Freshers Asked Questions

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We dedicate this article to our freshers, answering some of their common queries. Ranging from academics to college life experiences, read on to find out some useful information!

Every year there comes a new batch of learners full of dreams, aspirations, goals, and a variety of doubts and questions about their coming years. This time we decided to dedicate an article to our freshers, answering some of their common queries. Ranging from academics to college life experiences, read on to find out some useful information!

Disclaimer: This article is a compilation of different people’s views and doesn’t intend to hurt anyone.

Table of Contents

Academics, Internships and Placements:

Are the professors approachable, and how do you approach them for projects and stuff?

Yes, the professors are really very friendly and approachable. Even if they are busy with work, most welcome new and interested students. However, before you approach a professor, it’s always better to ask around and do some homework. ‘What?’, you might ask. Let’s start from the basics. If you have no idea which professor to approach, start by looking up the list of professors on the IIT Tirupati website. If you have an area of interest in mind, search for the professor with the closest research interests. Then ask around and find seniors who have worked with that professor before. Learn about their working style, the kinds of projects they are interested in, and then write to them. If you have never met the professor before, write an email to them introducing yourself, expressing your interest and asking for guidance. If you know what you want to accomplish, perhaps you already have a project idea, or you’re interested in a more research-oriented project, state it clearly in your email. You will almost certainly get a response, and after that, you should be able to work it out. If you don’t, there is no harm in sending a reminder email, as sometimes a few student emails get lost in lots of correspondence that professors inevitably have to go through.

-Debeshee Das

Thoughts on mid-sem stress management, study type, and typical timetable for studying after college.

Stress is something that will follow you all through your college life every time there's an exam. There are many ways to manage this stress, but not all work for everyone. If you aren't someone who works well under pressure, make sure you spread out your work, approach your studies slowly in a systematic manner, and try to avoid pushing things to the last minute. Try to identify what gives you stress, identify the parts of it that would motivate you to do better, embrace those parts, and use the stress to your advantage. As for timetables, I'm not someone who works well with timetables as I find them too restricting, which makes me more stressed out.

-V Sathyanarayann

Exams can be undoubtedly stressful. After an exam, it is important to keep the amount of paper discussion to a minimum. Discussing the paper can bring you joy or despair, but it can’t change what you have written. Worrying about today’s exam will affect tomorrow’s exam, and this will cause a cascade of stressful and unsuccessful days. In such situations, it is best to talk to your closest friends. They will help and comfort you. This impacts you greatly because they can understand your problems and relate to them.

On a different note, music is also an excellent stress buster.

While preparing for an exam, bear in mind that studying until the devil’s hour will deprive you of sleep and spam your mind with stressful thoughts. Prepare as much as you can and have ample sleep. Do not fret if you cannot complete your preparation because you are still in your first year and lack experience. You have a long and exciting journey ahead of you. Looking back, you will realize that the exams that you stressed so much about become insignificant as more important things start to uncover from your second year onwards.

A simple way to prevent stress is by learning the topics taught on the same day itself. Do not neglect or delay it by more than 2-3 days. Otherwise, you will get a knack for procrastination. This will grow to become a parasite and will seriously hinder your efficiency when you need it the most.

After your regular classes, take a small break before starting anything. You need not have a timetable, and your study time need not be fixed. But first things first, spend some time on assignments, if any. Next, try to complete that day’s syllabus on the same day. These two activities will save you a great deal of effort later. Apart from the core syllabus, get involved in programming, irrespective of your branch. Programming is fundamental for everyone. It is a very important skill and will help you immensely if you start early, i.e., now. Hackerrank is a good place to begin with. Solving one or two questions a day on the mentioned platform is advised. Doing this every day with concentration will turn out to be fruitful definitely.

