A place beyond pines

Overall satisfied with my college management. Some changes can be made in mess or faculty training programs, apart from that, this college is paradise.

I cleared IIT JEE with a rank of 6889. Even though my BITSAT score was good enough (319 marks), I chose this college due to its overall reputation in India. I had to settle for a lower branch though (Mechanical Engineering), as opposed to Computer Science which was being offered at BITS Goa or Hyderabad. Nonetheless, I never regretted my decision because, well, its the oldest IIT of all. This was also the reason why I kept Kharagpur above all other IITs in my priority list.

First year course is common for all students regardless of their stream. Its mainly an extension of what we had studied while preparing for JEE in class 12th. After one year, students are given a choice to switch departments, based on their CGPA at the year end. Mechanical engineering curriculum is robust and lays down basics needed by a mechanical engineer. But at the same time, I would like to add that teaching method is slightly outdated too, when compared to international standards. Most of the courses are theoretical, focusing mostly on encouraging research among the students. In the final year, students get electives to choose from. Though not many electives are provided as an option, but due to flexibility, students have the privilege of converting any course they wish to study into their elective after taking permission from HOD. I had 2 electives in 7th semester so I took one in my department and another from Maths Department. This flexibility allows us to pursue our minor in other departments as well.

Yes. We do have 2 months compulsory internship in our pre final year. Our college's career development center does a good job in inviting companies over for internship interviews and manages to provide internship to at least 40% of the students. Rest have to manage on their own contacts. At the end of internship, we have a presentation in our department where we have to show our work to our HODs. Average stipend is around 20 k rupees, some as high as 1.5 lack while others mostly around 10-15 k. Internship experience varies depending on the company. Some of my friends having interned at big firm have given bad reviews even though they did receive a huge check at the end, while some who have worked at smaller firms had mostly positive reviews about the quality of work.

Overall speaking, IIT KGP has highest placement stats in India every year. Mostly due to its very good reputation among many recruiters but also partially because of its large number of students sitting for placements. Last year around 1900 students opted for campus placements, around 1000 got placed in the first phase (December) and 700 in the next phase(January- March). Career Development Centre which coordinates the placements in campus is quite good at helping students get jobs. Broadly speaking, companies from following sector visit our campus for placements: Financial firms like Nomura (13 lakh), DB (20 lakh), Banks like Citibank (11 lakh), yes bank (11 Lakh), Analytics firms like Exl Analytics (11 lakh), Global Analytics (10 lakh), Startups like Wrig Nanosystems (18 lakh), Flipkart (15 lakh), Roadrunner, Coding firms like Microsoft, Goldman Sachs (30 lakh), Other firms like Amazon, Schlumberger (34 lakh), ITC, HUL.

Every year we have General championships (called GC) in which various halls (hostels) participate in events related to 3 GCs: technical, social and sports. This is an inter hall competition where residents of halls compete in teams against each other and the hall with maximum points in the tally wins the respective GC. The hall with all the 3 GCs is said to have made Platinum. Techno-management Festival of Kharagpur is Kshitij. Organised every year in the month of January. A 4 day event. Participants include students from various colleges of Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar etc. Organising team consisting of students from all years work hard throughout the year to make it happen. Cultural Festival of kharagpur : Spring Fest. In the month of January. 4 day event. Participants include students from various colleges of Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar etc. Various social cultural competitions are organised during the day while prominent star performances make the nights unforgettable.

Due to recent hike in fees, it is now comparable to some private colleges. Earlier the fees was quite low. Despite this, the facilities provided are world class. So no complaints for increased fees. Details : Total fees per semester : 71000 which includes, Mess fees : 13000, Tuition fees : 45000 rest other expenses.

I do not receive any scholarship but many of my friends do. I have little knowledge in this regard, some of them are: MCM.

Campus life : One of the best. Quite lenient. Unlike private colleges where students are locked in their hostels after classes, we have so many societies, so many opportunities to make friends and interact with seniors after class hours. Gender Ratio: 10:1. Sports: We have well developed infrastructure for every kind of sports. Every hostel has its own volleyball, hockey, cricket, badminton court, table tennis. In addition, there's a common tennis court, swimming pool and two large playgrounds, for football, hockey and cricket practice. Throughout the year, these fields are swarmed with students practicing for various sports events organised by Gymkhana like Open IITs, Inter IITs and regional championships. Societies: A lot of societies are registered under gymkhana with aim of bringing like minded people together to make something which individuals cant achieve alone. Some of them are : Business clubs, Music club(Eastern & Western), Dramatics clubs, Robotics club, Literary clubs, student run youth welfare society (NGO), entrepreneurship cell, Debating society, Quiz club, Alumni relations cell etc. These societies have a well defined hierarchy which helps them carry out operations quite efficiently. They hone the skills of their members by encouraging them to practice and participate in various national international events, many-a-times members pass with flying colours.

Hostel Facilities : Quite good. New hostels are big, spacious and world class. Old hostels have been renovated or are being renovated to meet the standards set by new ones. Mess food : Not satisfactory. Food is neither tasty nor ample. Students are forced to eat in canteens many times a week due to bad quality or quantity of food being served. Those who cant afford this luxury, are forced to eat in mess. No much can be done in this respect as the mess runs on contract basis and due to the union politics in Bengal, any change in the mess system will eventually lead to strikes all over the place.

IIT KGP has one of the best Alumni network in India, I presume. An Alumni cell (called A cell) dedicated solely to reach out to alumni is registered under gymkhana and does a efficient job in bringing in support for the institute. Recently with its help, Nalanda complex (multi story building with international standard classrooms) is built (some part of it is still under construction). Personal interactions with seniors and alumni are always pleasant. In first year, every student is assigned a third year of his/her department through mentor ship program and students are encouraged to interact with their mentors. Mentors are quite helpful in resolving various academic, non academic issues students face during their initial stay here. We tend to remain in contact with our mentors even after they pass out and seek for valuable 'fundas' for placements and internships. I had interacted with college alumni at my internship and as expected he was very helpful because of the bond we shared. I somehow felt that that he was more patient and lenient with me and at the same time all ears whenever I had something to add to the discussion. He surely made my internship experience enriching.

Exam structure is very hectic. Mostly its continuous in two shifts a day, ending in just one week. If you are unlucky enough, you will have 2 exams in a single day. Since last three semesters, all my five papers are completed in a span of just three consecutive days, four paper in first two days, and one paper on last day. Frequency of labs depends on semester. Mostly in first year we have 3 labs for 3 hours each every week. After that, we never had more than 2 labs in a semester. In final year we usually have just 1 lab.

Having studied under some of the best teachers in India and abroad (from online courses), I have high standards when it comes to judging a faulty. Our college has quality professors when it comes to research done, papers published or experience in their field. They know what they are teaching, through and through. That being said, when it comes to their teaching skills, only few professors reach the international standards. Most of them are unable to interact properly with the students (sometimes due to language barrier ie their Bengali accent), leading to student's disinterest in the topic. Many professors do not know how to make their subject interesting to the students, they just keep filling boards with equations and theory without signifying its physical relevance or modern applications.