SRM University Kattankulathur B.Tech Review By Nandana Sreenivas

SRM is one of the top Universities of Tamil Nadu with NIRF ranking of 21. The B.Tech courses in SRM especially are very popular and widely sought. SRM has a good track record of placements and also exchange programs. The University offers various opportunities to excel in both co-curricular as well as extracurricular activities. There are frequent workshops, hackathons, cultural and technical fests, conferences and international competitions that take place in SRM. Additionally SRM has over 20 clubs in various different fields ranging from technical to cultural clubs.

I have enrolled in their B.Tech. Computer science and engineering program, which is their most popular program. The eligibility criteria for getting an engineering seat in the core computer science department is to get 90% or more in SRM's admission exam SRMJEE. The scores in the exam determine which branch of computer science you will be allotted. There are various branches offered including core computer science which requires more than 90% marks, and computer science with other specializations like cyber security, cloud computing, big data, AI/ML, software, etc. The exam structures for a typical semester include 3 or 4 cycle tests and a final project for project based courses. The whole of which computes the internal is of 60 marks. The rest 40 marks are to be scored in the University exams. There are project based courses that are purely internal and lab based courses which can be both internal + University. SRM University provides a comprehensive syllabus in accordance to the standards of the ANNA University syllabus.

For my course I pay Rs. 4.5 lakh. There are scholarship opportunities if you get a particular cutoff score in SRMJEE. This score varies every year. The scholarship continues to each semester if you score above 9 CGPA in each semester. Further scholarships are extended to persons with disabilities or children of Soldiers and war veterans. The SRMJEE exam application fee is Rs. 1,400 per phase. There are 3 phases of the exam and a candidate can appear for all 3 phases. The application fee is non refundable. NRI/PIO/OCI candidates should apply in the international application form. The tuition fee for my course varies from Rs. 3.5 L to 4.5 L for various students depending on scholarship and score in SRMJEE.

The faculties in SRM are experts in their subject and offer insights and in house projects to deserving students. The teaching style in SRM includes monitors and digital screens. The problem solving ability of faculties are good. Although they might not have answers to all the problems but help you through the understanding process of the problem. They are well trained to take class of more than 70 students in a class. They are friendly approachable and responsible.

The placement cell in SRM is well organized. There are placement talks arranged by the cell. There are also placement insight meetings held every week. Students placed at a particular company give their insights into the process in these meetings. The placement process for a company is announced through the WhatsApp group of each class by class incharge. The average package offered in SRM is 10 LPA. The highest package offered was 55 Lakh by Microsoft. Top hiring companies include Amazon, Microsoft, TCS, Capgemini, Infosys, Deloitte, Wells Fargo, Bank Of America, IBM, etc.

The University offers residential facilities to the students. The average fee for hostel is 2 lakh per semester. Each semester students have a polling process to lock hostels. There are both AC, and Non-AC hostels in SRM. There is one NRI Hostel also. The Hostel varies from 2 sharing to 6 sharing with some having attached washrooms and some having common washrooms. The hostel mess provides food 3 times with snacks in the evening. The in time for female students is 6 pm while for male students its 9pm. Some hostels also have a community study centre, a TV and a gym. For girls a form needs to be filled to go out during weekends along with the permission of the warden. The hostel rooms are cleaned everyday and laundry service is also provided

SRM Kattankulathur has a vast campus including a University building just for first years and a few specialization branches. 2 buildings called tech park is for the rest of the computer science branches. There is a main food court called java and other small shops. There are lawns and temples inside the campus. There are separate buildings for the architecture dept., the arts and science dept. and the law department. There is a separate building for the biotechnology and related department and also a research centre. There are incubation centers for budding entrepreneurs. All buildings have modern lecture halls and smart classrooms. There is also a separate section in the University for the medical campus.

The campus life in SRM is very good as compared to other Tamil Universities. There are no uniforms in the engineering campus but law and hotel management students have uniforms. There are 2 fests conducted annually called Aarush and Milan. Aarush is a tech fest while Milan is a cultural fest. There are more than 20 clubs in SRM ranging from technical to arts clubs. There are frequent events conducted by the directorate of student affairs and the Aarush committee. There is a huge celebration for Pongal, Diwali and Holi. There are other engagement activities and also various seminars and workshops. There is an NCC branch in SRM. The campus is clean and green with various lawns to spend time with friends. The University crowd in especially Kattankulathur campus is majorly north Indian with a widespread popularity for the Hindi language. I am part of 2 clubs one is a club that works closely with the placement cell and the other is an entrepreneurship club.