-Shreetesh

First of all, chillax!! You are here to learn and explore your respective fields as much as possible. This kind of learning is not enjoyable or effective if restricted by timetables, schedules, self-imposed deadlines and syllabus boundaries. I strongly believe that half the learning happens in the classroom, in the presence of your professor and peers. Get rid of the inhibition and fear of asking stupid questions in class because that is the joy of being a student! You are allowed to sound dumb! Now, the latter half of learning happens when applying the concepts introduced, either through assignments, projects or random problem-solving. Here is where you need to use that sweet, sweet gift to humanity, the Internet. Once the basic concepts are understood, do not restrict yourself from diving deeper into your favorite topics. Indulging in pet projects and self-created problem statements should become one of your new pastimes. I feel there is no need to boggle your mind with strict schedules. After all, you never know when you would need to take the ol' shuttle racquet for a spin, or when the gang is having a crazy dancing session, or who knows if Team India needs your support to win! The only thing you should keep in mind is, after classes are over, every day, decide on a few hours before the next day's lessons to spend time on concepts learned that day. Maintain personalized notes for every course, including small reminders to explore particular concepts, tiny admonishments on wrong presumptions, and the occasional joke for motivation to read later on! All the best! Enjoy!

-Pranathi

What to do if I am aiming for Branch Change? Is it easy?

Quoting our ordinance, “The performance during the first year will be the basis for consideration for change of branch.” There are some other clauses too. Do look into the ordinance for more details.

Nothing in life is easy. You never know for sure whether you'll get a branch change. Do try your best; you need to have a good CGPA. This means scoring well in tests and exams, completing and submitting your assignments on time and honestly, I don't think there’s anything more to it.

Quoting Prof. K.Krishnaiah, most of us have joined this college on an arranged marriage basis. And it is quite common to long for the love we have always wanted. But it’s not always possible. In that case, don’t be disheartened; you might eventually love the branch you’ve ended up with.

-Sneha

What better books can we refer to for problem-solving in physics?

‘I honestly wish I knew.’ is one response you can expect from us. You’re not the only ones stuck with this classical, classical mechanics dilemma!

While understanding tutorials and doing them on your own should be good enough, if you still feel you need more practice, ask your professor for the recommended textbook. The best-recommended book changes with the portions the instructor focuses on.

-Debeshee Das and V Sathyanarayann

What kind of skills should a sound engineering student have?

A sound engineer, really? I’m sure Rangasthalam (an excellent Telugu movie) will give you a better answer. FYI, If you copy-paste this question in google, it will provide you with answers on various opportunities in audio engineering. If that’s your question, this answer won’t help you. On a serious note (not really), we have at least two dedicated lectures in CED (Concepts in Engineering and Design) that answers this very question. Are you ppl not attending your lectures?? 😴

Jokes aside, we understand why this question came here.🙃But let me assure you, our answer is more important (kinda) than those in the lecture slides. (don’t tell the professor, though).

  • Last-minute prep: Not recommended, but it’s somewhat unavoidable. No matter how much of a schedule following being you are, some time or the other, you’ll end up procrastinating. So rule one to being a “sound engineer” is to get used to cramming and doing stuff at the last minute. Don’t make it a habit, though.

  • Try out new things. Even if you think it’s not your forte, try it out. It’s not whether you’re good at something. It’s the fun you have with your friends while figuring out something new. Else, it will be one of the biggest regrets of your life.

  • Move on: Don’t dwell on what has happened. Let it go and move forward, be it grades or anything else. This applies to engineering and every aspect of your life as well. (This plunged deep into philosophy)

  • Expand your social bubble. If you’re comfortable speaking your native language, this doesn’t mean you should always hang out with those who speak your language. Spread your wings, Butterfly. Meet new people. You’re in an IIT! This is a golden opportunity to meet people from different states and cultures across India. Don’t miss out on this.

  • Communication skills. Very very important. You’ll automatically pick it up as and when you interact with different people. But never neglect this. It’s one thing that will help you in the long run.

  • Get some insight into things before it happens: Interact with your UG Buddies. Eat their heads. They can give you an insight into your courses much before you start them. So you’ll be mentally prepared to face those courses. And if you’re a planner, you already know its perks.

  • Mental Health: Sometimes, you just feel low. You don’t feel like doing anything. You just want to ignore everyone and everything. Feeling this is absolutely okay. And approaching a professional to help you figure out what to do next is the best way to approach this. You can book appointments with a mental health professional and take free counselling sessions that are sponsored by the Guidance and Counselling Unit (GCU) of IITT.

-Sneha

I am from civil engineering department, but I want to make my career as a "software engineer". Will it be possible from IIT TIRUPATI?

