Indian Institute of Technology B.Tech Review By Rajesh Suri

I passed out in 2008 and have been to campus anytime post that, so I have a fair idea on what all changes that have happened. I am from Delhi and studying in IIT Mumbai, which was referred to as IIT Bombay back then, gave me a million reasons to treasure my life over there. I came across some of the smartest people on the planet. Since IIT Mumbai has the best resources among all the IITs, I got exposed to various resources at the campus. Extracurricular were a part of the College then, too, and there are many avenues made for it. There are 'n' number of places inside the campus to chill and eat. Pawai, where the College is located, is one of the city's best areas, and even though I walked out less, I couldn't see Mumbai beyond Bandra for the first couple of years of my life at IIT Mumbai. Overall, IIT Mumbai is the biggest brand name in terms of Colleges in India.

For mechanical students, our campus was the best as it is the reason why India's top capital goods companies hire students from IIT Mumbai. The course at IIT focuses on the application. Thus, pure math was never a part of our course, and it was applied mathematics that we studied for the entire four years. I could see the quality of education declining a bit between then and now. The pure reason is that students now want CS and not civil or mechanical, which used to be the best branches of IIT Mumbai. We were taught in such a way that we go for research after studies rather than having a job.

Faculties were the smartest living being on the planet, but mechanical faculties were one of the oldest, unlike other departments. It's not that mechanical engineering hasn't changed much, but IIT Mumbai focuses more on experience as banking on any other things doesn't fit in their criteria. We dealt with the faculties, who were quite open-minded. The academic programs were not the research programs on which faculty gave more emphasis. IIT gives faculties rankings, and they are based on some parameters. All the faculties of IIT Mumbai had an employer reputation of 98 and an academic reputation of 92 percent.

Placements of IIT Mumbai, in words, are beyond me. Many students of IIT Bombay went for higher studies, and so did I. Many of us didn't even apply for placements as we knew that recessions were long-hit and capital goods companies were losing their employees. Still, placements were 100% in the year when Lehman Brothers shook the world. The top recruiters were companies like Bhel, Punj Lloyd, Cummins India, Morbi Textures, and L&T. The average salary offered back then was 4-5 LPA, which is still higher than many of the private Institutions offering mechanical engineering even today.

There is no option, but IIT Mumbai students have to stay at the campus, so indeed, it becomes an integral part of life at the campus. It was difficult for me to adjust in the first semester, but I fell in love with my new home in the second semester. Hostels are inside the campus, so the whole engineering life over there was contained inside the campus. We had some outings whenever we searched for some good joints for treats. Having said that, IIT Mumbai campus is fitted well to address all the needs of the hostellers inside the campus. If you have visitors, there are quite a few guesthouses, and you can make them stay there. There were two beds in each room and two sets of everything like the cupboard, chair, and table in basic amenities. There were four bathrooms shared between students of 6 rooms on each floor.

The campus is one of the biggest, and apart from all the facilities that the IIT Mumbai campus had, I would like to put weight on the unlimited eatery options that we had at the campus. For inexpensive food, there were hostel canteens. If it's the beginning of the month and you feel like flaunting some of the pocket money that your parents have sent, we headed to the campus hub. Campus hub was hostel number 5 canteens, which served wraps, chaats, ice-creams, shakes, and juices. For evening tea and samosa, it was the KREDIT canteen, and for staff, the staff canteen was built separately, which was close to the central library.

On weekdays, you can do nothing, but on weekends we planned to miss a few classes and head to the campus hub to spend quality life at the campus. We used to wake up during lunchtime on weekends and spend the rest of the day planning some adventure for the next Sunday. Unfortunately, that Sunday never came. IIT Mumbai is known for having the best fests in the country. Everyone knows about the Mood-Indigo fests, but people hardly know about Valfi and PAF (Performing Arts Festival). IIT Mumbai has some of the most creative creatures on the planet, and those students waited for PAF like hell to show their talent to the decorated guests who have been a part of the IIT campus now and then.