Review on BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

The campus administration should understand the needs of the students. While most of the faculty is greatly helpful and accommodating to the needs of the students, the administration is not and may be one of the major concerns holding BITS back from being the top most institution in the country.

Each department reserves complete autonomy to decide its course structure. However, there are certain mandates issued by the senate. The courses covered in every discipline are in line with courses which are offered in the same discipline, in any globally renowned institution elsewhere. To provide further industry specific knowledge, BITS offers two Practice Schools (PS- 1 & PS-2) which are optional and maybe substituted to a research thesis, but are highly recommended. They provide 10 (Summer term) and 20-22 (1 semester) weeks of industrial experience at the end of 2nd and 3rd year respectively. Apart from this, the placement unit also works to ensure many students with internships in some of the top companies which may later provide them pre placement offers. So on an average, every BITSian completing his/her bachelor’s gets an industry average industry experience of 8 months.

The placement drive occurs once at the start of each semester and the process continues until those enrolled are placed (may extend halfway through the semester). Internship season on the other hand, occurs more prominently only in September mainly for IT/CS. However, companies for other disciplines visit throughout the year.

Oasis (cultural fest)- Second largest college fest in the country. Apogee (technical fest)- Observes many notable personalities visiting the campus for talks- both international and national. Also observes a paper presentation event, and a host of other events.

The fees are on the expensive side, but considering the premium that is provided(in terms of living conditions), I believe it is at par. All payment methods (from DDs, cheques to Credit cards, net banking, PAYTM/UPI) are accepted and there is no discrepancy in fee whatsoever- everyone is charged the same.

Merit Scholarship is for those who are in the top 1%. It is 100% and 40%- requires GPA above 9.8 and 9.0 respectively (statistically). Merit cum need scholarship can be availed by those whose family income is less than 12 lpa. It varies from 80% to 25%. Cut offs for 80% (> 8.5); 40% (>7.5); 25% (>6.5). The percentage indicated is percentage of the tuition fee.

My batch had a gender ratio of 7:1(M:F). Varies from 10:1 to 6:1. There are various events every semester- Music Nites, Cultural Nites, Workshops on robotics, finance, sports - Athletics, football, tennis, (every other sport). Besides, there are clubs for garnering special interests of the students for everything- from coding, chemical engineering, finance to those who like rock music, anime, etc. There are also departments which handle planning before the fests and work during the fests. Every state has a regional association- it may be individual or a collective association of states from a particular region. These cultural association host- a cultural Nite and a grub dinner which are open to all, and also other cultural activities specific to the members. The institute also has a day reserved on Basant Panchami known as the Founder’s day when all the cultural associations display their cultural heritage in front of the entire campus. There is no ethnic discrimination because the campus is an abode to students from various regions of the country and thus there is diversity. The campus also has a gender champions team which supports the LGBTQIA team and also holds talks for the same.

Yes. Hostel rooms are great, and almost all the hostels have been renovated to provide the best facilities (Wi-Fi, TV in common rooms, solar geysers, Hindware Italian fittings, western lavatories, etc). Table Tennis, badminton/volleyball, grass quadrangle are common to all hostels. First years get a twin sharing room (more spacious). Second years may or may not get a single room and may get a twin sharing room. Third years and fourth years receive a single room. There is no shortage, whatsoever and no students have to adjust in a room by squeezing in more than it’s allotted capacity. The hostel fees are 15000 for all students (standard for all) and the mess fees are 25000 (which includes some extras that may be reimbursed if not used) for one semester.

BITS boasts of one of the strongest alumni networks in the country and perhaps across the globe. BITSAA is a body constituting both students as well as staff members that look after alumni relations and alumnis form a backbone for the institute. From studying abroad to finding working opportunities, BITSians always have each other’s back. Seniors help the juniors get acquainted with academics and coping up with the academic flexibility that the freshers may get overwhelmed with. They also provide information on internship and international opportunities. BITS boasts of a great senior-junior relationship. Moreover, negative aspects such as ragging are next to absent and reprimanded highly by the institute itself.

I chose this course because Chemical Engineering is a core discipline with an array of interesting job as well as research opportunities. The discipline is industry focused and is one or crucial engineering branches is sustaining global demands. Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani is easily considered amongst the top ten in the country, only ranking below the few older IITs for STEM because of its quality of learning, exposure, exceptional alumni network and overall development. It also provides flexibility in academics by obeying a multi-disciplinary approach which also includes provisions for certain minor programmes besides the core discipline. This is made possible by providing the students with the option to choose their own electives (10-12 courses are electives). Besides all this, the quality of hostels and overall campus facilities are better than most of the top Government funded institutions, especially when it comes to hostel facilities. After one gives BITSAT (the entrance test), the score is displayed immediately after the test and can he used as a rough estimate to see if one may stand a chance to land a seat or not. Following this, the BITS website provides information on certain important dates and if one wishes to continue with the admission process (which occurs in iterations/lists), one has to login using the BITSAT details and fill in certain additional information which may include uploading certain original documents. If one gets a provisional admission in any of the iterations, they are issued an offer letter and have to send self attested copies of their documents to the respective campus where they’ve been allotted (the allotment occurs based on the preference for discipline and campus filled in by the student, and the BITSAT Score only.).

The strength varies from department to department. Chemical Engineering department has a faculty strength of about 30-40 including the research scholars. Each lecturer is a post doctoral candidate. The average age excluding the research scholars may be around 40. Many professors have expertise in areas which form a very small part of the BE curriculum. However, those who do have expertise in areas relevant to BE only take courses which are related to their research and thus provide great insights into the subject areas. Industry experience as such, may be considered lacking in many of the teaching faculties. The practice school faculties have greater industrial experience.