At IIT Tirupati, all the faculties are very supportive when it comes to interdisciplinary study/projects. To be a software engineer, the primary skill you should focus on is problem-solving, which does not require any kind of branch specification. Many platforms are available to acquire this knowledge. You can get help from teachers/seniors with a different background than your own for various kinds of academic or non-academic projects. No professor will ever choose their students based on branch. The factor of the branch might come when companies ask for things such as Operating Systems or Databases. But these things can also be learned online from the vast amount of resources available.

It is, however, also true that the path faced by people in non-circuital branches is more challenging than their circuital counterparts. They have to pick up relevant skills and knowledge to get a job as a software engineer from outside the curriculum. Moreover, not all companies that come will allow students from all branches to sit in their placement tests. However, our placement cell is supportive, and if you have the skills, they do help negotiate and make an exception. The crux is, it's possible but might require more effort than your peers in circuital branches.

-Aditya Sharma, Ankit and Shreyansh

In which year internships are provided? And in which companies?

As part of the curriculum, students take up Internships in their 3rd-year summer break. Do understand that the institute provides opportunities, and it is up to you to secure the internship. For more details and a list of past recruiters, visit the CDC Website.

-Amit Kesari

How are placements going for this year, especially for the chemical department?

Placements are going great, but we can't disclose any data since the current academic year is not yet concluded. Such information is sensitive. As for offers received for Chemical, informally, it's going great.

-Amit Kesari

Clubs and Student Activities:

What is the difference between NSS and NSO? Which should we prefer?

You should decide which of the two you’re more suited for. Below is a short description of what NSS and NSO are. Hope it helps you with your decision.

NSO: NSO mainly focuses on one's physical and Mental Fitness. If a student chooses NSO, the screening will be done according to the strength of the class. After screening, the particular student will get NSO hours in one specific sport they choose. Coaches of respective sports will give the hours based on the student’s performance, dedication and effort. Usually, the student needs to attend 1 hour five days a week. A student needs to complete 80 NSO hours in their First year of B.Tech. If not, the B.Tech graduation certificate will not be awarded. The first-year completion clause may be subject to change due to covid.

NSS: If a student opts for NSS, the student must complete 80 hours of service in 4 years. As we all know, NSS is the acronym of the National Service Scheme, where students conduct various activities and participate in various government led community service initiatives & programs. Students will be awarded hours based on their volunteering activity. Like NSO, if a student fails to complete NSS hours, a B.Tech graduation certificate will not be issued. But this is not something you need to worry about if you volunteer regularly. Please go through the below links to know more about what NSS is all about.

-Prerith and Keerthana

What type of events are conducted in Tirutsava? Will it be online or offline this time?

Tirutsava is the annual Techno-Cultural fest of our college. This time, various events, including a wide variety of technical, cultural and informal events, will be conducted continually spread out over three months. Apart from these, there will be many workshops and exciting pro-shows too!

Due to the current pandemic situation, our plans are focused on conducting the fest in hybrid mode, with some events and the pro shows being offline.

For more details, look into our website and Instagram Page.

-Srikarah

How to manage club participation and academics efficiently?

At this point, most of you will be trying to figure out your niche. It would be great to figure it out in your first year itself because your timetables are less packed than the following semesters. Generally, most of the clubs in IIT Tirupati don’t have any rigid set prerequisites to be a member. Enthusiasm and interest are more than sufficient. Start by becoming a member of clubs you’re interested in. Attend a session or two; see if you like it. You’ll automatically find your calling and dedicate more time to that. You can participate in the club’s general sessions whenever you feel like trying out something new. No one will stop you.

Speaking of managing club participation and academics, most club sessions and events are generally conducted on weekends and holidays or on those days when everyone’s schedules are free (you know which day we are speaking about). So they almost never clash with your classes.

-Sneha

What are the various roles and responsibilities of a club’s core members?

You’ll be an active part and aid the club in organizing sessions and events. We’ve tried to give a brief overview of how it will be to be part of the core team of each club.

  • Literary Clubs:

    • Quizzing Club: The main job of our club is to conduct quizzes, and our core members are the ones who enable us to conduct them regularly. As a core member, you will be actively involved in creating and conducting quizzes. Apart from directly hosting events, you can take up duties such as handling our social media pages and moderating our discord server. We do not have any formal requirements to be a core member. We will ask you to become a core member if you are active in the club and interested in the creative process.

