torrential rain.



Infrastructure:
It's really good, actually. Four years ago, yes, the college looked like it was in urgent need of a makeover. And that's exactly what it got; a crazy spree of construction activity has completely transformed the entire look of NITK. Three new Mega-hostels, each housing 550 boys, with excellent single rooms and facilities have quickly come up, and a few more are under construction. All the laboratories are brand new and fully functional, with the latest equipments. The library, although not air conditioned, is well ventilated and always has more books than you can ask for. The college also has really good facilities for sports, with a number of courts and grounds for different sports, and an Olympic-size swimming pool as well. The main building and the hostels are wifi enabled. The only complaint students have is with the scarcity of water coolers in the campus, but they say that that's improving too.



Rankings:
NIT-Surathkal has regularly been voted the best among all NITs in the country. Obviously, that means that you need to be, well, among the toppers in AIEEE if you want to stand a chance of getting in.



Faculty:
Most students are full of good things to say about the professors, who are said to be very friendly and extremely approachable. The Mechanical department faculty is singled out for special praise, while students say that the CS and IT branches are slightly short of experienced faculty members. The good part is that none of the professors have big ego problems, and most share a good rapport with students.



Attendance:
This is where things can get tricky. All NITs have a 75 percent attendance rule, though there are a few where it's slightly relaxed. Not at NITK, though. Almost all the professors are very particular about attendance (there are a few exceptions of course, but you never know when they might change their minds). If you fall short of attendance, warnings are given. But if you still fail to pull up your socks, you can expect to flunk the subject. They even have a term for it - FA grade (Failed because of Attendance). Yikes!



Crowd:
Since it's an NIT (and arguably the topmost NIT), you can't really expect to find supermodels here. But it's not too bad either. Yes, the girl/boy ratio is a frighteningly poor 1:9, but NITK isn't 'unliveable'. There's an okay mix of the extremely nerdy and the uber cool, the sports fanatics and the useless junkies. We find it just slightly hard to believe, but students assure us that there's something for everyone here.



Festivals:
The technical festival, Engineer is held in October, while the cultural fest Incident is held sometime in February. While they certainly don't have the most innovative of names, both festivals are extremely popular and receive wild participation from across the country. Another festival called Crescendo is an intra-college fest held in March, is also quite popular.



Placements:
Well, the placements are really, really good, and they just seem to go on improving year on year. The average salary is between 7 and 8 lpa, which is fantastic, of course. The top companies from most engineering-related (and sometimes even other) sectors are regular recruiters at NITK. To give you a gist of what you can expect, Facebook recently picked up a few students for a California based profile, and will be paying them a whopping 52lpa (when converted to rupees, obviously, but it's still bonkers, isn't it?!). Google and Microsoft have been visiting the campus for the past few years as well, and picking a handful of brilliant students at mind boggling salaries. Wow!



Contact Address:
National Institute of Technology Karnataka , Surathkal
Srinivasnagar , Dakshina Kannada District,
Mangalore 575025 , Karnataka.
Tel +91-824-2474000-2474023 (24 lines)
Website : www.nitk.ac.in



Famous Alumni:
K.V Kamath - Chairman, Infosys and Non-executive chairman of ICICI
K. Ullas Karanth - Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society India Program
Sunil Kumar, Dean of University of Chicago - Booth School of Business
Ashok Kheny - Director of Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises and MLA


Verdict:
If you get into NIT-Surathkal, you don't think - you just go. One of the finest technical institutes in India, it's so good that it's probably a shade better than some of the newer IITs.