Institute of Information and Technology, Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar, June 6: A student aspiring to be part of International Institute of Information and Technology (IIIT), Bhubaneswar will have to apply separately for the counselling process.

Admission criteria to undergraduate engineering programmes at the coveted institute will include the performance in Plus Two examinations and in the Joint Entrance Examination, JEE (Mains).

Till last year, students were admitted on the basis of Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE). From this year, 50 per cent seats are reserved for students from Odisha and rest for aspirants from across the country.

“The blend of students from all over the country makes it a national institute,” said IIIT, Bhubaneswar, director Gopal Krishna Nayak.

On being asked if there were any contentions regarding the decision, Nayak said: “IIITs are promoted by the state, but we are a national institute. If more students from the state are to be accommodated, we can increase the number of seats, but we will not sacrifice the national ‘character’ of the educational abode.” At present, the institute has 240 seats for BTech courses.

Explaining the subtlety of the rule, varsity dean A.K. Das said: “Applicants tend to get confused. Any candidate who has applied from Odisha quota is by default considered as part of the All-India quota. If he gets selected through the All-India route, the seat supposed to have been reserved for him in the Odisha quota remains unclaimed,” said Das. The last date for receiving application is July 7.

The unitary university tag given to the institute last year gave it the academic autonomy in addition to the already available administrative and financial autonomy. Courtesy the academic autonomy, now a PhD programme is in the pipeline and applications have started to come.

Also, earlier governed by Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT), IIIT had to endure at times the uncertain scheduling of exams. Now, the varsity will publish a calendar for the coming academic year (July-April) mentioning exam dates, announcement of results and others.

“We would also tailor our curriculum and evaluation system in a way that students will find it challenging in a positive manner. Teaching varied types of topics and conducting online tests will enhance their knowledge and nurture a competitive spirit among them,” said Nayak.

Giving example of the reputation of IIIT, Hyderabad, Nayak said that in next five years the institute would be considered on par with National Institute Technology, Rourkela. He also feels that well-placed alumni will bring the brand value to the institute in the coming years.

The five-year-old institute is doing moderately well in the placement sector as well. Companies such as Infosys, IBM, ITC Infotech and Samsung recruited about 90 per cent of the eligible students of the last batch.

“Even those who did not get campus placement are also doing quite well in their respective fields,” said Das.