    • Debate and Oratory Club: Public Speaking is a skill anyone can master with enough practice and dedication. Debate and Oratory club provides you with a platform to hone your skills as a speaker and help others achieve the same. As a core member, you will be directly involved in conducting sessions and events. You will be assisting in preparing teams for various competitions. Most importantly, you will play an active role in creating an environment that encourages people to step forward and take charge. The only requirement from your side is enthusiasm and active participation. There’s really not much organizational work, to be honest.

  • Cultural Clubs:

    • Sargam: Sargam is the music club of IITT where we celebrate and the people who celebrate music. You are welcome to participate actively in club activities without being a core member. Suppose you wish to be a core member. In that case, however, you can take up functions such as organising events, managing content for the club's social media pages and taking responsibility for club-owned instruments. Core members are expected to have a deep sense of respect for musical instruments, music and artists and carry forward the club’s spirit.

    • PFC: The Photography and Films Club covers all the events conducted in the institute while also releasing creative projects of its own. A core member’s job is to take the club forward in every way. Right from managing the photoshoot and video shoot of all events to conducting contests and workshops for enthusiasts, from taking care of the club equipment and data to running the club’s social media handles, everything is managed by our core members collectively. Apart from all this, the core members are also expected to be highly passionate and creative, which is the very basis of everything that PFC does.

    • Actomania: Actomania is the dramatics club of IIT Tirupati. As there are different forms of acting, anyone interested in it can improve or learn their skills in other genres like mime, monologue, etc. The core members are responsible for organising and coordinating the events or workshops conducted by actomania. A core member should be flexible and quickly make themselves comfortable with different acting forms, scriptwriting and script selection processes. The team should plan for fundamental provisions required by the club and be responsible for any piece of equipment the club owns.

    • Artista: Artista is the art club of IIT Tirupati, wherein various art activities are held. The core members’ responsibilities are to assist the head in the events conducted, design posters and content for the social media accounts, and help organise all activities undertaken by the club. A core member of the club must be creative and is expected to propose various creative ideas for all events/occasions. The core team plays an active role in decorating the campus on special occasions.

    • Xcite: The Dance club of IITT conducts different practice sessions jamming. We also travel to competitions and other colleges’ fests to participate and compete. The major role of the core team plays is representing the college in these esteemed competitions. Apart from this, coordinating the events conducted in the college is a prime task of the core. All the members get an equal scope to learn and hone their skills, but the nanoscopic difference is that the core team will be on the teaching side while the other members will be on the learning side. This arises because the core team learns the routine and knows the plan much before everyone else since they coordinate. Core members also get an opportunity to join sessions with previous members and alumni of Xcite.

  • Technical Clubs:

    • Digital Wizards: This is the Coding club of IIT Tirupati. Our primary duty is to help students improve in coding and improve the overall coding culture in our institute. We have some interest groups like Competitive Coding, Web dev, Appdev, Cyber security, AI/ML and OpenSource. One can join any of them. Since our club is dealing with something significant and crucial as per today’s needs, we need a solid team to operate it. So we even take interviews before making someone a co-coordinator, which makes our team skilled and reliable sources for gathering information. We also conduct various workshops and contests to brush up on our skills. Our goal is to see our students excel in placements and internships and compete with other institutes in big competitions like ACM ICPC, Inter IIT, GSoC, Hackercup, Kickstart and many more.

    • Techmaniacs: The core team of the club are pillars of the club, aiding the club's structure to be perfect and intact. In the case of techManiacs, the core team is split into two subdivisions, the technical and management teams.

      • The role of a management team member is to ensure the smooth run of the club events, workshops etc., by scheduling, planning and organising the events. The team should also take care of the clubs' social media platforms, i.e., posting quizzes, posts, posters, etc. The team should also regularly find and update various off-campus events and competitions related to club domains. The team also should plan and organise the club's hardware resources and keep a proper record of the distribution and retrieval of the components to and from the students.

