Ahead of admissions, IIT Madras hosts AskIITM in Hyd to answer student queries

Hyderabad: An 'AskIITM' Event was held in Hyderabad on 3 September by IIT Madras Alumni.

As part of the event that was held in Hyderabad, the alumni created a website, askIITM.com, where students can ask questions about IIT Madras. There is also an Instagram page, @askiitm, that profiles current students' lives and alumni's stories. Students from various top schools and coaching institutes have been invited to meet and ask questions.

The event was held as the JEE (Advanced) 2022 results are scheduled to be announced on 11 September and with the admission process scheduled to commence on 12 September 2022.

A similar event was held at the IIT Madras campus on 2 September.

A virtual tour called "Day at IIT Madras" has been scheduled for 17 September. The highlight of the event will be the live interactions with Prof. V. Kamakoti, the director of IIT Madras, and Prof. Mahesh, the dean (alumni and corporate relations) of IIT Madras.

Speaking about the initiative, Prof. Kamakoti, who was a counsellor for incoming IIT students for 10 years—from 2000 to 2009, said, "For a student just finishing school, selecting the next step is a very important act that shall determine his/her professional career. Through this effort, we are trying to reach out to a large number of aspirants and help them at this crucial juncture of their life by providing answers to many of their questions."

Why now?

Amrutash Misra, an IIT Madras alumnus (mechanical engineering 2008), who started his career in Unilever and is a serial entrepreneur, said, "The final JEE advanced exam—the final hurdle—this year was on 28 August. I know from experience that students will now be thinking about which IIT to choose and which branch to pick."

Amrit Vatsa, another alumnus (civil engineering 2008), added, "There are several things about IIT Madras that students may not know. For example, students can choose 50% of their courses from any department, this means that students can engineer their own learning. We also want to bring focus to the research and entrepreneurship culture that has led to companies like Ather to start on campus."

Mr. Vatsa joined PwC as an infrastructure consultant off campus and is now a filmmaker. He along with Mr. Misra head a marketing consultancy firm.

"The most important consideration for students is placements. IIT Madras has had record placements in the last few years," added S Sidhartha Narayan, a graduate of IIT Madras, Class of 2022.