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PESIT-New Kid on the Block!

On a recent train journey from Bangalore to Delhi, I met a young engineering student from Bangalore. Our mutual dislike of curd rice & coconut led to a long winded conversation about the placement possibilities in some of the private colleges in Bangalore.

A talkative young chap, my new friend was pursuing his B.Tech in IT from a private college called PESIT. Later, upon googling, I found the college was called People Education Society Institutes and offered a gamut of courses ranging from Medical and Engineering to Hotel Management and MBA.

Admissions are made on the basis of CET and COMED-K ranking. The management might also consider special cases: euphemism for the management quota. I probed the student and got a candid confession that management seats were the most expensive for CSE. I asked whether he too was a “special case”? Not surprisingly, a stoic look was what I got.

A shared cigarette soon got us back on track. Upon asking, I was informed that the placement situation for IT & CSE were pretty good. This is what I could gather from the conversation:

• Top companies do visit the campus.
• Tier 1 companies have a tough screening procedure which includes two aptitude tests and two rounds of interviews.
• Tier 2 & 3 companies take a screening test and one round of interview. Placement is more or less guaranteed if one clears the written screening test.

I checked the institute website and found that these companies did visit the campus in 2007. The Salary Details of 2007 CSE Batch are as follows:

• Minimum Salary – 2.10 Lacs
• Average Salary – 3.50 Lacs
• Maximum Salary - 9.20 Lacs

Views & opinions are quite welcome.86hywoiu9839t543j0s7543uw0

Bidding time everyone?

Recently, the Indian petroleum ministry took a decision that could signal the corporatization of the oil & gas exploration system. In a bid to lower its dependence on imported fuel & increase production, the Indian Govt. is all set auction 57 of its oil & gas field for exploration. Currently, India is the third largest oil consumer in Asia & imports nearly 70% oil & gas to fuel its demand.

Companies having deepwater exploration experience will have the edge. Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron and BP are rumored to be taking part in this auction. Domestic players Oil India, Cairn India and BG Group are the other companies in fray. Estimated to generate $8 billion INR, the auction has also caught the interest of Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) & Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). The former intends to bid jointly with other domestic or international companies to gain expertise.

Think Big

Think Big?!?
Engineers tend to DO BIG!

BITS Hyderabad Vs ISM Dhanbad – Is the comparison possible?

I recently saw a post on a popular forum which asked a very interesting question…ISM Dhanbad Vs BITS Hyderabad. The question went something like this…which stream is better Mining in ISM or CSE in BITs Hyderabad?

What struck me is not the duality of interest. It’s quite possible to be interested in an offbeat discipline like mining & CSE is by default on everyone’s list as its one of the “safe” options. What intrigued me was the comparison of two completely disparate centers of technical education. Let’s analyze both the institutes.

A new born baby, BITS Hyderabad has no past record of excellence whatsoever. We can only hope that it will continue in the tradition of its alma pater-BITS Pilani. The environment in BITS- P is amazing. It is one of the few institutes in India that allows students sufficient flexibility & leverage in terms of subjects, faculty, and class timing. Pilani pass outs are assured placements and command good packages. But, it’s early days yet to comment on what the Hyderabad campus will offer to its students.

One place where BITS Hyderabad scores brownie points is its location. Its proximity to the new software nerve centre of India is not unintentional. Most IT, software and telecom companies would definitely look to it for recruitment possibilities. And, if looked at from a student’s point of view, I don’t think any kid will complain about spending his/her student life in Hyderabad. I agree that for an engineering student, campus life is where it’s at, but, a cosmopolitan city certainly has its good points. All in all, BITS Hyderabad has certainly drawn first blood as far as brand name and publicity is concerned.

ISM Dhanbad on the other hand is something of a mystery. Established in 1926, its very name – the Indian School of Mines- gives you a good idea about it specialization. Its location at the very heart of the coal belt-Dhanbad- seems to be a very practical decision. Over the years, the ISM has found its place within the top ten engineering institutes of India. But, it’s yet to find its place in the sun in terms of student popularity and media attention. So, what went wrong here???

As far as pedigree is concerned, it doesn’t get any better. Established in the pattern of the Royal school of Mines, the school was inaugurated in 1926. Admissions are done on the basis of the JEE scores. On the basis of stats provided o the ISM site, the top hiring companies include:




Not too great, but not pathetic either. So, what’s holding ISM back?

Speculation about BITSAT 2008 cutoffs

With the cutoff date creeping closer, students interested in entering the hallowed halls of BITS Pilani are undoubtedly feeling edgy. If it’s any consolation, the BITSAT site has published the 2008 score analysis. This is how it looks:



















Due to a certain combination of factors, this year’s BITSAT cutoff has generated even more interest than usual. The permutation & combinations are such:

• The new BITS Hyderabad campus - cutoffs may be low. Many students are heavily banking on this assumption
• Increased number of seats in BITS – but won’t affect the overall cutoff too much. In all probability, BITS Pilani Cutoffs will remain static
• Admission into NITs will be done on the basis of All India Ranking – top rankers will go for NIT Warangal, Trichy. Conversely, AIEEE state toppers with good BITSAT score may opt for BITS
• Increased Seats in IIT/OBC quota in IIT – choice of college depends on personal choice. Most students will prefer the IIT tag but, it also depends on the stream they are getting. As for the OBC quota, deserving students will have to fulfill all the requirements before being admitted into IIT
• Less number of students scoring above 350 in comparison to the previous years – this year’s paper was tougher according to a lot of students

Speculations regarding the BITS cutoff are rife in all student forums right now. What’s your take on it? Go ahead post your predictions….

IIT- B Says No To Internships Abroad

June 11^th ’08 has been marked as an important day in the lives of the students desiring to study in IIT- Bombay. The renowned institute has banned students from opting for internship in companies abroad. This rule is applicable from the existing academic session.

IITB students as part of their 4 year course are required to undergo an 8 week internship either in India or abroad. With this new rule, student’s dreams of flying abroad, meeting new people and socializing (even making some firang gfs!) were tattered and battered! Needless to say, students being the hot blood of the new millennium (& perhaps Rang De Basanti has done its work too well!) put up a strong opposition. But alas! Victory favored the IITB management.

The decision is driven by realization that over 50-60 % of the students choose new lands as their destination for internship, with US & Europe topping the popularity charts. These stats are backed by Dr Ashok Misra, director, IITB and also our very own groovy music channel, MTV! Besides Indian companies, you can also hone your skills in Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and all the IITs.

In the wake of this new development, several points come to the forefront. Would you as a student prefer to go to other IITs? Would other IIT’s follow suit? Do you think that this move would prove to be instrumental in educating the students about the developments in Indian industry?

I, for one, am against the bans of any sort, whatsoever! It’s a free country and everyone should be given the right to join any company that they wish to…Is there nothing in the labor laws about this?! However, we cannot definitely overlook the fact that we, as students, are being ignorant to the requirements of our own motherland. India is in great need of proficient researchers. With increasing no. of students turning towards foreign countries for better advancement possibilities, India remains the sole one to lose.

What is this your take on this war of opinions?