      • To be part of the Technical team, basic technical skills regarding robotics is necessary. We have interest groups, each led by a coordinator. But any core member can be part of any number of interest groups. The technical team must take care of all the technical aspects of the club. Primarily these people will generally be working on some technical projects under TechManiacs. The team also takes care of the content delivered in the workshops and events. They should back the students by conducting interest group-specific sessions and meetings with constant progress. They should also guide any students participating in various competitions.

    • Automobile Club: First things first, the automobile club mainly functions through a formula student car team which goes by the name of " Winged Voyage " the objective of this team is to build a formula car to participate in the Formula Bharat event that happens every year. The team members are considered to be the core of the club. All the team members work in the subsystem of their interest under the guidance of a subsystem head. From the inception of the winged voyage, the number of subsystems has been increasing, and we have achieved pretty good progress with the car and plan to participate in the events this season (22-23).

    • Gagan Vedi: Digging deep into the mysteries of the universe is a lot of fun, and it gets even better when you've more people of similar interests. That's it! That's our work, to build a community of space enthusiasts and make everyone aware of our 'home'. The job of core team members is to: conduct competitions, stargazing sessions, quizzes, share resources, contribute ideas and create posts for our insta account.

    • E-cell: The Entrepreneurship Cell is an organisation that aims at developing business acumen in the students. We also provide a platform for individuals with an entrepreneurial mindset by organising workshops, webinars and competitions. As a core member of the E-Cell, you get first-hand experience managing and promoting these events.

  • Sports Clubs:

    • Chaturanga: Chaturanga Club is the chess club of IIT Tirupati. The club's primary purpose is to promote the chess culture in the institute by providing a suitable environment for Chaturanga club members to enjoy chess-related activities. Core members are divided into the following teams. There are the Event Management team, Social Media Handling team, Designing team and Creative Think Tank team. The event management team is responsible for planning, conducting, scheduling and keeping track of the conducted events. The Social Media Handling team is responsible for managing the social media accounts and posting any updates. The design team is responsible for designing presentations and posters for various events conducted by the club. The Creative Think Tank team is responsible for creating content, collecting puzzles for social media, and suggesting books,videos, etc., to members to develop their chess skills.

    • Aranya: It's an adventure sports club of our college, mostly Aranya conduct trekking in nearby areas in and around Tirupati. All the people seeking adventure are welcome here. Aranya tried other ways to reach out to students via some fun events in online mode. Core members in the club are supposed to plan and conduct treks and encourage students toward adventure sports and, in any circumstances, try to reach out to students with some adventurous events.

-Student Body IITT

What kind of activities do the clubs conduct? Do clubs conduct workshops, competitions, etc., about their respective domains?

Here’s an insight into the activities each club conducts.

  • Literary Clubs:

    • Quizzing Club: As it should be clear from our name, we conduct quizzes on various topics like popular culture, science and technology, history etc. We regularly conduct short quizzes over video conferencing platforms in the online mode. In offline events, the diversity of formats increases. For example, we include buzzer rounds and time constraints. Our major events are Farkon and Antargyan (conducted during Tirutsava).

    • Debate and Oratory Club: As the name suggests, we’re the club that encourages speaking. We conduct regular debating sessions (at least thrice a month) where we dwell on the intricacies of parliamentary debates. We have conducted many fun oratory sessions like survivor, and share your experience and plan to conduct other fun sessions in the coming months. Apart from these regular sessions, we also host events like Standpoint, Vaad vivaad, JAM, Turncoats and many more.

  • Cultural Clubs:

    • Sargam: The highlight of being a part of the club is fun jamming sessions with enthusiastic and talented fellow musicians. We also organise workshops, creative events, and perform at various cultural celebrations. We collaborate, learn from each other and make musical content. We have radio nights, fun and informal songwriting sessions, and other out-of-box activities in the online mode. We also coordinate all inter-college music-related events.

    • PFC: PFC regularly conducts contests and workshops for enthusiasts in the institute. The club’s motto has always been to help students genuinely interested to learn. We also release after movies for our annual fest Tirutsava, freshers’ introduction video dedicated to the new batches, batch videos devoted to the final year students. We create short films, featurette videos, etc. We basically follow all the crazy ideas that come to our minds and try to convert them into reality.

