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.

Website : www.iitg.ac.in


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!

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.


Website : www.iitr.ac.in


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.