M.Tech Admission Advises

Difference Between IITs and IISc: Which One Do I Choose?

First of all someone would be highly lucky and smart to get a call from both of them. If they realize what they have in their hands they can change the world around. Though for me it’s not that complicated to decide where to go, but it might be super complicated decision for many. And for rest of others it would be just great to know what these institutes are and what are their main purpose and differences.

The major difference lies in the reason of establishment itself that eventually lead to huge difference in both the institutions and their approach towards different things. IITs were established to provide finest technical manpower for building the nation. IISc was established by private bodies to conduct core research with focus on advancing the scientific capabilities of the country. Therefore these institutes provide man power to according to their fundamentals.

You see hell lot of IITians in companies running here and there with a shiny life style and if you get a chance to go to IISc you feel the calm and focus without much shiny life style and a commitment to research and scientific advancements.

That was heavy right ‘scientific advancements’, yes for me too it’s a heavy term. Let’s go back reality and talk now. Does it mean one need to sacrifice his or her life for nation if the study at IISc and live a faaar less paying govt. job. Whereas IITs have form of cash cows called placements. Nope that not reality.

IITs offer emphasis or focus on B.Tech (under grad) courses where as IISc only starts at MS or M.Tech (graduate). IITs have several thousand students studying different streams of engineering to equip themselves to set in industry where as IISc have few students working towards high end research and get into research industries in the nation. Placements in IISc are as good as IITs may be with higher positions most of the time.

Now let me answer the famous question what do I prefer. Obviously its IISc for me there are lot of reasons, let highlight few quickly.

Faculty: Have a look onto any department faculty list in IISc and IITs, you would be amazed to see people who with noble laureates and few were nominated for noble prize too still love their lab and work in IISc. You hardly find a mach anywhere close to this.

Infrastructure And Application: They have best possible in infrastructure and its application in the nation. IITs also have great infrastructure but don’t have sufficient skilled man power to exploit or squeeze the full capabilities of the infrastructure. Whereas in IISc professors stick to their specific area for years together, build a lab and collect resources and best thing they know how to use them to and contribute to scientific development in real sense. IITs usually lack this ability, they don’t have a determined group working and focused on a area to contribute to the area and reach the level of nobility. IITs give best efforts to make students understand the existing technology and try to find its application.

Research Collaborations: As IISc hosts finest faculty, creators of a field of science, and fathers of new areas, they have contacts all across the globe. Their labs are so famous that the students can easily get accepted in any of the top university in any nation. Officially IISc have many research collaboration with industry and foreign universities that IITs are in their infancy now a days.

Placements: with all these usually student don’t look for placements. Though they have a lot of enthu for placements in their first year but as they spend more time in IISc they mostly tend to move to research. Even I have friends who did MS and PhD from IISc, joined Software industry at great position and left the industry in two years and went back to pure research again. Apart from that placements are far better and for better positions in IISc.

I will write about my personal relation with IISc in some posts sooner or later. I was shortlisted for interview four time and appeared for interview four times but couldn’t make it. The best thing is that, I got IBM award in IISc from a noble laureate for outstanding PhD work in 2006.

I feel great to write about IISc and feel so relaxed and refreshed even after 14hrs of hectic work. You should visit this place, even if you don’t get a chance to study. For me visiting IISc itself is an honor.

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