    • Actomania: We host several contests and events where everyone gets a chance to show their talent and passion for acting. Not only acting, but we also provide a platform for scriptwriters. We usually encourage people to try out various forms of acting like mime, monologue, street play, scriptwriting, and stage plays in our club.

    • Artista: The club has conducted a few fun face painting and other decorative sessions for occasions. Several workshops have been planned. They can be done with more enthusiasm offline, but we will still try and manage to do the same online. Artista mainly conducts competitions in any medium. One can request the clubhead or any core member for any art materials, and we’ll try our best to ensure all requirements are met. (only if the club conducts the sessions/ events). We also conduct many non-competitive sessions with no rules; we always encourage students to enjoy and be creative.

    • Xcite: Just like the name gives a strike; we try engaging students by conducting exciting Dance workshops, competitions and jamming sessions. The workshops usually are conducted in the scope to expose the attendees to great styles or forms of dance so that they can choose one and get to know more about them approaching any of the core members. Apart from these workshops, we also have streaming events competitions where students can showcase their skills and competitive spirit. Going offline, we also perform flash mobs group dances at college events. Going back to pre-covid times, we formed a crew and went to other colleges to put up a stage performance at their fests and competitions.

  • Technical Clubs:

    • Digital Wizards: Since programming is very competitive, we have to work hard and do our best to stay relevant. Code club is doing its best to help you in this regard. Our club conducted around 30 events this academic year ranging from workshops on competitive coding, data structures and algorithms, git, app development, web development, cyber security, OOPs, AI/ML, and even resume development. We also conduct various competitions to improve their experience, contests such as competitive coding, Capture the flag and AI/ML. We also plan to do projects on discord bot, web development and tools.

    • Techmaniacs: The club organises various workshops and competitions where students can learn. The events will span over multiple domains of the club and provide an overview, direction and resources regarding various topics. Students are expected not to solely depend on workshops instead follow the resources to learn and understand concepts. You can contact the club's technical team anytime to clarify doubts or seek guidance.

    • Automobile club: The club's primary focus has been on designing and fabricating the formula student car until now. However, we are looking to conduct CAD workshops for the interested students. But other than that, if you want to be a member of the club and be updated on the evolving automobile technologies, be our guest.

    • Gagan Vedhi: The astronomy club conducts talk shows and quizzes on various exciting topics under this domain. This semester, we conducted talk shows on cosmology extraterrestrial life, a workshop on rocket science and the use of open rocket software. We conduct watch parties for the major launches and everyone’s favourite star-gazing sessions offline.

    • E-cell: We conduct competitions , workshops and webinars in entrepreneurship and finance domains. We also invite founders of startups to deliver talks. We conduct startup clinic sessions where students get mentorship and brainstorm on their startup ideas. We recently organised an “Ideathon” competition where students got to pitch some exciting ideas to the judges.

  • Sports Clubs:

    • Chaturanga: Chaturanga club’s motto is to help students develop their chess skills. We conduct tournaments and workshops for chess enthusiasts in the institute both online and offline, but this covid pandemic has forced us all to stay home which is why we are conducting the tournaments online. We have conducted these events this academic year, Fresher's chess tournament, Battle of Branches, Hand and Brain tournament, Chaturanga premier league, Battle of Blitz warriors, etc. We also post different puzzles on our social media handles and participate in a lot of inter-college tournaments.

    • Aranya: The adventure sports club of our college, Aranya conducts treks in areas in and around Tirupati. We tried to reach out to students via some fun events(treasure hunt, Scavenger hunt) in online mode. All adventure sports come in our domain, but we are currently restricted to trekking only due to safety and other issues. In online mode, we are furthermore limited to only a few fun activities. We can conduct workshops if needed.

    • Fitness club: Fitness club conducts various activities catering to physical and mental health. The fitness club has conducted marathons, cyclothons, and even walkathons for those of us who don't feel like running and just want to walk around campus with everyone. Fitness Club also conducts offline/online yoga sessions. The next goal is to conduct fun activities that anyone on the spectrum of fitness level can enjoy; this way, all can get physical benefits with fun.

-Student Body IITT

Campus Life and Other General Questions

How are the sports facilities on campus? Do we have coaches for various sports games?

