From Campus Life to Academics: My insights into IIT Gandhinagar

IIT Gandhinagar has branch change option. So all the first year students studies the same course compulsorily. In the upcoming years students are flexible to choose any electives they like. College enforce project based learning, in each semester you have to make your group and submit one of the project related to what you learned in the semester. You also have to submit your project's progress report in the middle for advice of improvement. Some course like introduction to writing and General Education are designed to improve soft skills (communication, descriptive / formal writing, story telling, etc) which helps a lot in the life. Usually there is 2 quize, midsem, endsem and some assignments for a course but it largely varies with course.

One of the committee named CDS brings companies like Amazon, Bharat Electronics Ltd to college. Also you will be always updated about off-campus internship available through mail. IIT Gandhinagar itself provides an research internship - SRIP (Summer Research Internship Program). It gives a stiped of Rs. 2000/week for a minimum of 8 weeks.

In 2024, IIT Gandhinagar has seen a recession in the placement. About 164 students have registered and only 125 got a job. The average package was Rs. 18.20 LPA. The average package of B.Tech CSE students was around 22.73 LPA. Students are elligible for campus placements in their 7th semester in which companies like infosys, amul, adani group, NVIDIA comes. Top companies like microsoft and google have not came yet. This year on of the 4th year B.Tech electrical student got a job offer of 48 LPA which is amazing.

For the first semester, student need to pay Rs. 1,59,338. This includes tution fees of Rs. 1,00,000, Mess and laundry charge of Rs. 21,0000, and hostel rent of Rs. 17,250, other allied charges of Rs. 8,338 and one-time admission fee of Rs. 12,750. For all other semester the admission fee is not included which make a total of Rs. 1,46,588.

The institute hosts numerous clubs spanning cultural, technical, and social domains, providing students with platforms to explore their passions and develop new skills. There are clubs like Vinteo (Film making club), Awaam (Society, Politics and Debating club), Metis (Coding Club), DigiS (Digital Sport Club), Sargam (Music Club), StepUp (Dance Club), IEEC (Entreprenurship), etc. There are annual fests like Blithchorn, Amalthea, etc. Blithchorn is institute's annual cultural festival, is a celebration of creativity and talent

Institute's hostels are modern, spacious, and designed to provide a comfortable living experience for students. each room come with essential furniture such as bed, mattress, study table, chair, and a wardrobe. Rooms are air-conditioned and accessed to high speed internet, supporting academic and personal needs. Each hostel has common rooms with seating arrangements for group activities. The mess at IIT provides hygienic and nutritious meals, catering to diverse taste of students. The menu includes a balanced diet with a variety of taste from all over India.

I have applied for IIIT-Hyderabad and got a confirmed seat in ECE. It has a very good placement record and last year (2023) ECE average package was Rs. 30 lakhs. But I did not opt for this because it was a private college whose fees goes to nearly Rs. 5 lakhs per semester. I was told that I can take Alumni loan in which full fees will be paid from alumni fund and I would have to repay that after I got a job. But it's fees are increasing year by year and it doesn't seem fair to me. Also I got some news about it's unhygenic mess foods, my freinds who joined there also complains the same. I have also applied in IIT kharagpur's instrumental engineering which I lost with a difference of 17 ranks. I was getting admission in NIT Rourkela CSE because it does not support reasearchs as IIT Gandhinagar do. For admission in this college you can apply through JOSSA which gives you seat on the merit of JEE Adv. examination. You can also get admissions through onlympiads exams.

IIT gandhinagar has a good number of facaulties. The faculty-to-student ration is 1:10. All the faculties are always available through email. You can also talk with them during meal time if you are lucky to find them or you can ask them for a meet over email. Personally I liked one of the english instructor, prof Desai he is very freindly and his advice has a practical effect. I also liked some of the math instuctors who are so passionate about their subject which induce the same passion inside their students. All facaulties are good as a person but some are more strict than others when academics are concerned. One of the course in the first year is Engineering Graphics which follow a strict marking policy, one of my batchmate got a negative number in one of the drawing. Another course I didn't liked is history, it was so boring and half of my class used to sleep during the class with their eye open because sleeping was prohibited in the class :).

The sorts facilities are excellent. The facility includes indoor courts, gym, swimming pool. The campus has multiple cafeterias and food stalls offereing a variety of food option, althogh the main cafteria open till 10PM, but some smaller kiosks and snack corners remain open till 3AM . The central library is agreat place for self study and group studies or quiet reading. There are public areas like Panchayat Circle, Student Lounge for casual discussions or group projects. There is no strict curfew for residents, fostering a flexible and independent lifestyle.