What Makes IITians Different From One Another??

Recently, I received a message from Piyush AIR-18 (CS GATE 2015) joining IITB asked me to write a set of posts for students going into IITs this year for master degree. I could not hold on his request because ‘itna to banta hai yaar : )’ and it was on my To Write list for long time, only cutoff and college predictors delayed it. Before, I go into what and how to do things in IIT I would like to address few key things to make one realize who really makes a difference in IITs. This will also help you understand yourself and take advantage of your stay in IITs. The first of this series I wrote yesterday titled Why IITs are different from other top institutes.

Now to answer that question, are all IITians same (when comes to success, intellect and maturity). The obvious answer is no, as all are human being are different from one another. One thing they share is the ability to crack down any system more efficiently than anyone else. That begins with something called entrance exams. But once admitted their future growth trajectory totally depends on many other factors. Don’t be excited I am not telling any Three Idiots story here : ). What I feel is the biggest influencing factors are why one really chose to go IIT and what are one expecting out of it and what really is exciting about IIT you are getting in. And if they take pride in the system and cherish it or not.

For B.Techs, it’s a thrill and they just jump in and try to figure out but mostly group of seniors they admire will define what they are going to do. If they have good seniors and motivating staff they will do miracles because we all know great faculty with excellent students can make wonders. I need India and IITs must start thinking about attracting people from Industry to give that platform and that will be key for Indian startup dream. There are two kinds of B.Techs in IITs one type is confused ones because after being toppers all across schooling they suddenly in a tough competition and get surprised to see grads going down and then slowly they give up on it and start enjoying life and at the end run for some kind of campus.

The other group of students who particularly interest me are of mid range GPA guys but very active in extracurricular activities and they do take part in creating something like cultural club, institute website group and sports club. These guys early on decide that it’s not worth dying for grads and when it comes to placements they are not stratified that will make them go out and create something. Most of the entrepreneur are from this group of students. Toppers and high rankers you know, where want to go : )

Now the important thing is to understand who are successful in M.Tech and PhDs at IITs. Most of the people have the illusion that M.Tech and PhDs are not worth at IITs, but reality is these grad students give high competition in placements to B.Tech toppers because from the day one they have one thing in their mind and that is a great JOB. For that they need good grads so they work hard for that and prepare kind of puzzles from a semester before.

But what I feel is IITs are much beyond mare finding a job. Some people go there to learn to lead and make a mark. This cult leave IITs in search and hunger of excellence, never satisfied and kind of perfectionists. They keep running and searching for best opportunities if they don’t find them they have the ability and guts to create them. The best thing is they don’t belong to any degree, they belong to IIT, you can see few from M.Techs and B.Techs and even PhDs get along so well and remain friends for life. They read a lot and know a lot about IITs and their alma matter. They are confident to join any group, any event, don’t mine dancing in public even they don’t know how to. They are involved in IIT Politics and some serious creative stuff. They always read a book or two along with other activities. They basically always have something to do instead of watching movies. They mostly play an important role in influencing the world and are tough to crack.

Overall they are seen in almost every spear of IIT, right from academics to politics and beyond. They have pride in the place they are studying and teachers they are working with. Overall, I see this kind as very successful among IITians. They are from all courses and all places.

To know more about them, do have a look at “The IITians: The Story of a Remarkable Indian Institution and How its Alumni Are Reshaping the World” by Sandipan Deb.

I only ask all of you to think beyond ordinary in intellect, engineering and hard work. This define the real IITian and a cult who reshaped and reshaping the world. The cult that always seek solutions and challenge the status quo with a never give up attitude.

In coming posts, I will write about what one going to IIT should know and how to make best use of their time in IITs. Hope this will help all who are going to IITs for whatever degrees they are in. Do subscribe to InI, like us on fb and follow us on google plus. Of course dont mine sharing : )