Bhubaneswar, June 18: Engineering aspirants from across the state attended an open house held at the Indian Institute of Technology here today with the hope of getting a clear understanding of career choices available to them.

The Open Day aimed at helping students make an informed decision on their career path.

Applicants who have secured ranks in the JEE (Advanced) this year attended the interactive session. Prospective students who are preparing for the JEE in 2018 were also in attendance in large numbers. Around 170 students took part in the event in person and 20 more through video conferencing.

V.R. Pedireddi, dean of student affairs at the institute, welcomed the aspirants to the live counselling session, which began with in-depth details of education in the institutes by IIT, Bhubaneswar, director R.V. Rajakumar.

This was followed by an introduction of the programmes of study by N.C. Sahoo, dean of academic affairs, and a presentation on the general procedures to be followed for admission into IITs.

Like in 2016, the institute will maintain its reporting centre for students who qualify the JEE (Advanced) on its campus in Argul. The reporting centre enables candidates allotted seats in any of the IITs do their reporting, document verification at the institute.

A special seminar addressed by a State Bank of India official appraised the audience about the various possible loan schemes available to prospective undergraduate students, with special emphasis on the Vidyalakshmi Scheme. "During the event, students got to explore various departments, see the facilities, and interact with the faculty members meant to answer the queries of students, who were not getting a platform to do it," Rajakumar said. Women were told about the extra supernumerary seats for them that will begin from 2018 and counselled by the JEE help desk to select as many choices as possible to maximise their chances of getting a seat in IITs. The Q&A session that followed was interactive with participation of students and guardians from Odisha and other states. Members of the panel, including the director, answered the questions.

The aspirants expressed gratitude on the initiative to educate students and parents on various technicalities in IIT education, admission process and general queries.

"My son is very confused, as he was not able to select the stream that he should select. The session was helpful as he got to know about the scope in various fields," said Ananya Parida, a parent.