Indian Institute of Technology Patna

About College:

The Indian Institute of Technology in Patna (IITP) was established in 2008. During the Eleventh 5- year plan, it was realized that there was a requirement to extend the number of elite institutions in the country. This included the IITs as well whose number till then was miniscule. Thus, 8 new IITs were established, while IT-BHU was upgraded to the IIT status. These new IITs have over a period of time gained in reputation and are fast closing the gap on the top incumbents. Lakhs of students from all over the country enrol themselves over countless hours of coaching classes in order to secure a seat at the IITs. These new IITs are in – Bhubaneshwar, Rupnagar, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, Indore, Jodhpur, Patna and Mandi. A further few IITs have opened up later, known popularly as the ‘Baby IITs’. 

Securing a seat at the IITs is done through a rigorous selection process involving the JEE (Joint Entrance Examination). This is the largest entrance exam in the country in terms of numbers and possibly amongst the largest in the world. This paper is given by more than 12 lakh people annually. It is a 3- hour exam worth 90 marks constituting 3 segments with equal weightage. Those segments are- Physics, Chemistry & Mathematics. The best of the performers, totaling roughly 2 lakhs of them are further shortlisted for the JEE Advanced which is for selection to the IITs. The JEE Advanced is conducted over 2 rounds on the same day. The morning paper which runs from 9 am till noon is followed by a break and then another 3 hour one. The pattern however is not so well understood as the marks pattern is not clearly defined. It keeps changing annually. Admissions to the master’s level programmes is via the GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering). 

The IITP in Bihar was initially housed in a temporary location before moving to its present 501- acre campus in 2015. A number of courses are run from this campus. There are several areas from which to pursue the flagship 4- year B. Tech programme. The academics are run by the different departments, which are for- Engineering & Technology, Basic Sciences and a computer centre. Realizing its importance over the coming years, the IIT- Madras even has a specialized Humanities and Social Sciences wing. There is also a Centre for Endangered Language Studies. This has been curated to help protect the local culture of the tribal communities in Bihar and other areas nearby. M. Tech and doctoral programmes are also available here. 

The IIT- Patna has particularly made a name for itself through various social initiatives undertaken, especially for the promotion of scientific temper among the people. One such initiative is the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) under which villages get adopted by some of the premier educational institutes in the country, who in turn will work for the former’s welfare. The institute is also connected to the GIAN (Global Initiative of Academic Networks) which offers a method for the academicians to keep updating their academic portfolios consistently.

This focus on academics and other social objectives have helped the IIT- Patna to rack up high rankings across several indexes. It found itself on 24th position among engineering colleges and 69th overall as part of the NIRF (National Institutional Rankings Framework) mechanism. The highly- acclaimed QS World University Rankings places IIT- Patna at rank 108 for the BRICS nations. 

Life at IITP though isn’t only about academics and research. There, is a lot of fun to be had through the various student activities. The HoSCA (House of Socio- Cultural Affairs) runs all student- related cultural affairs within IITP. There are clubs for dance, dramatics and music. There are academic clubs as well to facilitate the co- curricular interests of the students. These are named as NJACK, Sparkonics, SCME, ACE and Threshold for computer science, electrical, mechanical, civil and chemical respectively. Committees exist for managing the gymkhana and for overall cultural affairs. There is a specific Rural Technology Development Club which as the name suggests, is in charge of connecting with farmers and implementing technologies which can help in the farm-to-fork chain. Several events are held in the calendar to mark the important festivals and national days. In addition, several institute- specific events are conducted. The grandest of them all is the Anwesha which is the annual techno- cultural fest of IITP. Celesta is the techno- management fest, while Nebula is the freshers’ party here. 

The institute may not be too old, but it has already created a vibrant alumni network. The alumni committee is in constant touch with the past students, improving the connect on a constant basis. This has helped generate top- notch placements for the present batches. Some of the recent years’ recruiters include- Accenture, Adobe, Amazon, Cognizant, Burger Singh, Code Nation, Delhivery, Capgemini, HPCL, Deloitte, DE- Shaw, Google, Future First, ZS Associates, Info Edge, Infosys, IOCL, Goldman Sachs, ISRO, JK Technosoft, L&T, Maruti Suzuki, Microsoft, OYO Rooms, Mahindra & Mahindra, MediaTek, NIIT, RIL, Samsung, TCS, Tata Trusts, Wipro, TVS Motors, Tejas Networks, Tata Motors and Volvo among others.