SYMBIOSIS INSTITUTE OF DIGITAL AND TELECOM MANAGEMENT- BEST TELECOM SCHOOL IN SAARC REGION

A very wonderful and fantastic admission process was carried out. The pandemic had forced Symbiosis Institute of Digital and Telecom Management (SIDTM) to conduct the admission process fully in online mode. Symbiosis National Aptitude Test or SNAP is the Management exam held all over India conducted by SIU or Symbiosis International. It is a time-based MCQ exam with a time duration of 60 minutes comprising of English Language, Mathematics, and Logical Reasoning. You can give SNAP 2 times and the better score out of the 2 can be sent to the colleges you have applied to of your choice. The Application form for SNAP is available at the official website of SNAP and the application fees are Rs. 1950 /-. You have to be a Graduate from any stream with 50% marks and a SNAP valid score of between 70 to 79 percentile in order to be eligible for admission. If shortlisted based on your score, the next round is popularly known as the GE-PIWAT round which was conducted on an online portal and on ZOOM.

SIDTM is famously known to offer an amazing blend of Telecommunications with Marketing and Business that are required in today's age of booming telecom industry. One has 3 options or specializations to choose from while studying in SIDTM: Marketing, Systems, and Finance. Systems are the flagship specialization of the institute. SIDTM also offers a variety of free certification courses such as AWS, IBM, PowerBI, etc. I chose this college because Telecom has always fascinated me and I decided to further pursue my studies in Telecom, however, I needed a course that can help me in developing both my technical skills in telecom and also negotiation and managerial skills. Term Exams are fairly easy and have both MCQ and subjective-based questions. Faculty has PHDs, some have post-doctoral degrees and most of them are also NET qualified teachers. The teaching method includes visual images, simulations, and software, and PowerPoint presentations. The teacher-student ratio is 8:1.

1st-year students are eligible for internships with many people who can receive PPOs (Pre-Placement Offers) provided they perform well in the internship. The Internship process typically begins from the end of August to the end of April. The various roles offered are Business Analyst, Business Development Associate, Growth Interns, Strategy Management Intern. The companies that mostly arrive at internship drives are Vodafone, EY, Tata Teleservices, Aircel, Airtel, MathWorks, etc. The highest stipend offered was Rs. 1,60,000 and the average was around Rs. 59,000. Projects range from Market research to writing journals and articles for different companies or also writing progress reports for a company's revenue.

2nd Year is the time when one becomes eligible for campus placements. Companies that generally visit come from mostly business and IT backgrounds. They offer roles such as Product Manager, Strategy Manager, Data Analyst, IT Service Manager, Financial Analyst, Cyber Security Executives. Also, Consulting has been the top priority of companies and students. The list of Companies are Reliance, Adani, TCS, Infosys, AT&T, etc. The highest package offered was 29LPA and the average was 15.7 LPA. The top 50 received 13.57 LPA, Top 100 received 10.50 LPA. There was a steep rise of freshers also getting packages more than 17LPA. 100% placement has always been the record of SIDTM.

The fee is in total 14-15 lakhs, which is approximately 6 to 7 lakhs per year. The fee may be hiked by 10% subject to Government and University Regulations. The Fee Structure typically includes Academic fees, Hostel fees, Mess fees, Institutional development fees. Fees are required to be paid in 4 installments throughout the whole duration of the course. International students are also charged in USD equivalent to INR rates. If coming from a low-income group, one has to show the right documents and can avail of financial assistance. Scholarships are available for meritious students who are typically semester toppers with a minimum requirement of 7.5 CGPA. 50% scholarship is provided from the academic fees of the course. Stipend from Internships ranges from 50,000 to 1.4 Lakhs. Placement is 100% in SIDTM with an average package of 15.7 LPA and the highest is offered at 29LPA.

The campus is very beautiful and is located at the hilltop having exotic scenery. There are lot of clubs and committees that do a great job in raising the brand value of SIDTM. Some of them are Marketing Club, Branding Committee, Academics Committee, SPARSH committee (an environment committee), E-Cell, Finance club, and many more. There is also a Sports Committee that conducts Sports Day inviting various colleges to compete with SIDTM in different sports events. Dusherra, Diwali, Christmas, New Year all are celebrated with great pomp and show on the SIDTM campus. There is a big Central Library containing more than 120 subjects and genres of books, magazines, articles, and it has an Online E-Portal that contains e-books, newspapers, and research journals. Classrooms contain smart boards, sophisticated labs, upgraded computer software, and are also very spacious. There is an Instagram and Facebook account of SIDTM handled by students to give regular updates.

Hostel fee is 1,00,000 per year with single, double, and triple occupancy respectively. The campus is a fully residential campus. You do not have a choice during the First Year to choose what room you want, however, from the second year you will have the freedom to choose your own comfort room subject to availability and demand. Price can be hiked to 10-20% depending on Institute guidelines. LAN connector, cupboards, shoe rack is available in hostel rooms. Mess food is of good quality containing both Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian cuisines catering to different needs of students. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner is tasty and is provided by the Mess. The menu might change every week subject to Institute's capability to prepare the meal and the cost of procuring food materials.

After getting shortlisted in SIDTM, I had appeared for Written Ability Test, Group Exercise, and Personal Interview. It is popularly abbreviated among the students as GE-PIWAT. Firstly in the Written Ability Test, one is given 8 topics to choose from and I had to write an essay on only ONE topic. Time was allotted for 30 minutes. It had to be written on an online portal. To prepare for this test I had read various policies of corporate and government, read newspapers, and most importantly always practiced writing 2 or 3 essays every day. Then came the Group Exercise where there were 8 members in one group and individually each one is given a chance to speak for about 2 minutes on any given topic that the panel had thrown at the group. I spoke for about 1 minute and 30 seconds. Topics can be from business to science or any hypothetical problem. For the final Interview round, there is a Panel of 3 to 4 members of the SIDTM faculty assessing the communication skills and mental ability of an individual.