Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee

About College:

The Indian Institute of Technology in Roorkee (IITR), like the other older IITs has become synonymous with excellence. It is often remarked how in India, kids hear more about the IITs when they are growing up, than about their cousins, such is the rush towards reaching this very top. Lakhs of students from all over the country enrol themselves over countless hours of coaching classes in order to secure a seat among these IITs. Within this elite list of institutions, there is a super- elite sub- group known as the original IITs, which is a group of the 7 original ones which are – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kharagpur, Kanpur, Guwahati and Roorkee. 

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. All this effort means that the acceptance rate is miniscule, standing at around 0.5% for IIT- Roorkee in stark contrast to global luminaries such as MIT, Stanford or UC Berkeley standing at 7.5%, 4.8% and 17.5% respectively. Admissions to the master’s level programmes is via the GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering).

Unlike the other older IITs, the one at Roorkee has a slightly different history. In fact, it is the oldest having been established way back in 1847. That makes it the oldest technical institution in Asia. It got deemed university status exactly a hundred years later in 1947, before being upgraded to an IIT in 2001 by a Government of India ordinance. Due to this earlier university status, the number of courses being run at the IITR is greater than the usual sum for the IITs. There is the B. Arch as well as M. Arch, this being the first place in India to have the latter. A number of dual degrees are also available where entry is through the undergrad level. Beyond engineering, there are integrated degrees in science technology as well. Several master’s level programmes too are available. The MBA takes admissions through the CAT exam, now having let go of the earlier JMET. Specific industry- oriented PG diplomas may be pursued by sponsored industry candidates. 

These academic programmes are executed by various departments, with specific expertise. These departments are – Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Physics, Hydrology, Earth Sciences, Chemistry, Biotechnology, Architecture & Planning, Electrical Engineering, Paper Technology, Metallurgical & Materials Engineering, Applied Science & Engineering, Polymer & Process Engineering, Mathematics, Management Studies, Water Resources Development & Management, Electronics & Communications Engineering, and the highly specialized Earthquake Engineering. Realizing its importance over the coming years, the IIT- Roorkee even has a specialized Humanities and Social Sciences wing. In addition, there exist specialized centres that cater to niche areas of research and development. There are centres for- Continuing Education, Alternate Hydro Energy, Nanotechnology, Transportation Systems, Disaster Mitigation & Management, Educational Technology, plus a few more. 

Due to its immense reputation, the IITR has also been able to stitch together several strong institutional collaborations. Some key partners internationally include institutions from UK, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and even Sri Lanka. Several key alliances are also stitched out across India for knowledge collaboration and student exchange. Another area that receives a lot of important at the IITR just like some of the other IITs as well is entrepreneurship. Due to this reason, the TIDES (Technology Innovation & Development of Entrepreneurship Support) business incubator has been established It provides a framework to budding entrepreneurs to incubate their ideas. 

All this has helped the IIT in Roorkee be featured very highly across most national or international rankings. It has been ranked the 6^th in the country among engineering colleges by the NIRF (National Institutional Rankings Framework), 9^th in the management category and 8^th overall. The highly- acclaimed QS World University Rankings places it at the 431-440 band for the world, 93^rd for Asia and 51^st among the BRICS nations. A lot of this has been possible due to the presence of its top- notch alumni network. As the IIT Roorkee has been associated with excellence for so long, placements have likewise been among the very best in the country. Some of the top recruiters have been the likes of – American Express, Bajaj Auto, Adobe, JP Morgan, Paypal, Rivigo, Intel, Huawei, EXL, HSBC, Qualcomm, Oracle, DE Shaw, Flipkart, Walmart and Tesco.