We do have Grounds and equipment for all the major sports. However, we need to take our sportswear and non-consumable items like Badminton, Lawn tennis Rackets, TT bats etc. We have one main ground where students can play cricket & Football, two volleyball courts, one basketball court, 1 Lawn tennis court, an athletics track, 5 TT tables and 3 Indoor Badminton courts. We also have a well-equipped gym in the sports complex. During 2019 we had coaches for all the sports. Due to the pandemic, there are no coaches at present; once the situation comes to normal, the recruitment of coaches will be done.

-Prerith

How is the food in the mess and canteen?

The mess and canteen provide an excellent variety of food for vegetarians and non-vegetarians. A weekly schedule is followed in the mess. Although taste is a personal preference, the general opinion is that food is good in both places. In addition to this, we have an ‘Ultimate Store’ providing all sorts of packed eatables, beverages, etc.

-Anant

What are the facilities in Hostels? Do students have curfew time for hostels?

The curfew time for students presently is 1 am. Everyone in the hostels is provided with a cot, a study table, and an almirah. There are common rooms where people can sit together and watch TV. There's also a common study room on one of the floors. Another thing that most students like is that the fans and tube lights are remote-controlled (not in Hostel block F - Girls/Women’s Hostel, they might be remotely controlled; but we don’t have access to the remote.)

-Anant and Sneha

How many people live in a hostel room? Is the hostel warden strict?

There are presently two kinds of rooms in the boys’ hostels. The smaller room where three people live, and the bigger room where five people live.

There’s just one type of room in the Girls' Hostel that three people share. Exception: some fourth years, master and PhD students (2 people per room).

In the near future, this number will change as the institute opens its first hostel in the permanent campus side with 500 single occupancy rooms.

The hostel warden or security guards are not strict. They are usually helpful.

-Anant and Sneha

Are there any differences caused due to gender ratio?

As far as the gender ratio is concerned, even though our institute has one of the best gender ratios among IITs, it still is definitely male-dominated. There isn't any specific or strict divide between boys and girls as far as academics is concerned. We’re all students.

Coming to social interaction, personally, I feel it’s not bad. But it could certainly be better. Sadly, there is one divide from the management side: the enforcement of curfew and the hostels themselves.

-Sathya

To answer this would probably require a substantial volume of work. However, I will try to sum it up. A skewed gender ratio causes several problems in an institute; most importantly, it results in an imbalanced interactional ecosystem. Due to their socialization and upbringing, female students are often unable to unfurl themselves in the public platform, resulting in very few female students representing core issues. When Shakunthala Y took charge as Cultural Affairs Secretary, she set an example for other girls/women to come forward. This under-representation of female council members remain one of the most challenging aspects of the skewed gender ratio.

However, if you consider the availability of resources and opportunities, I don’t think there are too many inequalities due to the gender ratio. There is an equitable distribution of resources for both genders.

Free interaction between men and women create a better environment of like-minded thinkers, artists, engineers and most importantly, humans. Issues like sex menstruation are often silenced, and the convoluted perceptions about them are never dismantled. A more balanced ratio would enable better participation, better interaction, and improved gender sensitization.

-Kashyapi

How is college life on our campus? Do we get appropriate exposure for our interests?

Campus life is vibrant. There could be many activities happening around at the same time. You get to meet a new person every single day. Festive days are exceptional; Floating lanterns (exactly like the ones in Tangled) for Diwali, Flying Kites for Sankranti, the Dhoom Dham of Ganesh Chaturthi; The programmes and open mics organised occasionally create a lasting impression on one’s mind.

You won’t forget the times you wait like a prey, jumping to occupy a shuttle court as soon as someone leaves. The open Sargam (Music club) sessions where you suddenly decide to JAM with your friends. The time you spend with members of different clubs and committees to organise events. The midnight campus walks (sometimes with coffee, depending on the vending machine's functionality), the not so exceptional rainwater stream, the lush green lawns and the wandering puppies and dogs are some of the things that pop into our minds when we think about our campus.

There are numerous avenues and opportunities to explore your interests. We have multiple student-run clubs that cater to a variety of interests. There's NSS and NSO, and you can always approach professors who’ll guide you to take up projects in your field of interest.

-Sneha

-compiled by, Sneha M S

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